The Vikings Actually Have a Few Problems to Fix Right Now

The Minnesota Vikings will battle the New York Jets in London this Sunday, hoping to run the unbeaten streak to five games before a Week 6 bye.

The Vikings Actually Have a Few Problems to Fix Right Now

Quietly, however, the club has a few problems to fix at the moment, even if the win-loss record is so fancy.

These are the main problems for the Vikings — all of them fixable — heading into Week 5, ranked in ascending order (No. 1 = more glaring problem).

This one may seem a bit nitpicky because Minnesota owns an unbeaten 4-0 record, but when it gets down to brass tacks, Kevin O'Connell's team has the NFL's seventh-worst time of possession. Usually when a team is undefeated in a four-game sample, it is right-side up via time of possession.

Thankfully, the Vikings' for-now time of possession woes will probably "fix themselves" because the rushing game has no problems. A correlation generally exists between a poor ground game and bad time of possession. But Aaron Jones and Ty Chandler are cooking.

Minnesota has basically "scored too fast" on big plays this season, which isn't a bad thing.

Opposing defenses have sacked Darnold on 9.4% of dropbacks, which ranks 27th in the NFL through four games. It doesn't necessarily feel like Darnold is under constant duress, but if the Vikings want to remain an elite team, they'll have to give Darnold a wee bit more protection.

Thankfully, Darnold pocket presence has been fantastic so far in purple, negating the offensive line as a glaring problem.

On the whole, he's on pace to be sacked 43 times. Kind of a lot.

A dirty little secret about Vikings football, Minnesota ranks fifth-worst in giveaways entering Week 5 — meaning the interception + fumble problem from 2023 has not been wholly fixed.

It's just that Minnesota's defense ranks second in takeaways, canceling out the offense and special teams sins. If the Vikings' knack for forcing turnovers ever dries out, well, the team could be in trouble if the giveaway problem persists.

The other saving grace is the turnover differential. They're right-side up in the regard and rank fourth-best. The moment that stat teeters in the wrong direction, the Vikings will begin losing games, if applicable. Book it.

Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow . The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, 'The Sopranos,' Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.