If it seems like the Vikings had an easier time finding North America than the Lombardi Trophy, well, maybe Leif Erikson was a much more effective navigator than Kyler Murray. But, more topically, if the NFC
North leaders from Minnesota want to have any shot at finally entering football Valhalla this season, they better figure out their quarterback conundrum − and might only have the next 24 hours or so to do it.
Minnesota and the Buffalo Bills entered Week 9 tied (with the San Francisco 49ers) for the NFL's best record at 6-1 and will meet Monday night at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The Bills are built around quarterback Josh Allen, who's trying to win league MVP honors for the second time in three seasons. The Vikings are built like a house of cards, with backup Carson Wentz − one of nine quarterbacks to start for the team during head coach Kevin O'Connell's five-season tenure − set to play for the third time this season in place of Murray, who's nursing a tender hamstring.
And while turning to the QB2 is generally suboptimal, particularly for a team battling to be the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoff field, Wentz could provide important clarity to a team that boasts perhaps the NFL's most ferocious defense − and certainly its stingiest when it comes to giving up points − but hasn't been able to score much itself, ranking 27th in points per game entering week 9 and 29th overall offensively.
"Kyler Murray, I don't know if he's a great fit in Kevin O'Connell's offense," NFL Network analyst Steve Mariucci, formerly the head coach of the 49ers and Detroit Lions, said last week. "He's a heck of an athlete, he's an improviser and all that. But they want to play from the pocket − play-action pass, throw the ball down the field − I don't know if that's Kyler Murray's deal."
It's decidedly not.
Murray, the 2018 Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals, is a two-time Pro Bowler who's historically been known for his live arm and the juice in his legs − though that's often led him to bail from the pocket while trying to make an impromptu play when his first read is covered. But that element of his game has waned as injuries have taken a toll on the 29-year-old, and it's hardly been evident at all as he's struggled to find a groove in O'Connell's attack. Worse, Murray has failed to leverage the Vikings' best player, perennial Pro Bowler Justin Jefferson, who's as talented as any wideout in the league but is averaging fewer than five receptions and 60 receiving yards per game in 2026.
"They've got nowhere to go. I don't see Kyler getting better and resurrecting his career. Way too inconsistent, doesn't anticipate well," former New York Giants vice president of player personnel Marc Ross told USA TODAY Sports.
"And Kevin O'Connell hasn't really shown any ability to help Murray out to this point."
O'Connell, who has a reputation as a quarterback whisperer, bemoaned the lack of offensive execution after last week's 19-15 loss to the Detroit Lions, Minnesota's first of the season. He's also noted that the team has been in the shotgun formation a lot more this season, which is Murray's preference, though that's probably come at the expense of running the ball more effectively − and it hasn't helped get Jefferson sufficiently involved, either.
"I thought there were some play-pass chances that we didn't see or didn't pull the trigger on," O'Connell said after the loss at Ford Field, when Murray connected five times with Jefferson for just 33 yards, though one hook-up did produce a TD.
"We know how much (Jefferson) impacts the game, so it's going to be something we'll continue to emphasize and continue to try to do both in rhythm on the scheduled timing of the play and then some of the off-schedule opportunities as well.
"(Murray is) in the gun a lot. We're marrying that up as creatively and as effectively as we can. ... So, I think it's just continuing to build that rapport of the plans, the comfort level, continuing to implore some input from him on things he likes and (saying), ‘Hey, how can we carve it and make it even more cleaner and better for him?’ so that we do get some of that comfort where he'll throw things with anticipation, and we get to look for a play. We all know it's coming."
Is Carson Wentz the Vikings' QB answer?
But is it coming? Six games into his Minnesota career, Murray's 86.6 passer rating ranked 20th in the NFL and lagged about five points behind the league average. In terms of ESPN's QBR metric, his 44.6 figure ranks 26th. And his 170.3 passing yards per game? The lowest figure of his NFL career.
"Kyler just doesn't look as if he any confidence or feel flow," said Ross, now an NFL Network analyst. "The defense is good enough to win the whole damn thing, but they have to hold everyone to 13 points. If they can just get anything from the offense …"
A big if, but one the Vikings can now assess freshly with Wentz, who helped lead Minnesota to wins in the first two games of the season after Murray was concussed in the first quarter of the opener. And while O'Connell said last week he remains committed to Murray as his starter, he also spelled out what he expects Wentz to provide against Buffalo.
"He’s going to throw a lot of completions. He’s going to put the ball in play. He’s got such a high, high understanding of not only the offense, but what he’s looking at on the other side. He’s got 100 games of experience," O'Connell said of Wentz, the No. 2 pick of the 2016 draft who put the Philadelphia Eagles on the path to their first Super Bowl victory but went down with a knee injury late in the 2017 season.
Knowing where his bread is buttered − as well as signaling internal locker room frustration − Wentz admitted he plans to feed Jefferson on Monday. Frequently.
"Just get him the rock. I mean, he's as good as I've been around," Wentz said of Jefferson, who's averaging more than 30 yards fewer than his career average of 88.2 receiving yards per game, the second-highest figure in NFL history.
"And so, for him, the last couple of weeks maybe not getting it as much as he would maybe want − I get it, I'd be frustrated if I were him."
Said Hall of Fame receiver and Vikings legend Randy Moss on ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown" on Sunday morning, in a nod to Jefferson: "Whoever the quarterback is, I need you to heat my franchise player up."
That was once the role of J.J. McCarthy, whom former Minnesota GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah moved up to draft 10th overall in 2024. But O'Connell quickly − prematurely? − declared Murray the winner of the team's QB competition on Aug. 11, during the very early stages of training camp. Rookie GM Nolan Teasley wasted little time offloading McCarthy, who was traded to the Giants for a mere fifth-round pick on September 28 but has now won both starts with his new team.
And McCarthy sounded like a man thankful to be liberated, whether or not he should have been, from Minnesota after taking over as New York's starter going into Week 7, when he ultimately engineered an upset of the Texans in Houston.
"Everything about this place it feels very fitting for me," McCarthy said of the Giants' culture, players and coaches.
"(B)eing in this system where they use the quarterback's legs and a multitude of things, but the personalities, the culture of just grinding every single day to get better and everyone helping each other to progress towards one goal. It's been fantastic. A lot of successful buildings have similar qualities, and this building definitely has that. … I'm just so blessed to be a part of it."
Will Vikings target a quarterback at trade deadline?
Yet what if neither Murray nor Wentz is the answer for an outfit that otherwise seems to have championship-caliber talent? The Vikings have never won a Super Bowl in their 66-season history and have reached the NFC title game once since the start of the 2010 campaign. Murray and Wentz have combined for zero postseason wins as starters, though they only have one apiece.
"It almost seems like they have more confidence in Wentz," Ross said, "but are you gonna win with him, either?"
Rumors are already circulating ahead of Tuesday's 4 p.m. ET trade deadline that Minnesota could explore the possibility of a trade for Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones, who led the Giants to a 31-24 upset of O'Connell's Vikings in Minnesota during the wild-card round of the 2022 playoffs. After the Giants benched Jones midway through the 2024 season, he requested his release, which was granted, and signed with the Vikings − though spent the bulk of his time on their practice squad before ultimately backing up Pro Bowler Sam Darnold, another quarterback the Vikings allowed to leave even though he led them to a 14-3 record that year.
"(O'Connell) sees the writing on the wall that Kyler Murray can't be who he wants him to be at the quarterback position," ESPN analyst and three-time Super Bowl champion Tedy Bruschi said Sunday, while attempting to channel the coach's thought process.
"Can I bring someone else (in) to make this offense better so we can contend?"
Might that be Jones, who's struggled mightily for the Colts this season? Could the return of Kirk Cousins, now with the Las Vegas Raiders, be in the cards? Might the Vikes target a more unfamiliar veteran, like Jets quarterback Geno Smith, who's had a renaissance season in New York after Seattle replaced him with Darnold last year?
"Geno would be an upgrade," Ross said. "O'Connell would definitely score with Geno. ... Otherwise you're hoping for the best."
And that basically seemed to be O'Connell's mindset heading into the matchup with Buffalo.
"(T)he quarterback plays a huge role in (complementary football)," O'Connell said, "and Kyler's played enough football to know that.
"We know he's not far off. We know that those plays can be made, and the expectation is that they need to be made, and they will."
But will they be made by Murray? Or someone else? Check back tomorrow.
All the NFL news on and off the field. Sign up for USA TODAY's 4th and Monday newsletter.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Vikings are dead in the water unless they solve QB problem in next 24 hours | Opinion
