The train keeps a-rolling. It hasn't always been pretty, but the Vikings keep finding ways to win. It certainly wasn't always pretty on Sunday against the Saints. But true to form, the Vikings found a way to win. Whether you want to credit that to the Vikings finally waking up on offense, or the defense and special teams unit helping out with turnovers, a win is a win.
It was a true team effort, and it puts the Vikings in a great position going into the bye week. After four weeks of frankly putrid offensive effort, the Vikings finally found some footing, getting quarterback Kyler Murray comfortable early, to the tune of a career-high completion streak to start a game. Then came the turnovers, that the Vikings were able to parlay into their first
offensive touchdown in what seemed like forever.
Combine it with Brian Flores and the defense turning in another great performance, and you have the Vikings keeping their perfect record intact for another week -- or two weeks if you factor in Minnesota's bye next week. With two weeks to prepare for the Colts and the Packers getting a decisive victory over the Bears, the Vikings are in a great position to begin running away with the NFC North.
But before we look too far ahead, let's celebrate another Victory Monday with a look at the Good, Bad, and Ugly from the Week 5 win over New Orleans.
The Good: Will Reichard
If it weren't for kicker Will Reichard, the Vikings could easily have come into this week 0-4 instead of 4-0, and he once again showed just how important to the team's success he's been, with the only points Minnesota scored in the first half. Reichard has made 34 field goals in a row, with 11 of those from 50+ yards. He's the only offense the Vikings have had for much of the season, and that simply isn't sustainable, but it's working so far.
The Good/Bad: Third Quarter Turnovers
What's the best way to help a struggling offense? Give them a short field to work with. The Vikings did that in spades to start the second half, and it paid significant dividends. Minnesota forced a fumble on the opening kickoff of the second half, which resulted in the team's first offensive touchdown since the first game of the season.
They then picked off Saints QB Tyler Shough to give the offense another short field. True to how the season has gone, though, Minnesota was unable to do anything with the short field, and a turnover on the drive resulted in a Saints fumble recovery for a touchdown. To Minnesota's credit, they were able to respond well with a touchdown drive of their own immediately after.
The Bad: First Half Offense
Kyler Murray opened the game with a career-high 12 straight completions. Quick passing game allowed him to get comfortable and look like a competent QB for maybe the first time all season. Yet, for all the improvement we've seen over the past two halves, it still hasn't resulted in points. Penalties played a big part in that (more on that in a minute), but at the end of the day this offense still isn't playing nearly good enough.
The short passing game is working, but they're not able to capitalize and push the ball downfield. They can't strike fear into opposing defenses despite having Justin Jefferson. Murray and Kevin O'Connell desperately need to figure out how to translate the successes of the short game into points.
The Ugly: Penalties
The Vikings' offense simply is not good enough to survive shooting themselves in the foot. That was painfully evident in the first half against the Saints. Minnesota burned two timeouts in the first quarter to avoid delay of game penalties. Several false starts and holding penalties killed promising drives in the first half, and once again kept the Vikings out of the end zone.
For the most part, they were able to clean things up in the second half. Ultimately, the penalties didn't cost Minnesota the win. However, that was against a 1-4 Saints team. Minnesota absolutely can't afford games like that against better competition. Especially with the difficulties they've had on offense. The bye week should serve as a good time to get healthy and get disciplined.
This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: The Good, Bad, and Ugly from Vikings' Week 5 win
