MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — With each misfire by quarterback Carson Wentz, the boos directed at the Minnesota Vikings' sputtering offense grew louder on Monday night.
The reaction came from the same fanbase happy to see Wentz start against the Buffalo Bills after previous struggles from Kyler Murray. For as much as Minnesota's defense did its part against quarterback Josh Allen and the Bills, there are no answers at quarterback for Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell.
Starting for Murray — who is week-to-week with a hamstring strain — Wentz finished 8-of-25 passing for 81 yards and three turnovers in a 23-6 loss.
“To go kind of lay an egg, personally, the way I struggled early, especially with our defense playing as good as they’ve been all year, honestly," Wentz said. "They did it again tonight, and we just didn’t help them out. I didn’t help them out. It’s hard to put my finger on the why.”
Early on, Wentz fired high on several passes. One attempt, on the second offensive possession of the game, was ruled a backward pass and fumble as receiver Justin Jefferson’s leaping attempt to grab it kept the ball in play for an easy recovery by Buffalo.
Minnesota didn’t get a first down until a penalty on Buffalo midway through the second quarter. The Vikings had 86 total yards in the first half, aided by a seven-play, 46-yard drive in the final minute.
“Just not even close offensively to what we want to be,” O’Connell said. “I thought there was some opportunities to kind of flip that game a little bit, at multiple times, but we just never got Carson in a rhythm. We tried a bunch of tools to see if we could help that happen. I just didn’t do a good enough job.”
On the first drive of the second half, Wentz was intercepted by linebacker Dorian Williams, who had tight end T.J. Hockenson blanketed. On the next possession, Jordan Mason ran for 24 yards on three plays. Then Wentz targeted Jefferson and linebacker Terrel Bernard was standing in the way for another interception.
Bernard nearly had a second interception later in the quarter. Wentz had his foot stepped on by left guard Joe Huber as he threw, and the pass went straight to Bernard, who dropped it.
This was not the outcome O’Connell or the Vikings hoped for with Wentz against a Buffalo defense that had surrendered 254.7 passing yards per game coming in, the third-worst mark in the NFL.
“This one felt pretty terrible. I’m not going to lie," Wentz said of getting another start after filling in for Murray twice earlier this season.
Wentz completed just 1 of 8 passes in the second half before being replaced by Max Brosmer with 4:40 left.
Of course, Brosmer’s entrance brought cheers from the crowd. The second-year undrafted quarterback out of the University of Minnesota was 6 of 7 for 58 yards on his one drive that ended after a fourth-and-9 completion to Hockenson was a yard short.
Minnesota had a season-low 178 yards of offense. A defense that had allowed a league-low 13.3 points per game and was second in yards allowed per game to Seattle has no complementary component.
“Offensive side of the ball, that’s kind of the only missing piece at this very moment,” Jefferson said. “Defense is playing very good ball. Special teams are doing what they need to do. Will (Reichard) is making field goals. We just got to be better at sustaining some drives, extending plays, extending drives and putting points on the board.”
The conundrum at quarterback continues for Minnesota, which is 6-2 after back-to-back losses.
A stout defense and a devout fanbase are wondering when the answer will come.
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