Offensive line injuries ruin Vikings plans for success again

Stop if you have heard this before. The Minnesota Vikings kill injuries on the offensive line.

The weakness in that area of ​​the team was clear in the two end of seasonal losses for the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams. They were approached in the low season when they signed the Ryan Kelly center and the right side Will Fries of the Indianapolis Colts. They have also prepared left -wing guard Donovan Jackson from the national Ohio State Buckeyes champion.

The problem seemed to have been solved, but Kelly had his second concussion this season, while Jackson is out with a wrist injury. In the loss of Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Brian O’Neill went down with a Likely MCL injury That seems to be serious.

Christian Darrisaw was injured at the start of the season and missed the first two games when he recovered from last season’s torn ACL. He is now back and Frisian has remained healthy, but the Vikings have backups that work at 60 percent of the OL positions.

That is the most important reason why QB1 JJ McCarthy suffered a high ankle disease and it is also the reason that back-up QB Carson Wentz was for the Steelers under the loss of 24-21. Wentz was fired 6 times and he was under pressure on various other occasions. He ended the game under Duress when he almost led the team back from a 24-6 deficit.

“We had malfunctions in this game,” said head coach Kevin O’Connell. “Those malfunctions took us out of our rhythm and prevented us from running the ball and working our play-action passes.”

The Vikings only converted four of the 14 third-down attempts and they are the second worst team in the competition when trying to convert third and long chances. The only team that is worse in that category are the New York Jets.

Back -ups such as Michael Jurgens in Center and Justin Skule at Tackle are active and prepared, but they are unable to stop passing Rushers such as defensive Tackle Cam Heyward and Edge Rusher TJ Watt van de Steelers.

It is up to O’Connell, offensive coordinator Wes Phillips and offensive line coach Chris Kuper to find a way to protect Wentz and to prevent him from being abused on a week.

The difficult situation will probably get worse

No matter how bad it was against the stalkers, it can be worse against the Cleveland Browns next week. Cleveland has the most difficult, most competent and mean pass Rusher in Myles Garrett and he will be confronted with back -up offensive rulers.

The chance is that O’Neill has suffered a serious injury that will keep him out for weeks – if not months. Kelly had several concussion during his career. In addition to the injuries of this season, he also had a few concussion in the 2023 season. The Vikings cannot put a vulnerable player back on the field. He will have to endure different key tests before he can go back on the field.

Wentz has shown that he can take some abuse, even when the pass -rush looks like he will swallow him. Running back Jordan Mason has also shown that he can make plays, even when the attacking line does not open gaps for him.

Getting up against Garrett will be scary, but the team can find a way to survive. But after that game is played in London, the Vikings will have to do with the iron of their schedule. The Eagles, Chargers, Lions and Ravens will all come to call.

The Vikings may not survive that glove. They have already dropped two games, and they can be 3-6 before the Chicago Bears come to US Bank Stadium in week 11, and that can be too much for this team to overcome.