5 Quick Takeaways from the Vikings’ Week 11 Loss
For the first time this season, the Minnesota Vikings have lost a divisional game. The Chicago Bears get their revenge for Week 1, as they hit the game-winning field goal in the final moments of Sunday’s contest.
5 Quick Takeaways from the Vikings’ Week 11 Loss
The Vikings didn’t show much on offense for the most part, the defense couldn’t generate a turnover in an otherwise decent outing, and the special teams ultimately put the nail in the coffin.
1. Vikings will have to go on a run or they’ll watch the playoffs from the couch.
At this point, the squad is 4-6 and entrenched in last place in the NFC North. The three rivals have long run away, and even the wildcard spots start to look pretty unrealistic for a team that just hasn’t looked like a playoff team on Sundays.
Considering 10-7 is usually the magic number to make the playoffs, Kevin O’Connell’s unit needs a 6-1 record in the final seven, which is an utopian idea given how they have been playing.
The remaining opponents are the Packers, Seahawks, Commanders, Cowboys, Giants, Lions, and Packers. It’s fairly hard to find six wins on the schedule.
2. Dallas Turner can play.
Not everything was bad on Sunday. Sophomore defender Dallas Turner had the biggest game of his career with Jonathan Greenard sidelined with a shoulder injury, and he was phenomenal. Finally playing the role of the primary pass rusher compared to the versatile role he had to play when Andrew Van Ginkel was injured, Turner recorded seven tackles (two for loss), a pass breakup, two QB hits, and a sack.
Last year’s 17th overall pick certainly looked like he was worth that selection on Sunday, potentially for the first time in his career. Once Greenard returns — he could be back as soon as next week — Turner needs to continue to showcase his skills.
3. There’s a homefield disadvantage.
The Vikings have now played five games at U.S. Bank Stadium and have won only one: The outstanding defensive performance against the Cincinnati Bengals, also known as the Isaiah Rodgers game.
They have now lost back-to-back home games in a week, in addition to losses to the Eagles and the Falcons earlier this season.
4. J.J. McCarthy’s arrow keeps pointing down.
There’s no way around it: quarterback J.J. McCarthy hasn’t made any improvements whatsoever. On Sunday, he added a couple of interceptions to his season stats, increasing his total to eight in only five starts.
His accuracy is alarming, with high throws and easy misses all over the place. Late in the game, he turned it on and led a wonderful potential game-winning drive with 77 passing yards — more than he had the entire game up to that comeback attempt. He’s showing his sweet tools a few times a game, but the consistency just isn’t there.
Growing pains have been expected, but McCarthy looks like a guy who shouldn’t be on the football field. Improvements are needed rather quickly.
5. The 2025 Vikings don’t play complementary football.
There’s just always something wrong. When the offense is humming (which has rarely been the case), the defense can’t get off the field. When the defense is making plays (they have kept the club in games all year), the offense is turning into a punt or turnover festival.
Oh, and when both make the requisite plays to win a game, the special teams allow a 56-yard kick return that ultimately turned into the game-winning field goal for the Bears.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.