The 2026 Vikings Have a Clear Floor
It doesn’t get too much worse than the offense we saw from the Minnesota Vikings last year. Sure, statistically, it wasn’t the worst offense in the NFL by any means, but man, it sure felt that way when you watched the purple team last season.
Their passing offense ranked 29th in yards per game, but sometimes, it felt like they could rank below last. In addition to the abysmal yardage, they were also one of two teams to have more interceptions thrown (21) than touchdowns (18). The other team was the Cleveland Browns. Even the New York Jets threw more touchdowns than interceptions.
The rushing offense was less-than-stellar on the whole, only rushing for 1,841 total yards, good for 23rd in the NFL. The maddening thing about that is their 12th-ranked yardage per attempt and rushing success rate. It’s not that the Vikings weren’t capable of running the ball; it’s that they either lost the ability to do so due to bad QB play keeping them off script or Kevin O’Connell’s questionable play-calling decisions.
Thankfully, even with all of the doom and gloom from the Vikings’ 2025 offense, there is reason to be hopeful that the 2026 version of the entire team can pull it together.
Vikings Have a Safety Net
Remember when we said that “with Kirk Cousins, you’re always gonna be at least .500“?
Well, with Brian Flores leading Minnesota’s defensive unit, the Vikings will always have a floor of around .500. With how bad the Vikings’ offense was last year, and how many terrible positions they put the defense in, the Flores-led battalion was still absolutely lights-out.
The Vikings’ defense allowed the 3rd-fewest yards per game in 2026, as well as the 7th-fewest amount of points per game. Their passing defense was the clear strength, allowing the 2nd-least passing yards per game in the league, while the rushing defense allowed the 12th-most yards per game. Take into account the turnovers from the offense and all of the other times the Vikings defense was left a short field; these numbers are pretty impressive.
How Can the Vikings Offense Be Worse Than Last Year?
We went over the offensive metrics, and the question remains; how could the offense be worse than last year?
If Minnesota’s defense was able to drag the offense to the finish last season with a winning record and 0.5 wins out of the playoffs after a 5-game win streak to end the year, why couldn’t they do that with an offense led by Kyler Murray?
They might not have to. Minnesota’s offense could be very good next season in itself. Each time a veteran has led the Vikings’ offense in the KOC era, they’ve been able to at least move the ball down the field. The same can’t be said for young QBs like J.J. McCarthy, Max Brosmer, or Jaren Hall. The evidence points us in the direction that the Vikings will have an improved offense in the NFL in 2026.
Pair that with a Brian Flores defense, and you could be cooking with gas again this season.
