Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell had a perfectly blunt message for his players following Sunday’s heartbreaking loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
Per ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, the second-year head coach threatened to bench some of his starters over their turnover issues while speaking to reporters on Monday. The reigning NFC North champs are 0-3 on the season, already just one defeat away from matching last year’s loss total.
“I think that’s something we’re going to fix one way or the other,” O’Connell said. “Either guys are going to [fix] it or we’re going to have to put other guys in the game that have ball security.”
Citing ESPN Stats & Information, Seifert noted that the Vikings’ seven lost fumbles are tied for the second-most for an NFL team through their first three contests since 2000. Minnesota turned the ball over twice in Sunday’s 28-24 loss to the Chargers, including a same-sealing end zone interception thrown by Kirk Cousins in the waning seconds.
The Vikings won a record 11 one-score games in the regular season last year. Fittingly enough, all three of their losses thus far in 2023 have been decided by a single score.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NFL stories via Google! Follow Us
Cousins leads the NFL in passing yards (1,075) and passing touchdowns (nine) through three weeks. But the Vikings’ ineffective ground game and leaky defense have held this team back in the early going, and O’Connell’s patience on some players is clearly wearing thin.
The Vikings will try to pick up their first win of the season when they visit the 0-3 Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
