Daily Norseman
Note: After this was uploaded, it was confirmed that Carson Wentz (as expected) will be the starter Thursday night.
The Philadelphia Eagles entered U.S. Bank Stadium and laid out the red carpet for the Vikings to grab a season-defining, narrative-flipping victory. After coming together in a collective huddle to think it over, KOC and company said, “Nah, we’re good.”
It was classic Vikings for anyone who has been a fan longer than it takes to brew a pot of coffee. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory has been commonplace for this franchise, and we added yet another chapter to our War and Peace-sized, voluminous history.
Wentz Wasn’t the Only Problem
I’m not going to pile on Carson Wentz. He was abysmal and shoulders the lion’s share of the blame. But you know what? There was also Blake Brandel’s horrible afternoon. And Wentz didn’t allow Jalen Hurts to sit back in the pocket long enough to recite Hamlet. He also didn’t let Hurts convert a 3rd and 15, 3rd and 13, and 3rd and 9 to seal the game en route to a perfect 158.3 QB rating (95.2 QBR). The defense shares blame in this fiasco, too. Let’s say they’re called team losses for a reason.
The difference between good and great teams is their ability to snatch wins when things go sideways. It’s no secret that the Eagles’ offense relies heavily on Saquon Barkley; he opens everything up and is the key to unlocking an unstoppable, well-oiled machine. If you told me we’d hold an opposing team’s best player to 44 yards and freakin’ 2.4 yards per carry, I’d say we’d be sitting at 4-2 right now. Then again, the Eagles are no ordinary NFL team; they’re great. And great teams find ways to win. Simple as that. This is what the Vikings must aspire to and achieve. When? Well, your guess is as good as mine.
Back to Wentz. The encouraging performance against an elite Browns defense may have been fool’s gold. My faith in Wentz had much to do with the fact that he objectively had the superior career resume to Sam Darnold. Therefore, if KOC turned Darnold into Dan Fouts, you’d assume doing the same for Wentz would be easy-peasy lemon squeezy. Well, you know what they say about assumptions.
He’s also clearly hurt and playing through some significant injuries. He’s gutting it out for us. We should all applaud him for that. Even so, I’d be shocked if he doesn’t get one more shot on Thursday to redeem himself on a short week. I was unwavering in my view that J.J. McCarthy must start when 100% healthy, but it makes sense to wait until the mini-bye and Week 9 to put him back in, regardless of whether he could technically go against the L.A. Chargers. The added time for the body and catching up on essential practice reps can’t hurt. But, if KOC deems McCarthy good to go this week, then let’s go, baby!
**KOC:...
