The Vikings were minus-three in turnovers for the second game in a row on Thursday night, and unsurprisingly they fell to 0-2 on the season. Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell took the blame after the game.
O’Connell noted that the Vikings have now turned the ball over seven times in two games (four last night against the Eagles, three on Sunday against the Buccaneers), and have only one takeaway. That’s not winning football.
“You lose the turnover battle 4-1, with all four of them being fumbles, 7-1 in turnovers in three games and we’ve lost by a combined nine points to two playoff teams from a year ago,” O’Connell said. “Clearly, I’ve got to coach it better from the standpoint of something we talk about every single day. Ball security is a major, major focus in our football philosophy, but clearly, I need to do a better job, and our staff, we’ve got to go back and continue to find ways to re-emphasize how important it is when you have the football in your hands, playing for the Minnesota Vikings. We’re really not giving ourselves clean opportunities to win these games the way we’ve started. I’ve got to do a better job.”
After a 2022 season in which the Vikings repeatedly won close games with fortunate bounces of the ball, 2023 is starting the opposite way, and O’Connell is looking for answers.
