Tag: Nick Mullens

2023 Minnesota Vikings by The Numbers

The 2023 season for the Minnesota Vikings was one that can’t be forgotten.

Since 2017, there have been 65 teams that have had a winning streak of five or more in a single season. Only ten failed to make the playoffs, including three from 2023: The Denver Broncos, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Minnesota Vikings.

Minnesota’s run is a bit more impressive due to two of the wins being with a quarterback in Josh Dobbs, who was in the building for less than two weeks. Like the other two teams, however, the Vikings were victims of a crushing late-season collapse that took them out of the playoff race. 

Don’t let the ending take away from another memorable season for the Vikings.

What started as a simple quest for answers for the franchise’s future became an adventure for the ages, littered with twists and turns suitable for the Alex Rider series. While the ride ended disappointingly, the numbers from this season may have helped the front office to their answers after all.

To explain, we will split this season into four quarters and explain the numbers that coincide with each quarter to come to a conclusion for the future of the Vikings.

(All statistics are from Pro-Football-Reference via Stathead or rbsdm.com, unless otherwise stated.)

Vikings offensive PFF grades in 30-20 loss vs. Lions

PFF thought the Vikings offense played relatively well on Sunday’s regular season finale

The regular season is now over for the Minnesota Vikings. They finished with a 7-10 record after a 30-20 loss to the Detroit Lions ended their chances of making the playoffs.

The game went about as well as anyone could have predicted. The Lions’ offense could move with relative ease on a Vikings’ defense that was devastated with injuries. They scored four touchdowns en route to beating the Vikings.

The offense wasn’t too bad. They outgained the Lions by 67 yards but two turnovers and untimely penalties put them behind the eight-ball consistently

The Pro Football Focus grades are out and the offense graded relatively well considering a 10-point loss.

Good, bad and ugly from Vikings 30-20 loss vs. Lions

The Minnesota Vikings folded under the pressure of a must-win situation and missed out on the playoffs. Chris Spooner looks at the good, bad, and ugly from the Vikings 30-20 loss against Detroit.

Well folks, we’ve finally reached the end of the season. With the loss today against the Detroit Lions, the Minnesota Vikings have missed the playoffs and their season is officially over.

Even if the Vikings had won today, they didn’t get the help they needed to make the playoffs, as both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New Orleans Saints won their games, eliminating the Vikings once again for good measure.

It’s been a frustrating season to say the least, but the fact that Minnesota even had a chance at the playoffs in the final game of the season, given all they’ve had to go through this season, is a remarkable feat in and of itself. It’s important to remember that as we reflect upon the season that was and look ahead towards the season that will be.

But before we get into our off-season coverage, let’s take a minute to look back on the final game of the season against Detroit. Despite the loss, there were a number of good things for the Vikings to take into the offseason, as well as a number of issues they’re going to have to correct for 2024.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the good, bad and ugly from the Vikings 30-20 loss to the Lions.

Studs and duds from Vikings 30-20 loss vs. Lions

Danielle Hunter and Justin Jefferson highlight the final 2023 season of studs and duds

The Minnesota Vikings season ends on a low note with a 30-20 loss to NFC North division rival Detroit Lions.

The game went about as you could have predicted. The Lions offense was able to have their way against a Vikings defense that couldn’t tackle and continuously busted coverages and made mistakes throughout the game.

On offense, the Vikings were able to move the football consistently through the air and even outgained the Lions by 67 yards. Quarterback Nick Mullens kept the Vikings in the game with 396 passing yards but two late interceptions kept the Vikings from finishing the comeback.

In our final rendition of studs and duds for the 2023 season, these stood out like a sore thumb.

Josh Dobbs replaces Jaren Hall as QB2 vs. Lions

Josh Dobbs replaces Jaren Hall as the backup quarterback for Sunday’s game

After a disastrous performance against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night football, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Jaren Hall has been replaced as the backup quarterback by Josh Dobbs. Head coach Kevin O’Connell announced the news on Friday afternoon during his press conference.

“We’ll have (Josh) Dobbs as the backup, said O’Connell. “I think Dobbs has been able to go about the week and the process of getting a little bit more reps here and there, spending a little bit of time with Chris and Grant making sure he’s dialed in ready to go. Jaren will be in that emergency third (QB) role. A lot of things go into it, just the idea that third guy cannot go in the game unless there’s been injury to the first two guys. I didn’t think it was fair to Jaren to possibly have him in a situation where unless he’s injured he can’t come out of the game. Just long-term development, still a ton of confidence in where he’s at. I love the way he’s attacked this week and I think any good young player with a bright future, that’s the hope. He knows we support him fully and we’re going to use last week as a long-term learning op.”

This shouldn’t be too much of a surprise after the struggles that Hall had on Sunday. He completed just five-of-10 passes for 67 yards, an interception and a strip fack fumble. It does say something that the team still has confidence in Hall.

Dobbs has been the emergency quarterback since he was demoted after the Vikings 3-0 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. With the elevation of Dobbs, it could spell a short leash for starting quarterback Nick Mullens.

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Vikings vs. Lions: 4 offensive keys for week 18

One last shot. Can the offense help keep the Minnesota Vikings’ slim playoff hopes alive?

One last chance. The Minnesota Vikings have one last chance to cash in on their slim playoff hopes as they face the Detroit Lions on Sunday at noon CST.

The Detroit defense has been a solid unit, but not a dominant one. They are a good complement to their gound-and-pound offense with their physicality and focus on stopping the run.

Minnesota’s offense has been a whirlwind of change, starting three different quarterbacks in the last four games, including now-starter Nick Mullens, who was benched in favor of rookie Jaren Hall after the last meeting against the Lions. Now, with the season on the line, Mullens is back in charge and hoping to lead the Vikings to that final wild-card spot.

To do that, he will need to follow these four keys to success.

Vikings QB Nick Mullens to start Sunday vs. Lions

Mullens will get his third start of the season on Sunday

The Minnesota Vikings are once again making a change at the quarterback position. Head coach Kevin O’Connell announced at his Wednesday press conference that Nick Mullens will be getting his third start of the season in week 18 against the Detroit Lions.

This comes one week after Mullens took over for rookie Jaren Hall to start the second half against the Green Bay Packers. He was able to lead a touchdown drive, but couldn’t overcome the 23-3 deficit he faced to start the second half.

This means that the Vikings will be making their fifth change at the quarterback position this season with all four of the quarterbacks on the Vikings roster having started at least two games apiece.

The Vikings starting Mullens is a sign that they are trying to keep their playoff hopes alive. They do have a chance to make the playoffs but will need a bunch of help to get there.

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Vikings vs. Packers: Offensive PFF grades in 33-10 loss

The PFF grades on offense don’t reflect how poorly the unit played

Dealing with a loss is never fun, but dealing with a loss to your biggest rival is significantly worse, especially when it ends a calendar year.

The Minnesota Vikings are dealing with just that, as they lost to the Green Bay Packers by a score of 33-10. It was a brutal one for multiple reasons and it started with the poor play from the entire team. Pair that with the coaching staff not having this team ready to go and you have a loss that essentially knocked the Vikings out of the playoffs.

Nevertheless, there is still a small modicum of hope for the Vikings to make the playoffs. If they want to make it, they are going to have to show massive improvement.

The Pro Football Focus grades on offense are out and they reflect a team that needs to show improvement.

Fantasy football waiver wire: Week 18 free-agent forecast

Check out the top waiver-wire targets for Week 18.

Fantasy football waiver wire recommendations refer to 12-team league formats, unless specifically stated.

Check back for any updates throughout Monday and Tuesday as more injury news becomes available.

Stock up, stock down in 33-10 loss vs. Packers

Plenty of stocks fell, while others went up during the 33-10 loss against the Packers.

Flat. Unprepared. Disappointing.

The Green Bay Packers came into U.S. Bank Stadium and kicked the Minnesota Vikings’ playoff hopes into a ravine by a score of 33-10.

There are usually a few positives that can be found in even the worst of performances from this season. Not this one. This was bad from beginning to end.

The defense looked unprepared for the Packers’ game plan and wasn’t able to adapt. The offense looked as disjointed as they have this season after the Kirk Cousins injury.

While searching for any semblance of a positive, there will be plenty of negatives to point out from an overall perspective.