Kevin O’Connell spent the first part of his Vikings tenure chasing offense that looked good on paper. Through two games in 2026, he’s leaned into something far less glamorous and, so far, far more effective: run the ball, protect it, and let the defense do the dirty work.
That shift has been obvious from the jump. Minnesota has run on 62.7% of its first- and second-down plays through two games, the highest rate in the NFL, per TruMedia. That’s a sharp break from the more pass-heavy attack O’Connell built over three-and-a-half seasons with Kirk Cousins, Sam Darnold, and even Nick Mullens at quarterback.
The change didn’t happen overnight. It started in the back half of 2025, after a 26-0 loss to the Sam Darnold-led Seattle Seahawks.
Over the final five games of that season, the Vikings ran the ball more than they passed in every game except one. They carried that approach into this year by hiring former Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith, putting more weight on the “wide-zone” running game, and bringing in Keith Carter as offensive line coach.
Minnesota also added pieces that fit the new identity. The team drafted fullback Max Bredeson and signed Jauan Jennings, both known for blocking. O’Connell has also pointed to the five-game win streak at the end of 2025 as the model.
That’s one thing to do when the season is lost. It’s another to stick with it while opening the year against division opponents. But the Vikings have done exactly that in wins over the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears.
Per Alec Lewis, only the Baltimore Ravens have run the ball more than Minnesota’s 53.8% rate since Dec. 1 of last season. And this hasn’t been a case of sitting on leads, either.
Over the past seven games, Minnesota has run on 51.2% of snaps while trailing, the highest rate in the league. O’Connell didn’t flinch from the ground game after the Packers went ahead 22-10 in the third quarter in Week 1.
The other big piece of the formula has been ball security. The offense hasn’t exactly hummed, but it also hasn’t handed opponents short fields. Kyler Murray’s interception on the second offensive play of the season is Minnesota’s only turnover through two weeks.
That mattered in Week 2, especially with the conditions at Soldier Field. Rain fell before and during the game, making an already tricky surface even slicker.
Still, it was Chicago that coughed it up. Byron Murphy Jr. intercepted Caleb Williams in the first quarter, and Jalen Redmond forced a fumble on D’Andre Swift at the Vikings’ one-yard line on first-and-goal.
“Caleb Williams is picked off by Byron Murphy
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/gwwAENY8iu
- FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 20, 2026”
Minnesota also got a key special teams play when Isaiah Rodgers jumped the snap and blocked a 23-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, helping preserve a 6-3 lead.
Carson Wentz didn’t need to do much in the weather, and he didn’t make matters worse. He fell on an off-target snap, avoided turnovers, and let the defense control the game.
That’s where Brian Flores has turned things up to the extreme. While O’Connell has become more conservative, Flores has done the opposite, blitzing on 75.3% of opponent dropbacks, according to Next Gen Stats. That’s nearly 29% higher than the next-closest team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are at 46.6%.
Dallas Turner has been one of the biggest beneficiaries. With Jonathan Greenard’s role now his, Turner has shown the traits that convinced the Vikings to trade up and draft him 17th overall in 2024. He leads the team with 20 pressures, six more than the next-closest defender, and has three sacks, including the game-winner at Soldier Field that sealed the 9-3 victory.
Now Minnesota sits on a seven-game winning streak, but the offense is about to face a different kind of test with Murray back in the picture. He played only 11 snaps before leaving the Week 1 win over Green Bay with a concussion, and he’s set to return Sunday in Tampa.
That raises the question that’s hovered over the Vikings all along: what exactly does this offense become with Murray at quarterback?
The likely answer is more shotgun and pistol looks to help the 5-foot-10 Murray see downfield. It’s easy to assume the offense, which ranks last in total yards, will simply get better with him in charge.
But the bigger issue is whether the shape of the offense actually changes that much. Minnesota’s last loss came in a 26-0 defeat at Seattle, a game in which the defense allowed only 219 yards but five turnovers buried the Vikings. Max Brosmer’s 85-yard pick-six on fourth-and-one at the Seattle four-yard line turned a field-goal chance into a 10-0 hole with 2:59 left in the first half.
Before that play, Minnesota had forced Darnold to fumble and recovered at Seattle’s 22-yard line. O’Connell’s decision to kick a field goal on fourth-and-one looked conservative, but the chance for a defensive touchdown probably never crossed his mind.
Seattle’s only offensive touchdown came after Brosmer’s third interception set the Seahawks up at Minnesota’s 32. Darnold finished 14 of 26 for 128 yards and was sacked four times. By comparison, Wentz went 11 of 20 for 143 yards with three sacks and no fumbles in the rain at Soldier Field.
The point is hard to miss: Minnesota didn’t need fireworks in that Seattle game. It needed a quarterback who wouldn’t hand over the night. That loss, combined with Darnold’s later Super Bowl run, may have pushed O’Connell toward a different conclusion about what winning football actually looks like.
Murray can still add mobility and a different layer to the offense. But at the moment, that feels like a bonus, not the foundation. The Vikings are winning ugly, and for once, that’s the point.
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