The midway point of the NFL season has brought a fluctuation of feelings for the Vikings over the past couple of years.
During the 2022 season, there was a certain level of excitement, as Minnesota looked to add to its offense by acquiring tight end T.J. Hockenson in a trade with the Lions. Hockenson immediately provided a spark, hauling in nine catches for 70 yards on nine targets in his Vikings debut, as Minnesota defeated Washington for its sixth consecutive victory and seventh in its first nine games.
Last year, there was a more somber feel. The Vikings entered their Week 9 matchup winners of three straight and four in five weeks to climb back to even, but they were unfortunately just days removed from losing former quarterback Kirk Cousins to a season-ending Achilles injury.
As we reach the halfway mark of the 2024 season, Minnesota (5-2) not only prepares for its Week 9 matchup – a prime-time home game against the Colts (4-4) on Sunday Night Football – looking to snap a two-game skid, but has to do so without star left tackle Christian Darrisaw.
The fourth-year pro suffered a knee injury right before halftime of Thursday's 30-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, and Head Coach Kevin O'Connell confirmed on Friday that Darrisaw will require season-ending surgery on his left knee.
Darrisaw was a force to be reckoned with on the Vikings offensive front. Among tackles with a minimum of 375 snaps through eight weeks, Darrisaw had an offensive grade of 81.4 (seventh in the NFL), a run block grade of 82.3 (fourth) and a pass block grade of 79.9 (11th), according to Pro Football Focus. He also had allowed just two sacks (tied for 16th), seven quarterback hurries (tied for ninth) and 10 pressures (10th) on the season (minimum of 375 snaps).
The Vikings will look to offset losing Darrisaw's impact through the return of Hockenson, who was activated Friday from the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform list. The tight end had spent the past 10 months rehabbing from a torn ACL that he suffered against Detroit on Dec. 24, 2023.
Minnesota's back-to-back losses in the span of five days has caused the team to fall back in this week's Power Rankings, with the biggest drop being six spots. Here's a look at where the Vikings rank going into Week 9:
No. 7 (down 3 spots): Eric Edholm, NFL.com
Let's get this out of the way: The missed facemask penalty was a bad look, but saying it cost the Vikings the game is a major stretch. They'd have needed to go on an 80-yard TD drive and convert a 2-point conversion just to force overtime. The seeds of the loss to the Rams came earlier, with a defense that previously looked like one of the NFL's best struggling for a second time in a five-day span. The Lions and Rams were tough assignments, no doubt, but the Vikings must be better defensively if they hope to have this season end in the postseason. Since 1990, teams starting 5-0 are 56-for-62 when it comes to making the playoffs, but the chances drop more than 15 percent for 5-2 teams (155-for-207, 74.9 percent). Was the lack of a pass rush a one-week blip? The result of a short turnaround? The Vikings take an extended tour through the AFC South before the meat of the schedule hits, with four of the final seven games against NFC North foes. Even with the Bears last-second loss on Sunday, this division remains a monster, and the Vikings can't afford to slip too far.
No. 8 (down 5 spots): NFL Staff, Bleacher Report
Some of the shine has come off the Minnesota Vikings.
After peeling off five wins in as many games to open the season, the Vikings have now dropped two straight after losing on the road to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night. They may have suffered an even bigger loss than on the scoreboard, too.
The Vikings had played every game this season with the same five starters on the offensive line. But left tackle Christian Darrisaw will now miss the rest of the season after injuring his knee against the Rams.
The injury forced veteran David Quessenberry into the lineup against L.A., although Head Coach Kevin O'Connell told reporters that Minnesota is keeping its options open up front moving forward.
"I thought [Quessenberry] settled in and did some things to help us," O'Connell said Friday, "but yeah, whether when you talk about that mentality of trying to get the best five guys in there, not only those five options but then what's the rest of the depth look like? I do feel like this is where your O-line depth that we felt good about throughout training camp and then leading into the season gives you possibilities, and we'll continue to have that dialogue within our coaching staff and we'll figure out what the best plan of attack is moving forward, and I do think there's multiple options on the table with that, and that's what we've got to figure out."
"The injury to Darrisaw isn't Minnesota's only problem coming out of the loss against the Rams, although it may be the most pressing," Bleacher Report NFL analyst Gary Davenport said. "Sam Darnold has locked onto Justin Jefferson to the point that it may be hurting the Vikings. As great as Jefferson is, Minnesota struggled offensively with almost half of Darnold's attempts and passing yards going his way.
"The biggest issue, however, remains the Vikings leaky pass defense," Davenport added. "Matthew Stafford had more touchdown passes Thursday (four) than he had all season preceding that game. The Vikings have the worst pass defense in the NFC. It's going to be awfully hard to catch Detroit when you have no real chance of stopping them."
No. 9 (down 5 spots): Pete Prisco, CBS Sports
That 5-0 start seems like a long time ago. The defense has fallen apart the past two weeks. Losing tackle Christian Darrisaw is a damning blow.
No. 5 (down 1 spot): Nate Davis, USA Today
Flexed into their third exclusive broadcast window in the past four games, the listing Vikes must again prove they're ready for prime time without injured Christian Darrisaw, one of the league's best left tackles.
No. 8 (down 5 spots): Josh Kendall, The Athletic
[Dallas Turner] has one sack and three quarterback pressures through seven games. That's not great but wouldn't be cause for alarm unless you dug deeper into the numbers. Turner, a 247-pound outside linebacker, has played only eight snaps in the past two games. In fact, his snap count has gone down each week, starting at 35 in Week 1 and going all the way down to three on Thursday night against the Rams. Turner's only statistical contribution in his last four games is one tackle assist.
No. 6 (down 1 spot): Conor Orr, Sports Illustrated
Christian Darrisaw's injury is a worst-case scenario kind of deal for the Vikings. Sam Darnold has one of the best yards per attempt ratings in the NFL against the blitz and, generally, is one of the least impacted quarterbacks in the NFL when faced with a blitz and one of the 10 highest graded quarterbacks against the blitz this season, according to Pro Football Focus. While some quarterbacks enjoy a cleaner pocket percentage, losing a franchise tackle is going to create some chaos.
No. 9 (down 6 spots): Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News
The Vikings have come back to earth against some tougher offenses with their defense not being in the same position to force turnovers. Now, they need to worry about their offense with left tackle Christian Darrisaw (knee) out for the season.
No. 10 (down 6 spots): Frank Schwab, Yahoo! Sports
Have teams figured out Brian Flores' defense? The Rams and Lions scored a combined 61 points and had nearly 800 yards in Minnesota's past two games. The Vikings should be fine, but it's time to make adjustments.
