Shipley: Forget the QB play. The Vikings aren’t good.
In the immediate wake of the Vikings - loss at Seattle on Sunday there was a general sense that the tournament was lost as soon as Max Brosmer threw a pick six late in the first half Asking Brosmer an undrafted free-agent rookie making his first NFL start to make a play instead of settling for a game-tying field goal if not insane the narrative goes was a dereliction of duty And truth be recounted Brosmer responded by throwing one of the worst interceptions in Vikings history a panicked underhanded heave that had about three Seahawks defenders lining up for an interception Ernest Jones IV got there first but to be honest it was thrown right to him Jones completed the play by running an official yards for a touchdown and a - lead And yeah the competition was over It was the ugliest play in a championship full of them But c mon This band was utterly outmatched on Sunday Its best chance to win was by forfeit They didn t lose - they lost - They weren t just shut out on Sunday they were no-hit It s hard to imagine anyone watching all four quarters of that tournament and pointing to any single Vikings mistake as the deciding factor The Vikings turned the ball over six times four interceptions and two fumbles The defense was called offside the dumbest penalty in football at any level four times Aaron Jones ran six times for three yards and left with an injury The Vikings once-lethal passing contest is officially beached Brosmer was sacked four times Star receiver Justin Jefferson caught two passes for four yards Jordan Addison caught five and dropped two It s laborious to go back and determine what this unit s best-case ceiling was at the season s onset but it has become a bad football gang now - and last by a long shot in the NFC North Is it all just because they don t have a quarterback Clearly the expectations for J J McCarthy were optimistic if not officially delusional But blaming this all on one position seems too easy Still there s no doubt the organization s inability to field one reliable quarterback in three tries has been the organization s biggest weakness The defense is fine It can wreak havoc on quarterbacks and has respectable numbers against the run and pass It s not great and doesn t force enough turnovers only three interceptions but it could help a better offense win games But the offense is on its third quarterback and still hasn t unveiled a reliable one The decision to roll the dice with first-year starter McCarthy has worked neither competitively nor developmentally The Vikings lead the NFL in interceptions and can t consistently get the ball into the hands of Jefferson who has been one of the two or three best receivers in the NFL since his rookie season in After Sunday Jefferson had receptions for yards with two touchdowns in games He finished higher in each category in when he was limited to total games because of a hamstring injury Who will make the organization s best participant happy again Jefferson has to be wondering if he s wasting his prime on a gang that seems a long way from the franchise s first Super Bowl appearance since There was specific hope that Brosmer who parlayed a combination of accuracy and preternatural processing skills into a roster spot out of training camp might surprise everyone by running an efficient ship on Sunday But when set upon by an unblocked DeMarcus Lawrence he made every bad decision in five seconds This association has a lot of big decisions ahead of it and we can take only one certainty from Sunday s event If McCarthy returns from concussion protocol this season he will regain his starting job Related Articles Vikings get embarrassed by Seahawks in Max Brosmer s first start Vikings will be without Christian Darrisaw in Max Brosmer s first start Vikings picks We have a Max Brosmer believer Vikings at Seahawks What to know ahead of Week matchup The Loop Fantasy Football Update Week Last-minute moves
