Bad luck at bad times: Vikings are NFL's unluckiest team
What if we told you the Vikings are 0-3 because of bad luck? Would you renew your hope that the team you thought was going to be strong will get luckier and therefore start stacking wins?
According to the NFL's Tom Bliss, the Vikings are the unluckiest team in the NFL through three weeks. The analysis checks in on win probability added or subtracted based on opponents dropping interceptions, dropping passes, missing field goals and extra points, and recovering fumbles.
Fumbles? Now that's a word synonymous with the 2023 Vikings, who have lost seven fumbles in three games. Fumbling is self-inflicted, but the opponent recovering the majority of them is just bad luck.
- Opponents dropping interceptions: 2nd unluckiest
- Opponents dropping passes: 3rd unluckiest
- Opponents missing kicks: 1st unluckiest
- Fumble recoveries: 5th unluckiest
So when have the Vikings been unlucky this season?
- Ed Ingram knocking the ball out of Kirk Cousins's hands for a fumble
- Tampa's winning field goal in Week 1 was from 57 yards
- Philly's Jake Elliott making a 61-yard field goal
- Justin Jefferson fumbling out the end zone for a touchback
- Interception slipping through Akayleb Evans's hands and caught for a TD
- Double-tipped pass intercepted by Chargers in the end zone
The Vikings have fumbled seven times and lost all of them. The Browns, meanwhile, have fumbled nine times and lost five. The Jaguars have lost just three of seven fumbles. The undefeated 49ers have six fumbles and lost only one of them.
It's not just bad luck. It's bad luck at bad times for the Purple.
Ingram knocking the ball out of Cousins's hands happened near the red zone. If that doesn't happen the Vikings might get 3 points or even score a touchdown. That could've decided the game. Cousins getting picked off at the goal line against Tampa was essentially the defender ripping the ball out of K.J. Osborn's hands. That's at least 3 points off the board. Chase McLaughlin hit his 57-yarder to break a 17-17 tie with just over 5 minutes to go in the game. If he misses that kick, who knows what happens next.
If Jefferson doesn't lose a fumble out of the end zone in Philly, the Vikings probably score and the entire dynamic of the Vikings-Eagles game changes. Of course, that fumble led to Elliott's 61-yard field goal at the end of the second quarter.
The interception that went through Evans's hands against the Chargers wound up being the game-winning touchdown to Josh Palmer midway through the fourth quarter. If that doesn't happen, maybe the Vikings don't turn it over on downs the next possession and instead kick a field goal to go up 27-21 with 3 minutes to play.
And of course, a double-tip off the hands of T.J. Hockenson and a Chargers defender going for an interception to end the game is the worst luck possible. If that doesn't happen, the Vikings still have a play or two to try win the game.
Then again, the Bucs, Eagles and Chargers turned Minnesota's nine turnovers into a combined 20 points, so it could've been much worse.
Alas, here we are. The Vikings are 0-3. They might be Carolina to get to 1-3 on Sunday, but the Chiefs are lurking in Week 5 and the 49ers and Packers are on the schedule for Weeks 7 and 8. Those games might require some good luck just to have a chance.
