Brian Murphy: Vikings' head coach Kevin O'Connell passes the first-impression test
As first impressions go, Kevin O’Connell and the 2022 Vikings should be able to get a second date with their hectored fan base. They made sure every door was opened Sunday, covered a pile of sidewalk glass with a dinner jacket and generously tipped every tab.
The rookie head coach and Mike Zimmer’s returning cast of persecuted veterans swiped correctly and are poised for a long love affair. Assuming the juicy details of Minnesota’s convincing 23-7 victory over rival Green Bay at U.S. Bank Stadium represent more than a one-night stand.
None of this means anything unless O’Connell says “good morning” Monday and hand-delivers a latte to each of his players unlike that salty Boomer who grumped his way out the door in January.
Zimmer assuredly does not care that wide receiver Justin Jefferson had a career-high 184 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a franchise-record 158 at halftime.
But Kirk Cousins surely does. Everyone’s favorite martyr or villain targeted Jefferson on more than one-third of his 32 passing attempts, which netted him 23 completions for 277 yards.
The cat is totally out of the bag with Jefferson, even if it took a regime change to fully appreciate and aggressively deploy this generational superstar like the game-breaker he is. Just heave it into Jefferson’s area code and watch No. 18 make play after play.
Everything else is just conversation. Like the Packers’ secondary.
Laughable how many times they lost Jefferson in coverage. It was like the Secret Service leaving POTUS behind in a fast-food bathroom.
No real surprise the Vikings were able to move the ball. It was not like O’Connell and Co. inherited the Twins’ bullpen. Cousins, Jefferson, Adam Thielen and Dalvin Cook can wreak havoc any given Sunday.
Besides, O’Connell already waves the magic wand on offense. He’s the innovative Super Bowl champion offensive coordinator, a quarterback savant who whispers sweet MVP nothings to Cousins.
Minnesota should have no problems putting up points. Preventing them and winning the defensive chess match will dictate the Vikings’ short-term fate after Zimmer’s musty gameplans failed them.
Fewer fourth-quarter fire drills and blown red-zone coverages can pave a postseason path for a team that has missed the playoffs by one game the last two seasons. Moreover, the NFC North looks wide open, especially with Aaron Rodgers devoid of weapons and the three-time reigning division champs banged up and vulnerable.
Rodgers’ meta-musings about immunizations, tripping psychodelia in Peru and pervasive State Farm shilling remind me of Phil Collins in the 1980s. Uber talented. Commercially successful. But nauseatingly frontal every second of the day.
And FOX cameras were all over Rodgers rolling his eyes and grimacing as he stalked his latest fall guy. Who could blame him, with former wingman Davante Adams now in Vegas? Or after rookie receiver Christian Watson let a surefire 75-yard touchdown slip through his wide-open hands during Green Bay’s first offensive play of the season?
“There’s expectation for whoever’s in there that they’re going to play well,” Rodgers carped afterward. “We had a lot of chances today. I’m not taking anything away from their defense, but we hurt ourselves many times, myself included.”
It would have been so Rodgers for him to devastatingly counterpunch after the Vikings christened the O’Connell play-calling era with a clinical touchdown drive that culminated with Cousins hitting Jefferson for the first of his two touchdowns.
Not this time. Not with both of Rodgers’ starting tackles sidelined with injuries, along with top receiver Allen Lazard. This year, Rodgers, a four-time most valuable player, is the lone offensive playmaker on a barren limb. With plenty of saws working on that limb.
Za’Darius Smith had a pull or two Sunday. The outside linebacker, whom Minnesota signed to pair with star edge rusher Danielle Hunter, was jettisoned in March by the Packers in a payroll purge. His vengeance must’ve been sweet.
It was the marquee signing for incoming Minnesota general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, and Smith delivered in his debut. He had one of four Vikings sacks. Jordan Hicks had one that forced Rodgers to fumble on the first drive of the second half.
Rodgers, who threw an interception against an NFC North opponent for the first time in three years, was under duress and wore it all afternoon like he was guzzling sour milk.
“One coach said last year, ‘I would sell my soul for two great pass rushers,’” Cousins said. “You just see, when you have two guys that can really roll and stay healthy, the difference it makes in your success level is significant.”
It was a complete performance by Minnesota in all phases. O’Connell sprinkled his pixie dust everywhere. Even kicker Greg Joseph got in on the fun. He buried a 56-yard field goal in the first quarter to tie a Vikings record for longest make.
For every close-up of Rodgers’ bitter beer face there were shots of the 37-year-old O’Connell fist-pumping, grinning and gleefully stomping up and down the sideline.
All while tying a bow around a 1-0 start and undefeated first impression for an impressionable first-year head coach.
“I told somebody, I’ve got to get used to having the camera on me,” O’Connell said. “But you saw the reaction of our team, you saw the reaction of our fans. I was really just taking it all in at that moment.”
“This is one I will not forget.”
