After painful loss, Vikings know they must turn the page and bounce back

The Vikings' season isn't over despite a tough result on Sunday night.

Jan 5, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell paces the sidelines during their game against the Detroit Lions in the third quarter at Ford Field. / Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

The Vikings desperately wanted that one. Their plan was to come to Detroit, deliver a strong performance in the biggest game of the season, and win their tenth in a row, securing the NFC North title and the No. 1 seed in the process.

That's not how it played out. Instead, missed opportunities and four Jahmyr Gibbs touchdowns doomed them in a painful 31-9 loss at Ford Field on Sunday night.

But for as much as the loss stings, the Vikings also realize that their season isn't over. They're still in the postseason as the No. 5 seed, and they're headed to Los Angeles to take on the fourth-seeded Rams next Monday night. They know their focus has to be on turning the page and getting ready to prepare the same way they have all season.

"That locker room is already ready to go, guys are ready to respond," Kevin O'Connell said after the game. "We can’t win nine in a row and then we lose one and allow that to change how we operate. But that also doesn’t mean you can’t improve. Sometimes you get hit in the mouth a little bit and you’ve gotta respond. I know we’ve built this thing in a way where we’re gonna do that. We know it’s gonna be a challenge, but that’s what we’re going to do."

There's a lot for the Vikings to look at and learn from after this one. First and foremost, Sam Darnold and the offense have to be a lot better, especially in the red zone. The defense battled and kept the Vikings in the game for three quarters until Gibbs and the Lions ran away with it late, but the offense didn't do what it needed to do to keep pace on the scoreboard.

The message from O'Connell to his team is that they can't get down on themselves or approach this week any differently than they've approached every game this season. They've spent the vast majority of this season building off of wins instead of responding to losses — at 14-3, this Vikings team has the highest winning percentage for a wild card team in NFL history — but the process has to be the same. They'll need a great week of preparation to come away with a different result than the last time they traveled to play the Rams after a tough loss to the Lions.

"I think that’s what we do, regardless of the result, and that’s what’s made this team so special, is these guys just continue to go back to work, regardless of the outcome," O'Connell said. "Now, what I told those guys (is) if we’re gonna be any different when the results don’t go our way, that’s gonna be a problem, and every single man in that locker room responded to that the way I expected them to.

"I know we’ll go back to work," he continued. "Not the outcome that any of us wanted at all, but that’s part of a journey of a football team. Sometimes you’re gonna get hit in the mouth, you’re gonna get knocked down. What’s defined this team, regardless of when and where that happened and how it happened, is we’ve responded. So, the DNA of this team is to do that. It’s my expectation that we’ll all do it, and it starts with me."

More: Sam Darnold's great season came crashing down with a stinker in Detroit

---

Stay up to date on all things Vikings by bookmarking Minnesota Vikings On SI, subscribing to our YouTube channel, and signing up to receive our free Vikings newsletter.