Nwangwu Nominated for Pepsi Rookie of the Week…

Where does Minnesota go from here?

Sheil Kapadia of The Athletic recently took a look at each offense in the NFL, and projected how each unit will fare in the second half of the 2021 season.

Kapadia ranked the Vikings as the 17th-most trustworthy offense for the rest of the year. He wrote:

They’re not terrible, but they’re not that good. It’s the ongoing story of Kirk Cousins, Mike Zimmer and the Minnesota Vikings. In terms of EPA per drive, the Vikings are on pace to have their worst offense since 2018. And though anything is possible because they are one of the weirdest teams in the league, it seems unlikely that things suddenly flip for this group.

Just 5.3 percent of the Vikings’ drives have ended in turnovers. That’s second best in the NFL, which is great. But they could experience worse turnover luck the rest of the way. They continue to employ a run-heavy approach, even though going into Week 9 Minnesota ranked 28th in rushing DVOA. Overall, 36.2 percent of drives have resulted in three-and-outs, which is fifth worst. They rank 27th in success rate. And Cousins’ average pass has traveled 6.8 yards, which ranks 34th out of 37 starters.

This is a mediocre group that will have some great games, some terrible games, and many, many frustrating moments the rest of the way.

The Vikings have scored 51 points in the first quarter this season, a total that is tied for fifth among all NFL teams. But Minnesota has scored just 38 fourth-quarter points in 2021, which is tied for the second-fewest around the league.

Kapadia ranked Green Bay’s offense sixth in his rankings, while Chicago was 23rd and Detroit was listed at No. 32.

Kapadia’s full rankings can be found here.