Minnesota Vikings

They did it in 2016, after Teddy Bridgewater suffered a season-ending knee injury in late August. They did it in 2023, after Kirk Cousins suffered a season-ending torn Achilles tendon.

They’re doing it today, in order to avoid having the season end at 6-11.

According to ESPNFL, the Vikings have begun making calls regarding a possible trade for a quarterback.

Of course they’re making calls. Coach Kevin O’Connell made that fairly clear last night. The real question is whether they can get a deal done.

They’re not operating from a position of strength, especially after a horrendous showing from Carson Wentz, whose passer rating against Buffalo was 8.9. The greater a team’s perceived need, the more the other team will want.

The Vikings’ best hope is to stumble into a situation where multiple teams are looking to unload a starter. By persuading one team that the Vikings will strike a deal with another team, the price could come down.

There aren’t many current starters who would even possibly be available. Two of them — Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins and Colts quarterback Daniel Jones — have experience in Minnesota. Others include, potentially, Jets quarterback Geno Smith and Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.

Backups could be available. Mac Jones had been linked to Minnesota in the past. The 49ers would have to feel comfortable with the alternative to Mac Jones as the understudy to Brock Purdy. If a team trades its No. 2, it assumes the risk that the starter will get injured in the very next game.

That happened to the Steelers in 2019. They traded Josh Dobbs to the Jaguars after Nick Foles was injured in Week 1. In Week 2, the Steelers lost Ben Roethlisberger for the year. Then came the Duck Hodges show.

At this point, it’s fair to wonder whether a quarterback upgrade will even matter for the Vikings. The flaws in the offense may run deeper than the quarterback position.

Still, it’s obvious that they need someone who can perform more efficiently than Kyler Murray or Carson Wentz, who in all fairness should be cut today.

And if the Vikings can’t upgrade at quarterback, they need to listen to offers for receiver Justin Jefferson. His prime is being wasted, and he surely would love to move on (even if he’d never say that out loud).

The last-ditch effort could be to sign Jimmy Garoppolo, who would likely be an instant upgrade to the very low bar that Minnesota’s current quarterbacks have established.

The Minnesota Vikings have played 1,064 games in the history of their franchise, which started in 1961. Before yesterday, they had never played a game in which they possessed the ball for less than 17 and a half minutes. Now they have.

The Vikings’ time of possession of 17:28 in Monday night’s 23-6 loss to the Bills was their lowest in franchise history.

The previous franchise low was 17:38, set in the NFC Championship Game after the 2000 season, when the Vikings lost to the Giants 41-0.

On Monday night, the Vikings’ offense could not stay on the field. The first quarter set the tone: They had three possessions, which were two three-and-outs and one possession on which they lost a fumble on the first play. Their longest possession of the night lasted 3:11, and on that possession they ran five plays, totaled just 10 yards, and punted.

The Vikings’ defense played well, but not so well that the Bills weren’t able to sustain some long drives, including three drives that took more than six minutes off the clock. The Bills gained 22 first downs; the Vikings gained just nine.

The Bills’ 42:32 time of possession was their second-best in franchise history, trailing only a 1989 game in which they possessed the ball for 42:53 and beat the Jets 34-3.

Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz had perhaps the worst game any NFL quarterback has had this season in Monday night’s loss to the Bills. He didn’t sugarcoat it afterward.

“This one felt pretty terrible. I’m not going to lie,” Wentz said, via the Associated Press.

Wentz completed 8 of 25 passes for 81 yards, with no touchdowns and two interceptions against the Bills. His passer rating of 8.9 was the lowest for any quarterback in any game in which he threw more than three passes this season. Wentz said he knows the Vikings’ defense can win with competent quarterback play, and he did not provide that.

“To go kind of lay an egg, personally, the way I struggled early, especially with our defense playing as good as they’ve been all year, honestly,” Wentz said. “They did it again tonight, and we just didn’t help them out. I didn’t help them out. It’s hard to put my finger on the why.”

The Vikings need to put their finger on the how, as in how to fix their offense. Or else a great defense is going to waste.

Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson has been visibly frustrated on the field the last two weeks as the offense hasn’t been able to move the ball in back-to-back losses. After Monday night’s loss to the Bills, he said the offense needs to stop squandering the work of a great defense.

“The offense didn’t get it done,” Jefferson said. “Defense did a phenomenal job once again, getting it done against a very good offense. We’ve got to figure it out on offense.”

Jefferson said everyone on the offense has to do better, although he admitted he doesn’t know all the answers.

“We’ve got to figure it out,” Jefferson said. “That’s something we don’t have the answer to at the moment. We’ve just got to figure it out.”

Although quarterback Carson Wentz was terrible on Monday night, and Kyler Murray hasn’t been much better for most of the season, Jefferson called it “an all 11 thing” and said it’s not just on the quarterback.

“It doesn’t really matter who’s throwing the ball, as long as it gets to us, that’s all that matters, and it’s up to us to make those plays. It’s tough. Definitely tough,” Jefferson said.

The Vikings’ offense has been tough to watch.

After Monday night’s 23-6 loss to the Bills, during which Carson Wentz completed eight of 25 passes for 81 yards, two interceptions, and an 8.9 passer rating, Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell was asked whether the team will consider trying to acquire a quarterback by the trade deadline at 4:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

“I’ll defer to [G.M.] Nolan [Teasley] on that,” O’Connell said. “We’ve had dialogue about a lot of different positions. And tight turnaround obviously playing the Monday night game before that, and we’ll get right to work on any potential moves that can be there. But really just focused on the game tonight, which was not good enough in any way, shape, or form.”

No, it wasn’t. It was worse than horrible.

O’Connell was asked at one point whether he has ever felt as challenging as it does right now, as a play-caller.

“No,” he said.

They have options. Several teams could be looking to make a deal. And even if it won’t be cheap, it’s necessary to salvage what was, only nine days ago, a very promising season.

It still can be. A return of Kirk Cousins would be a B-12 shot to the franchise. Even Daniel Jones would make things better than they are.

And if they want to go all in, try to make a deal for Justin Herbert — who may be thrilled at this point to don an eye patch and escape from L.A.

Whatever the Vikings do, they need to do something. Otherwise, there may not be a quarterback change when the season ends.

There could be a coaching change.

Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson is the ultimate team player. And he’d ultimately never say publicly if he wanted to be traded to a new team.

Teams looking for a receiver should make the call.

Few players are untouchable, when it comes to a trade. And even if the Vikings would hang up the phone and not listen, teams that need a high-end pass-catcher should try.

The Rams currently are in a pickle, thanks to the placement of Puka Nacua on injured reserve, where he joins Davante Adams. The Chiefs could use help at the position, too.

Ditto for the Steelers, who (like the Chiefs and Commanders) have interest in Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr.

Then there are the 49ers, who are always lurking when it comes to possibly making a big move.

Regardless, it makes sense to make the call. If the Vikings aren’t going to make a move for a functional quarterback, they should stockpile picks and give Jefferson a chance to chase the championship that won’t happen in Minnesota — especially if they waste his seventh season by not upgrading at the quarterback position.

Yes, a trade would come with a 2027 cap charge. The Vikings also would avoid the $30 million he’s due to make in 2027, and the upgrade to meet the increased market that he surely already wants.

At the end of the day, it’s one or the other. Trade for a better quarterback, or trade Jefferson to another team. Of the available options, doing neither makes the least sense.

The boos were loud and long in Minnesota . . . and they were deserved.

The Bills wore down the Vikings, winning 23-6 to move to 7-1. The Vikings lost their second consecutive, falling to 6-2. They have not scored more than 16 points in their past three games.

The Vikings were downright inept on offense Monday night, gaining 178 yards on 46 plays, with nine first downs, three turnovers and five punts. They were 0-for-8 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth down.

Carson Wentz was no better than Kyler Murray, and in fact, had one of the worst quarters a quarterback has ever had in the third quarter. Wentz went 0-for-4 with two interceptions in the third quarter and should have had a third pick on a pass that Terrel Bernard dropped after it hit him between the numbers.

Wentz finished 8-of-25 for 81 yards with two interceptions. Justin Jefferson caught three of 11 targets for 58 yards and was visibly frustrated.

The Vikings’ field-goal drives covered 9 and 46 yards, with Will Reichard hitting from 43 and 53 for the team’s only points.

Max Brosmer may have won the job by going 6-of-7 for 58 yards before the Vikings turned it over on downs at the Buffalo 13 on their final drive.

The Bills gained 399 yards on 79 plays, wearing down the Vikings’ defense by possessing the ball for 42:32. James Cook ran for 107 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries; Josh Allen was 21-of-31 for 234 yards with one touchdown and one interception; and eight players caught at least one pass, including tight end Keleki Latu, whose first career touchdown covered 25 yards.

Tyler Bass was perfect again, making kicks from 39, 25 and 52 yards and running his streak to 24 in a row.

The biggest test of the still-new partnership between Vikings G.M. Nolan Teasley and Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell has arrived.

What will they do about a team with a Super Bowl-caliber defense and an offense that could barely function in the MAC?

The window remains open until 4:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday. The Vikings were in this spot three years ago, when Kirk Cousins tore an Achilles tendon two days before the deadline.

That time, the Vikings didn’t have many options; they ended up with Josh Dobbs. This time, there are two former Vikings on other teams who know the Minnesota offense: Colts quarterback Daniel Jones and Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins.

If the calls haven’t already been made, they should be. Immediately. What will it take to salvage a season that is disintegrating before everyone’s eyes, despite the 6-2 record?

It wouldn’t be easy to plug and play a new quarterback, but there’s history with Jones and Cousins. It would be easier to get them up to speed than if they brought in someone who would be learning everything from scratch.

If, in the end, the Colts want too much for Jones and the Raiders want too much for Cousins (neither is untouchable; the question is the amount of the compensation), the only other starter potentially available would be Geno Smith.

Some have suggested a play for Justin Herbert. At this point, however, it’s impossible to know whether his implosion is about his surroundings or about Herbert.

Then there’s Jimmy Garoppolo, who remains a free agent — and who has been largely forgotten.

Whatever the Vikings do, staying the course with Kyler Murray and Carson Wentz is a middle finger to the fan base. And Max Brosmer, by all appearances, isn’t good enough to make a difference.

The fans know it. The boos were frequent, loud, and warranted on Monday night.

So what will Teasley and O’Connell do?

And, perhaps more importantly, when will the narrative change about O’Connell being a quarterback whisperer? He didn’t want 2024 first-rounder J.J. McCarthy, who had fallen to third on the depth chart before he was given away for a fifth-round draft pick. O’Connell preferred Murray, who has been underwhelming. Wentz landed at No. 2 on the depth chart, and when the lights got bright Wentz winced..

It’s a pivotal moment for Teasley, O’Connell, and the entire franchise. They can continue to act like everything is fine, that 6-2 is a good record, whatever.

Anyone who’s paying attention knows the truth. The Vikings, after starting 6-0, are sinking like a smooth stone in a septic tank. Failure to act amounts to dysfunction.

And, yes, dysfunctional teams do dysfunctional things. Some around the league have suggested in recent years that the Vikings are low-key dysfunctional.

Right or wrong, they’re definitely the worst 6-2 team we’ve ever seen — and the only question at this point is whether they’ll figure out how to win another game.

Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz had his foot stepped on by offensive lineman Joe Huber with 7 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

The Vikings were forced to call a timeout after the play clock was running down, and then Wentz again threw incomplete before heading into the sideline medical tent.

The Vikings had 34 yards in the third quarter, with Wentz going 0-for-4 with two interceptions. He should have had a third on the play his foot was stepped on, hitting linebacker Terrel Bernard in the numbers. Bernard dropped it.

Max Brosmer was warming up while Wentz was in the tent.

Wentz is only the fourth quarterback in the past 14 seasons with multiple interceptions and no completions in a quarter, via Josh Dubow of the Associated Press. Wentz joins Matthew Stafford against the Vikings in 2021; Zach Wilson against the Patriots in 2021; and Marcus Mariota against the Dolphins in 2018.

The Bills lead the Vikings 20-6 with 6:17 left in the fourth quarter.

So much for Carson Wentz stealing Kyler Murray’s job. The Vikings offense looks a lot like it has most of the season.

The Vikings are struggling to gain yards and score points Monday night against the Bills, who are struggling almost as much against the Minnesota defense.

Buffalo leads 10-6 at halftime.

The Vikings’ first four drives went three plays or less. Their first field goal — a 43-yard kick by Will Reichard — came on a four-play, 9-yard drive after a Bills’ punt out of their own end zone. Reichard added a 53-yarder with 5 seconds left in the half, completing a seven-play, 46-yard drive.

Two replay decisions went the Bills’ way in the first half: 1. Carson Wentz threw a lateral to Justin Jefferson that hit the ground and was covered by Bills defensive lineman Greg Rousseau at the Minnesota 44. Joe Brady challenged the on-field ruling of an incompletion, and replay reversed it to a fumble. The Bills got a 39-yard Tyler Bass field goal out of it. 2. Josh Allen was sacked by Andrew Van Ginkel at the Buffalo 2 and fumbled. Replay, though, showed Allen’s knee was on the ground before Van Ginkel knocked the ball loose.

The Bills outgained the Vikings 143 to 86 despite three sacks of Allen, who is 13-of-20 for 122 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

He threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Keleki Latu with 44 seconds left in the first half after rolling to his right to buy time. It was Latu’s first career touchdown.

Allen was 6-for-6 on the eight-play, 80-yard touchdown drive.

James Cook has 15 carries for only 33 yards.

Wentz is 7-of-17 for 75 yards, with Jefferson catching two for 39. Aaron Jones has three rushes for 10 yards.