The Vikings have a fumbling problem.
Minnesota entered Sunday’s game with seven fumbles lost in the first four weeks. And as if on cue, the team lost another on the first play from scrimmage when tight end Josh Oliver fumbled at the end of a 15-yard reception.
Kansas City recovered the loose ball and scored a touchdown off of it to put Minnesota in an early 7-0 hole.
“Nobody is more crushed than Josh over that play,” head coach Kevin O’Connell said postgame. “I just wanted to make sure he was good to go for the rest of the day to be able to continue to be his normal self.
“We will continue to emphasize ball security. I thought there could have been a little bit more of an offhand cover there in traffic and that’s what we emphasize, what we’re coaching. But clearly, it’s going to be something that even if you just have one, even on the first play of the game, you look up there at the end and you just wonder, what if — knowing the kind of rhythm we had on offense there in the first half to at least drive and potentially get points every time we had it.”
The Vikings have a league-high eight fumbles lost so far this season. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that this was the first game in 2023 in which Minnesota didn’t commit multiple giveaways.
Now at 1-4, the Vikings will try to get their turnover problem solved with a clean game against the division-rival Bears next week.
