Despite a 27-24 overtime loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell appears to have found a solution for his quarterback situation.
On December 16, following a heartbreaking defeat in which the Bengals scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to force overtime, O’Connell tipped his cap to starting quarterback Nick Mullens, who overcame two interceptions in the first half to throw for 303 yards and two touchdowns.
When O’Connell was asked if it’s safe to assume that Mullens will start in a crucial Week 16 matchup against the Green Bay Packers, he praised Mullens during his postgame news conference.
After responding in the affirmative, O’Connell pulled back with a more composed answer. “Yes, I would. We’ll assess later, but he accomplished a lot today,” O’Connell responded. “I enjoyed how both of our runs felt
of our pass and run games, as well as how well they were coordinating.”
With the exception of the two errors in the first half, Mullens did a good job of advancing Minnesota’s offense. The Vikings’ offensive output on Saturday was 424 yards, which was the highest since Kirk Cousins’ 358-yard touchdown pass in a Week 7 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
O’Connell designed a game with Mullens starting at quarterback that was more suited to the offense that was developed for Cousins during the offseason. Ty Chandler, a second-year back, had more opportunities to run as a result. In his first career start, Chandler gained 132 rushing yards and a touchdown.
“I believe the most important thing is that Nick demonstrated his ability to lead our offense and effectively move the football team, In the end, we just didn’t do enough.
