Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell: 'All Options are on the Table' for QB for Week 18
January 1, 2024
Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell suggested Sunday night that all healthy and active quarterbacks will be considered for the starting spot in the team's regular-season finale against the Detroit Lions next weekend.
According to Pro Football Talk's Josh Alper, O'Connell left his options open after Sunday night's 33-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers, saying: "The decision we'll make will be based upon that position putting our group in a place to try to move the football and have success. We did not do that tonight. We'll look at it, all options are on the table."
Since Kirk Cousins suffered a season-ending torn Achilles in Week 8, Joshua Dobbs, Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall have all started multiple games at quarterback for the Vikes, who are clinging to slim playoff hopes entering Week 18.
Mullens started back-to-back games in Weeks 15 and 16, and while he threw for 714 yards and four touchdowns in those contests, and he was also intercepted six times, and Minnesota lost both of them.
As a result, O'Connell decided to go with Hall in a pivotal Week 17 home game against the Packers.
Hall, who is a rookie fifth-round pick, started Minnesota's first game after Cousins tore his Achilles, but he suffered a concussion during the game and was replaced by Dobbs, who led the Vikes to a come-from-behind win over the Atlanta Falcons and then started the next four games.
Both Minnesota and Green Bay entered Sunday night with a 7-8 record, and either team could have put themselves in position to reach the playoffs with a victory in each of the final two weeks.
The decision to start Hall was a controversial one, and it didn't go in O'Connell's favor, as the rookie went just 5-of-10 for 67 yards with no touchdowns and one interception before getting replaced by Mullens at the start of the second half.
Green Bay led 23-3 at halftime and extended the lead to 30-3 late in the third quarter, and Minnesota never posed a true threat.
Now, the Packers can clinch a playoff spot with a win over the Chicago Bears next week. Things are far more complicated for the Vikings.
Minnesota needs to not only win a road game against the Lions, but it also needs the Packers to lose to the Bears, the New Orleans Saints to lose to the Atlanta Falcons and the Seattle Seahawks to lose to the Arizona Cardinals.
The odds are stacked against the Vikings, but the one thing they can control is playing well and beating the Lions.
All of the three quarterbacks available to the Vikings have positives and negatives, but since they have all had turnover issues, Mullens may be the best choice, as he seems to have the best grasp on how to run and move the offense down the field.