A Stubborn Minnesota Vikings Fact that Needs to Change in 2026

At no point have the Minnesota Vikings been good at running the ball with Kevin O’Connell as the head coach. Someday, that needs to change if the team is going to arrive at meaningful success.

Coach O’Connell (and the team more broadly) has enough talent to successfully push his squad through the regular season. Think double-digit wins and a ticket into the playoffs. Once there, though, O’Connell hasn’t yet been able to break through. At least part of the reason why has been due to losing the line of scrimmage, in no small part due to being so one dimensional.

A Stubborn Minnesota Vikings Fact

Check out the Vikings’ ranking for total rushing yardage since 2022 when O’Connell took over:

• 2022: 1,661 Yards (t-27th)
• 2023: 1,533 Yards (29th)
• 2024: 1,855 Yards (t-19th)
• 2025: 1,841 Yards (23rd)

In those seasons, the Minnesota Vikings have leaned on Dalvin Cook, Alexander Mattison, and Aaron Jones as the top runners (alongside a smattering of Cam Akers, Ty Chandler, Jordan Mason, and some others). Good players but nobody who could be said to be elite even if Cook and Jones had been terrific talents earlier in their careers. A talent deficit at running back — if we can even call it that — can only explain so much.

Obviously, the modern NFL is a passing league. Employing a former NFL quarterback who came over from the Los Angeles Rams always meant pivoting toward the pass, especially since the Vikings were coming off a Mike Zimmer approach that many had deemed stale.

Oh, and then there’s that Justin Jefferson guy. Feeding the historic WR1 makes a pile of sense.

What’s nevertheless true is that all of that passing should make it easier to find running lanes. Gone are the days of eight-man boxes in an effort to hang with Adrian Peterson. Instead, teams are commonly found hanging out with a pair of deep safeties trying to keep a roof on things.

There’s a case to be made, then, that what’s needed out of the Vikings is some commitment to gaining ground on the ground. All of the ingredients are there. Minnesota boasts an athletic, versatile fullback to fit within a three-deep cluster of runners in Jones, Mason, and Demond Claiborne.

So, too, is the offensive line formidable. Now healthy, the front five — LT Christian Darrisaw, LG Donovan Jackson, C Blake Brandel, RG Will Fries, and RT Brian O’Neill — can be a ton to corral. Let those guys fire off the ball rather than needing to always be back on their heels in pass pro. The large lads like that sort of thing.

Moreover, the quarterback is going to benefit from a potent rushing attack.

Kyler Murray has battled injury in his career. So has QB2 J.J. McCarthy and QB3 Carson Wentz. Putting the ball in a runner’s hands means less high-speed collisions on the passers.

Even better, getting into situations like a 3rd & 3 means ensuring the defense can’t pin their ears back in the same way as when it’s 3rd & 9. Can running the ball create those uncertain moments for the defense?

The early moments in the Vikings at Giants game featured some really nice work when leaning on Jones and Mason. The Minnesota Vikings would be wise to continue leaning on that approach.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.