For five weeks, Kevin O'Connell's postgame press conferences were all smiles after Vikings victories, even if he cautioned that the team still had things to improve upon. Late on Thursday night, he stood in front of reporters and cameras after a loss for the second time in five days, bemoaning self-inflicted wounds and preaching a need to be better, while also using the platform to express how much belief he still has in his group.
"We just gotta find a way as a team, across the board, to play better," O'Connell said after the Vikings' 30-20 loss to the Rams at SoFi Stadium. "Not gonna make any kind of excuses about the short week, about penalties or anything like that. We'll get back to work. We're a 5-2 football team with a lot of football out in front of us. We need to work. We need to improve, we need to get back to doing some of the things that helped us get to this point of 5-2 before these last two games. And we will do that. I have a lot of trust and confidence in my coaching staff and a ton of confidence that we've got the right guys in that locker room, both talent and the makeup of our football team."
Not a lot went right for the Vikings in their first primetime game of the season. The offense cruised down the field for touchdowns on its first two possessions of the game, but then dried up with just six points after the first quarter. The run game was inefficient, the Vikings settled for two short field goals in the red zone, and Sam Darnold was sacked three times in key spots (although the last one very clearly shouldn't have counted).
Less than a week after O'Connell lamented the Vikings' "self-inflicteds" on offense, they had two false starts, two illegal formation penalties that were declined, and a critical drop by Jalen Nailor in the red zone.
"Field goals aren't enough, especially in a game like that versus an offense like that," he said. "We’ve gotta continue to find ways to just consistently get all 11 guys on the offense doing their job. That's out of the huddle, that's how we articulate the plays, that's how we're breaking the huddle with a total command of the system.
"In a game like this, do not want to have things that we are doing to cause us to not be able to capture the momentum, just with our execution, because when the execution whistle to whistle happens, we're a pretty darn good offense. We just have to do a little bit more, make a few more clean play calls, clean execution, get lined up, know what to do, and go do it."
5 things that stood out in Vikings' loss to the Rams on Thursday Night Football
A knee injury to star left tackle Christian Darrisaw is also a significant concern. He'll have an MRI on Friday, and O'Connell said the Vikings are "keeping our fingers crossed that we get some positive news."
The bigger issue in this loss was the Vikings' defense, which was torched for four touchdowns and nearly 400 yards once again. The Rams followed the Lions' blueprint of running the ball effectively and finding open receivers in the intermediate windows over the middle of the field.
Brian Flores' defense, which had been so dominant in the team's 5-0 start, offered minimal resistance. The pass rush was nonexistent and the cornerback play was shaky, which is a dangerous combination. The defensive tackles weren't impactful. The absence of No. 1 linebacker Blake Cashman continues to be felt, as Ivan Pace Jr. looked overmatched in an every-down role against the Rams' offense. Six of the Vikings' nine accepted penalties were on the defense, including three that negated defensive stops on third downs.
That side of the ball has some soul-searching to do over the Vikings' mini-bye.
"When you're playing against that quarterback, those receivers getting healthy and getting out there and making some plays for him, I just think it comes down to can we get enough rush and coverage working together to maybe not give a quarterback like that a couple extra clicks," O'Connell said. "We gotta tighten up and try to get off the field."
The Vikings have been punched in the mouth a couple times during this difficult stretch, dropping from 5-0 to 5-2 in a five-day span. It's been a bit of a rude awakening for a team that was cruising before its bye week. But O'Connell's closing message was that a couple tough results will not define this team, which still has ten regular season games to respond. He still believes this is a special group.
"We've, as a football team, had a lot of success this year and it's been a tough four days for us," O'Connell said. "That will not define us. It will not be the story of this season because we hold the pen. And what are we gonna do with it? Are we gonna work? Am I going to be the same consistent guy just pushing this team even more, demanding the discipline to be our difference moving forward? I know I got the right team in there. I got the right coaches. Incredibly fortunate to have the group that I do. It did not go our way tonight, which is incredibly unfortunate considering (the) tough loss on Sunday and then come right back, and your season looks a little different.
"The narratives and all those things mean absolutely nothing because they never did," he said. "It's about work. It's about this team coming together, this coaching staff and players is the most tight-knit group I've ever been around. I love our team. I love everything about getting to be the head coach of this team every day. I've gotta make sure I'm pushing us to reach our truest potential as a team this year because I believe that is a special thing. And I believe that now more than ever."
