The Minnesota Vikings’ great start to the 2026 season has largely been built on a dominant defense, but as we head toward the Week 6 bye, the Vikings offense has grown enough to spark optimism for the rest of the season.
Vikings Offense Shows Enough Growth to Breed Optimism
A lot has been said about the Vikings offense but despite injuries to a host of key players at different times they have repeatedly done enough to make sure the Vikings don’t lose.
Having to cope with the absence of Kyler Murray, Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Christian Darrisaw, Donovan Jackson, TJ Hockenson, Josh Oliver, and Jordan Mason should not be brushed over. That is a comprehensive list of injuries just five games into a season.
It was likely that the Vikings offense and their new quarterback were going to take time to gel anyway.
All of those injuries haven’t healed but there have been real signs of progress over the last game and a half, with the win in New Orleans the best outing so far by Kevin O’Connell’s unit. A returning Jefferson helped, with his touchdown catch and one incredible sideline catch being plays that very few can pull off. Aaron Jones continued to carry the rushing attack on his back going over 100 rushing yards for the second time this season and scoring his second touchdown.
Murray Plays Well in New Orleans
Minnesota was a comfortable winner at 23-13 but could and really should have been an even bigger margin of victory.
Two red zone turnovers from the offense (one of which was returned for a Saints touchdown) swung the game from potentially being a 37-7 win (29-7 if held to field goals) into one that was a lot closer. That’s how dominant Minnesota was. Murray wasn’t at fault for either turnover with both being fumbles by Jones and Myles Price.
Murray completed 24 of 30 passes for 229 yards and a touchdown. An impressive 80% completion rate without any turnovers is exactly what the team needs to back up the defense.
We also got to see more of the elusiveness that Murray is famous for, extending plays in the passing game and also allowing him to rush for 51 yards on 10 attempts. With this performance as a baseline, the Vikings will be competitive against anyone; if Murray and the Vikings offense can continue to get better then the sky is the limit.
There are some games against some powerful offenses coming up, notably Detroit, Buffalo, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Carolina. There is still more growth to be had from the Vikings offense for me to be fully confident that the team can take down all of those teams. Some returning faces after the bye will help with that.
The Vikings offense isn’t exactly where it needs to be yet but there should be optimism that it can be. Combined with a 5-0 record, that potential is a nice spot to be moving into the bye.