The start of the 2025 NFL season has brought a ton of surprises to the Minnesota Vikings, and not the good kind. The season has been blurred by a series of injuries, penalties, and missed tackles. Several key players have already missed substantial playing time, especially their woefully decimated offensive line.

For a well-coached Kevin O’Connell team, the Vikings have been whistled for an inordinate number of penalties, including a couple of key ones in Sunday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. And their vaunted defense has sprung a huge leak in its pass coverage. So many things to work on leading up to Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns in London.

Vikings M*A*S*H* Unit

Counting the Vikings’ injuries this season is almost more difficult than counting which players have remained healthy, without missing any game action. The list of players missing significant time this year includes.

• Jordan Addison, WR, Suspension
• C.J. Ham, FB, Knee
• Harrison Smith, S, Illness
• Christian Darrisaw, T, Knee
• Aaron Jones, RB, Hamstring
• Blake Cashman LB, Hamstring
• Ryan Kelly C, Toe
• Jeff Okudah, CB, Concussion
• Andrew Van Ginkel, Edge, Concussion, Neck
• J.J. McCarthy, QB, Ankle
• Donovan Jackson, G, Wrist
• Brian O’Neill, T, Knee

These injuries have all been serious blows to the team, but the most glaring absences have occurred in the middle of the defense (which I will touch on in a moment) and the offensive line. For much of last week’s game against the Steelers, the Vikings were without the services of three of their starting offensive linemen (Jackson, Kelly, and O’Neill). And of course, the loss of their starting QB (McCarthy) after he missed all last season recovering from a knee injury further delays his progression as a starting NFL signal caller.

Where Did These Penalties Come From?

In 20252, the Vikings are the 2nd most penalized team in the NFL, only trailing the Jacksonville Jaguars. This is unwelcome territory for an O’Connell-coached team, as their previous ranks were 25, 23, and 17 during his tenure. Over those years, they have averaged 96 penalties a season. Their 2025 total after four games: 37. Breaking down these penalties by infraction gives us a further window into the team’s problems.

The top five specific penalties committed by the Vikings this season breaks down like this.

• False Start: 8
• Offensive Holding: 5
• Delay of Game: 4
• Unnecessary Roughness: 3
• Illegal Contact: 3
• Illegal Formation 3

Even a casual observer could deduce that the majority of the penalties that Minnesota has accrued have been on the offensive side of the ball. And these four infractions (false start, offensive holding, delay of game, and illegal formation) suggest a unit in disarray that has experienced significant turnover in personnel, including several players deployed at positions that they are unfamiliar with.

A Hole in Their Coverage

The Vikings have been beat continually this season by short passes over the middle, and the absence of key defensive personnel has been particularly conspicuous in this area. The key missing component in this area is inside linebacker Blake Cashman. Cashman covers this area with great skill and quickness, and neither Ivan Pace Jr. nor his replacement, Eric Wilson, is in the same league as him in terms of their coverage skills.

Another critical missing piece is edge Andrew Van Ginkel. Van Ginkel, Cashman, and safety Josh Metellus are Vikings’ defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ “Swiss Army Knives,” and he deploys them all over the field in defending the run and the pass. And sadly, future Hall of Famer safety Harrison Smith is in the final stages of his illustrious NFL career. His coverage skills have declined in the past three seasons, and after missing the first two games of 2025 with a mysterious illness, he is only participating in 17-20 plays per game.

Summary

The Vikings have to hope that the majority of the players who are sitting out with injuries return without much delay. After they return from London and rest and heal during their bye week, the toughest part of their schedule awaits them. The four games following their bye week are against the Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Chargers, Detroit Lions, and Baltimore Ravens. If most of Minnesota’s key players are not healthy by this time, it will be a long and gloomy season for Vikings fans.