Minnesota Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz did not take advantage of the opportunity presented to him against the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football, to say the least. The signal caller looked more like a quarterback playing in his first organized football game than a guy making his 101st NFL start.
Wentz was handed the keys to the Vikings’ offense after the team announced that Kyler Murray was dealing with a hamstring injury that head coach Kevin O’Connell described as a “week-to-week kind of thing.” While the Vikings posted a 5-1 record with Murray under center early in the season, he’s thrown five touchdowns and three interceptions, and the Vikings have leaned heavily on their defense to get the job done.
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The hamstring, coupled with inconsistencies, led to a soft benching of Murray, opening the door for Wentz against the Bills. Instead of running through the open door frame, Wentz essentially walked up to it, shut the door, and sprinted directly into it.
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The 33-year-old finished the contest against Buffalo completing eight of his 25 pass attempts for just 81 yards in what was a 23-6 loss at home. He also managed to throw two interceptions.
When your interception total is one-quarter of your completed passes total, things are bad, very bad.
Wentz finished the contest with a passer rating of 8.9, which is the lowest by any player with at least 25 pass attempts since Sam Darnold posted a 3.6 passer rating against the New England Patriots in 2019, according to ESPN.
ESPN broadcaster Troy Aikman was even left bewildered at how the Vikings’ offense has performed since Sam Darnold departed for the Seattle Seahawks.
“Just think how prolific this offense was a couple of years ago in 2024,” he said. “I know the last couple of games, the Week 18 game, with Sam Darnold wasn’t great. They finish out 14-3. Because they lose that game to Detroit, they gotta go play in the wild card game. Doesn’t go well in L.A., they lose that game, but this was a prolific offense and they’ve been a shell of themselves ever since.”
Maybe the most alarming statistic from the disaster is that Wentz completed just 36% of his pass attempts when he was not pressured, which is the worst mark of the current NFL season.
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It’s also worth pointing out that Wentz’s disaster came against a bad Bills pass defense, with Buffalo allowing the fourth-most passing yards in the league per game at 238.8 yards per contest.
If the Vikings turn to Wentz again this upcoming Sunday, things may get even uglier on a trip to Green Bay to take on a Packers defense that is far more disruptive than what he saw against the Bills.