The Minnesota Vikings failed to win the 2023 home opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, losing 20-17. 

The team could not get out of its own way against the Bucs, committing three turnovers and forcing none. The Vikings failed to get the run game established and didn't make enough big plays. 

The Vikings will now have a quick turnaround as the team will play on Thursday Night Football this week against the Philadelphia Eagles. Let's go ahead and discuss our three takeaways from this game. 

The run game has to be better 

With Dalvin Cook no longer on the team, Alexander Mattison has to step up. Unfortunately, that didn't happen in Week 1. The RB finished the game with just 34 yards on 11 carries. 

Ty Chandler received three carries but ended with zero yards. 

It's safe to say that this will not be sustainable. I thought the Vikes would still be able to run efficiently with CJ Ham blocking, but it just wasn't there today. 

It's hard to win when you lose the turnover battle

The Vikings turned the ball over three times on Sunday and the Bucs turned it over none. It's hard to win in that scenario, no matter how much talent you have. 

Sloppy play is expected in Week One, but you'd expect a veteran like Kirk Cousins to need less time to get adjusted. Yes, Cousins ended up with 344 yards, but his two fumbles are inexcusable. 

Baker Mayfield is known to commit a turnover or two, so it's surprising that the Vikings were unable to force a single one. The young defense will only have tougher tests from here on. 

The offensive line might be a problem again

It's hard not to overreact after one bad performance, but this game was not encouraging for the o-line. The line only allowed two sacks, but that doesn't paint a full picture of the poor performance. 

The line got zero push in the run game. Sure, the Bucs have an impressive defensive front, but the Vikings shouldn't have been bullied up front all day like they were. Even when Cousins wasn't getting hit, he was almost always under pressure. 

I wonder if this performance will be enough for the Vikings' brass to reach back out to Dalton Risner. 

Vikings rookie scores first touchdown on big play

The Vikings rookie did not wait long to get his first score.

Featured image via © Brad Rempel | 2023 Sep 10