Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell says the quiet part out loud after his teams embarrassing performance against the Chargers Thursday night

Kevin O’Connell was honest and blunt about Thursday night’s embarrassing performance.

Tyler Forness — NFL & College Football News Writer
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Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell speaks to the media after a 34-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday, October 23rd.
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You don’t often get Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell incredibly honest and forthright in the press conferences, but he certainly was on Thursday night after they lost 34-10 to the Los Angeles Chargers.

He started out his press conference by admitting what we all knew after watching the game: O’Connell didn’t have the Vikings ready to play.

“We got outplayed. We got outcoached. There are no excuses. Injuries short week, whatever it is that is not in any way, shape or form, our standard of what we want to put on the field,” said O’Connell. “This is not a bury the tape kind of time for our organization. This is a watch it, view it, own it. Every coach, every player, and it starts with me. I did not have our team prepared to play.”

Kevin O’Connell admits the Vikings weren’t ready to play

This is as honest as you’ll see O’Connell during a press conference. He also mentioned one of his tentpole elements of dealing with a loss: don’t look for excuses.

“I believe in our players wholeheartedly. I believe in every opportunity we have, we go out there and put our best foot forward, both on the practice field and every opportunity we have as a team,” said O’Connell. “I think we’ll be able to get healthy in some spots here that are critical for our ability to have success, but once again, in injuries and any other excuse, if you go looking for them, you’ll find them. We will not be doing that. We’re going to meet this head on as an organization, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

There were a multitude of injuries, but the Vikings have found a way before to navigate those throughout the season, winning three games despite missing at least one member of the offensive line. They drove down with four missing against the Cleveland Browns in Week 5 and got the win. Yes, it’s frustrating to have that kind of performance on national television, but injuries happen to every team. You have to find a way to navigate through the injuries and overcome.

The good news for the Vikings is the season isn’t over. There are still 10 games left, and the Vikings now have a mini bye to figure out how they are going to go forward. The straightforward answer from O’Connell is really nice to hear, but this needs to be fixed and fast. There can’t be another performance like this, especially on a national stage.

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