Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell Hints Final Decision at QB

Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell‘s quarterback predicament seems settled despite a 27-24 overtime loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

After a devastating loss where the Bengals scored 21 fourth-quarter points to force overtime on December 16, O’Connell tipped his cap to starter Nick Mullens, who recovered from a pair of first-half interceptions to throw for 303 yards and two touchdowns.

In his postgame news conference, O’Connell praised Mullens and was asked if it’s safe to assume Mullens will start in a pivotal Week 16 matchup with the Green Bay Packers.

O’Connell reacted affirmatively before reeling himself in with a more measured response.

“Yeah I would—We’ll evaluate then, but he did a lot of good things today, ” O’Connell said. “I liked the feel of both our run game and pass game, and how (they were) working together.”

Aside from the two turnovers in the first half, Mullens was effective in moving Minnesota’s offense. The Vikings gained 424 yards of offense on Saturday, the most since Kirk Cousins threw for 358 yards in a Week 7 win over the San Francisco 49ers.

With Mullens under center, O’Connell planned a game that was more fitting to the offense that was built for Cousins in the offseason. That opened up the running game for second-year back Ty Chandler, who tallied 132 rushing yards and a touchdown in his first career start.

“I think the biggest thing is Nick showed that he can execute our offense and really move the football team,” O’Connell said. “I thought Nick Mullens played well enough to give us a chance to go to overtime on the road and win a game as a team. We just didn’t do enough in the end.”