Carson Wentz did not look for excuses after the worst night of the Vikings’ season. Starting in place of the injured Kyler Murray, the 33-year-old completed 8 of 25 passes for 81 yards with two interceptions and a lost fumble in Monday night’s 23-6 loss to the Buffalo Bills at U.S. Bank Stadium, and he was pulled for Max Brosmer on the final drive.
“Just wasn’t good enough, honestly,” Wentz said at his locker. “I’m trying to process it a little bit here.” Later, asked about the weight of playing with one of the league’s best defenses, he went further: “As the guy pulling the trigger tonight, I feel terrible. Feel a pit in my stomach that I let those guys down.”
“That’s why it kind of feels weird right now”
Wentz said the problem was not the week of preparation. “Practice was great all week. The game plan was great,” he said. “Felt confident with the game plan, everything.” He said the crowd was not a factor either: “The building was rocking. What better atmosphere can you ask for, Monday night here? And to go kind of lay an egg, personally.” He blamed early mistakes, saying he needed to “hit some of the easy stuff early” and avoid “some of those dumb mistakes,” and that “maybe it’s a different ball game.”
Asked whether more runs would have helped, after Kevin O’Connell said he should have called more of them, Wentz did not take the opening. “Who knows? You can play the what-if game all day long,” he said. “I had opportunities, didn’t make them.” Asked if he could remember a game like it, he said he had not had many starts in recent years, “but this one felt pretty terrible, I’m not going to lie. This one wasn’t my favorite, that’s for sure.”
On the backward pass and the two interceptions
The night started badly on Minnesota’s first snap. A short throw toward Justin Jefferson was ruled incomplete on the field, but the Bills challenged, replay ruled it a backward pass, and Greg Rousseau recovered. “I just threw it a little high,” Wentz said. “I honestly didn’t think twice that it was backwards.” He called it frustrating, “especially after a big play by the defense there,” because Byron Murphy Jr. had just intercepted Josh Allen. “That’s the stuff that can’t happen.”
O’Connell said the play had not gone backward once in practice all week, and that the staff had moved the throw away from the center to make sure it went forward. “Just threw one high and hot,” the coach said. “The issues right now is our preparation is not coming to the stadium with us.”
Wentz broke down both interceptions, which came on consecutive series in the third quarter. On the first, a seam throw to T.J. Hockenson that linebacker Dorian Williams picked off, he said Minnesota got the matchup it wanted. “I thought the guy was in decent coverage, but, you know, throw a better ball and TJ makes that play,” he said. “I just got to get it out there for him.” On the second, to linebacker Terrel Bernard: “To be honest, forced it. Forced it, trying to make a play. I saw a window there, guy reacted into it.”
He also brushed off a moment when his throwing hand hit a helmet. “It’s fine. Hand’s fine,” he said. “I don’t really know. Kind of frustrated by it, not going to lie.” O’Connell said Wentz was evaluated for an ankle injury, had it taped and was cleared to return, and that he had not heard of any problem with the hand.
O’Connell: “Put tonight 100% on me”
O’Connell opened his news conference by taking the blame and said the Vikings “never got Carson in a rhythm.” He said he tried quick throws and other early-down calls to settle his quarterback, and thought it was finally happening on the two-minute drive before halftime, “we just couldn’t carry it over.” He said the Vikings have cut back the volume of the game plan and will now “really evaluate what gives our team the best chance to win.”
Minnesota went 0 for 8 on third down and finished with 178 yards. Wentz completed 1 of 8 passes after halftime, while Brosmer went 6 of 7 for 58 yards on the last drive. Asked what he will do if Murray, who has a hamstring strain, cannot play Sunday at Green Bay, O’Connell said the team would first “see where Kyler’s at” and then decide what “gives us the best chance to win and go on the road and try to get our seventh win.”
Asked whether the Vikings would look for a quarterback before Tuesday’s trade deadline, he said: “I’ll defer to Nolan on that,” meaning general manager Nolan Teasley. “We’ve had dialogue about a lot of different positions,” he added, and the team would “get right to work on any potential moves that can be there.”
Jefferson: “The offense at this very moment is kind of holding this team back”
Jefferson, who caught three passes for 58 yards on 11 targets, said the defense did “a phenomenal job once again” and the offense did not. “We just got to figure it out,” he said several times. Asked about his confidence in the quarterbacks on the roster, he said: “I always said it doesn’t really matter who’s throwing the ball, as long as it gets to us.” He called it “an all-11 thing,” not just the quarterback, the line or the receivers.
Asked whether the answer was a trade before the deadline, Jefferson said that was the front office’s call. “My job is to continue to get open, continue to be the leader of the team,” he said. He added that the Vikings need to “simplify it and make it easier for everybody,” and that “the offense at this very moment is kind of holding this team back.”
Wentz said the way out is simple to say. “Go back to work,” he said. “We have an incredible defense, so we’re going to be in every game. We all got to take ownership. I got to take ownership.” The Vikings are 6-2 but have lost two straight, and they visit the Packers on Sunday, November 15. Our game recap has the full story of the night.
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