The Minnesota Vikings are fresh off their first loss of the season last week in Detroit, where we watched their quarterback play what is probably one of the worst games of his NFL career.

Now 6-1, the Vikings are looking to rebound on Monday Night Football (with the whole world watching) at U.S. Bank Stadium against arguably the best team in the NFL, the Buffalo Bills.

But who will be playing quarterback? That was the question entering the week. Kyler Murray, who was diagnosed with a hamstring injury after the loss in Detroit, has now started six games and has yet to prove he’s capable of operating the offense or passing to receivers open over the middle of the field.

We know Carson Wentz can operate the offense, but it doesn’t always look smooth and he loves taking big hits so nobody is sure how many games he can even last, if given an unlimited runway as starter.

On Monday, O’Connell confirmed what he told reporters immediately after the game, that Murray is the starter if healthy. However by Thursday morning it had apparently become clear to the Vikings that Kyler’s hamstring was not going to be ready by Monday.

Minnesota Vikings name Carson Wentz the starter

Thus, Carson Wentz has been named the starter for Week 9 against the Bills. O’Connell made it official at his press conference on Wednesday at TCO Performance Center in Eagan. Max Brosmer will back Wentz’s up.

KOC’s announcement this afternoon made official what insiders expected earlier Thursday, when both Tom Pelissero and Adam Schefter said in separate interviews that they were leaning toward Wentz starting Week 9.

O’Connell went on to explain to reporters that, after evaluating Murray on Monday and getting imaging, the medical staff determined the 29-year-old quarterback has a hamstring strain. While he’s already been ruled out for Monday, the head coach does not believe Murray’s injury will be more than a week-to-week kind of thing.

Because of Murray’s movement skills and the way he plays the game, O’Connell said trying to have him work through it early could turn this into a more significant injury. He pointed to another plus-20-yard gain against Detroit, where Murray ran four times for 35 yards with a long of 22.

When Kyler Murray’s hamstring strain happened

Asked if the injury happened on the 4th-and-5, O’Connell said no. He recalled Murray telling him he felt it after he turned the corner on Aidan Hutchinson on one of the zone-read runs. O’Connell would not discuss the grade of the injury but said that injured reserve is not under consideration.

The Vikings will take it a week at a time and give Murray this week. O’Connell said he will start the progression pretty early, hopefully next week, and they will see how he feels. Injured reserve “is not under consideration at all.” O’Connell said knowing they avoided a major injury was a big deal, and that Murray will stay involved in installs and meetings.

Kevin O’Connell confident in Carson Wentz

O’Connell said there is “a ton of confidence” in Wentz and called him “a steadying presence” and a guy they know can go in and play good football.

In the Week 1 win over Green Bay, Wentz came on in relief and completed 12 of 19 passes for 133 yards and three touchdowns, with no interceptions. Murray started that game and left after a concussion on the 11th play.

The next week at Chicago, Wentz started and completed 11 of 20 passes for 143 yards in a 9-3 win. O’Connell said Wentz is “going to throw a lot of completions, he’s going to put the ball in play,” and that he has “such a high, high understanding” of the offense.

“He’s got 100 games of experience,” O’Connell said. “He’s the perfect guy in a moment where you can’t have Kyler out there at full strength.”