The Minnesota Vikings fell to 6-1 on Sunday thanks to an ugly 19-15 loss to the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. It was only their first loss of the season, but the level of offensive ineptitude is starting to wear on fans and the team alike.

Neither offense found much rhythm for three quarters. Minnesota led 7-6 at halftime, Detroit took a 12-7 lead in the third quarter, and the Vikings went back in front 15-12 with 8:44 left on a touchdown and a two-point conversion.

Unfortunately, the Vikings’ stellar defense wasn’t able to hold Detroit’s high-powered offense back for all four quarters, at least not on the ground.

What We Learned From Hard-to-Watch Minnesota Vikings Loss vs. Lions

The Lions answered with the go-ahead touchdown, and Minnesota never even threatened a comeback.

When it was all said and done, the Detroit Lions (5-2) finished with 384 total yards to the Vikings’ 266, in yet another deflating performance from Kyler Murray.

There is plenty to sort through from the first loss of the year, but it all starts at quarterback.

Kyler Murray ain’t it… at least not yet

Kyler Murray completed 17 of 29 passes for 210 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He was sacked three times for 25 yards and ran four times for 35 yards.

Most of his production came on two drives. The first was a 74-yard drive that started late in the first quarter and ended with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson early in the second.

The second was an 84-yard drive in the fourth quarter. Murray hit Jordan Addison for 51 yards, found TJ Hockenson for an 8-yard touchdown and connected with Addison again on the two-point conversion for a 15-12 lead.

In between, the offense stalled. With 1:51 left in the first half, Murray threw short left for Addison, and D.J. Reed intercepted it at the Detroit 38. The Lions turned it into a 37-yard field goal at the end of the half.

In the third quarter, Murray was sacked twice in three plays by Alim McNeill and Jimmy Rolder, and that drive lost 12 yards. After Detroit retook the lead, his final drive went three plays for 5 yards and ended in a punt.

Murray entered Sunday 83-of-125 for 812 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. He is now 100-of-154 (64.9%) for 1,022 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions on the season.

Blame Kevin O’Connell (that’s coming) or Kyler Murray. Either way, if this quarterback doesn’t figure things out, it won’t matter what win total the MN Vikings get to during the regular season because they will be an early exit in the playoffs.

You can’t blame Justin Jefferson for being frustrated. This offense is downright maddening to watch on a weekly basis and has been for the better part of two seasons.

In fact, it was hard to watch this game and not wonder if Kirk Cousins could come in halfway through the season and run KOC’s offense more efficiently than Kyler Murray has in six games as the starter. If that is on O’Connell’s mind, then Nolan Teasley has a pretty big phone call to make with the Raiders this week.

Vikings defense dominates again… but gets tired late

The Detroit Lions came into Sunday’s matchup against the Vikings toting one of the most dangerous offenses in the NFL. They entered ranked second in both yards and points per game.

As we’ve seen from Brian Flores’ defense all season, moving the ball was difficult for the opposing team in the first half, and it never got better through the air, where Jared Goff finished 18-of-25 for 176 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The Vikings also sacked him four times.

Andrew Van Ginkel led the way with 2.5 sacks and three quarterback hits. Eric Wilson added a sack, two tackles for loss and 11 tackles, and Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins split a sack with Van Ginkel. Joshua Metellus led the team with 13 tackles.

James Pierre also picked off Goff early in the second quarter, and Detroit went 1-for-3 in the red zone and 5-of-13 on third down. And for one half, the run defense held up, as well.

Still, the Minnesota Vikings could not hold Jahmyr Gibbs down all day, especially late, after they’d been on the field most of the afternoon.

By the fourth quarter, the defense was a shell of itself, especially against the run, where it could not stop the Lions’ rushing attack long enough to get the offense back on the field (not that it would have mattered). And when Detroit smelled blood, they went back to the ground game over and over, and it worked.

After the Vikings took the lead, Detroit ran on five of seven plays on its go-ahead drive, including 9-yard runs by Gibbs on back-to-back snaps, before Goff found Jameson Williams for a 7-yard touchdown with 4:35 left.

On the final possession, Gibbs ran for 14 and 8 yards on the first two plays, and the Lions ran out the clock. When the dust settled, Jahmyr Gibbs finished with 153 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. The Lions, as a team, finished with 230 rushing yards on 39 attempts.

More questionable decisions by Kevin O’Connell

On the opening drive, facing 4th-and-7 at the Detroit 38, Kevin O’Connell sent Will Reichard out for a 57-yard field goal. It missed wide right, and the Lions took over at their own 47.

Maybe that played into his decision in the fourth quarter. With the Vikings trailing 12-7 and facing 4th-and-5 at the Detroit 25, O’Connell kept Reichard on the sideline, passing up the chance at a 43-yard field goal and a two-point deficit in exchange for a pass that fell incomplete and a turnover on downs.

Then, down 19-15 with 3:01 left, the Vikings faced 4th-and-5 at their own 33… and he chose to punt with all three timeouts in hand. Detroit took the ball at its own 17 and ran the ball down Minnesota’s throat while the Vikings burned all three timeouts for no reason other than to delay the inevitable.

After the game, not only are fans asking for a change at quarterback, but for a change at play-caller too. And you can’t blame them. At this point, trying something different certainly can’t hurt.