Every team in the NFL knows that there are a variety of ways to win.
As for winning without scoring a touchdown? The Minnesota Vikings would prefer to avoid having to pull off that trick for a second week in a row.
Minnesota (7-2) will look to wake up its offense when it visits the Tennessee Titans (2-7) on Sunday afternoon in Nashville. The Vikings are coming off a 12-7 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in which all of their scoring consisted of four field goals.
Sam Darnold did not help matters at quarterback as he threw a pair of interceptions in the Jaguars end zone. Darnold has six turnovers in his past two games.
Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell wants Darnold and the rest of the offense to take better care of the ball this weekend at Tennessee.
“We’re doing a lot of little things that normally lead to having good chances to win,” O’Connell said. “But clearly the turnovers are keeping these games very close and relying on other aspects of our team to overcome for that. We need to score points. We need to finish these drives.
“What you can’t have is turnovers in the opposing team’s end. You’re limiting your opportunity to add three, seven, three, seven. Those things add up with the way our defense has played the last couple weeks. So, we’ve got to do a better job collectively as a group — myself, our staff, and then our players and clearly Sam.”
Meanwhile, look for Tennessee to focus on takeaways as it looks to bounce back from a loss last week against the Los Angeles Chargers. The Titans have lost four of their past five contests, and they are 1-3 on their home field entering the weekend.
Titans quarterback Will Levis is expected to make his second straight start since returning from a shoulder injury. He has a modest 79.6 passer rating this season while throwing for 874 yards, seven touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Will the remaining eight games in the regular season be enough for Titans coach Brian Callahan and his staff to determine whether Levis is the franchise quarterback going forward?
“It’s hard to put a timeline on that,” Callahan said this week. “For me, I’m looking for things every game, every practice. If he improves the play that he had last week, we’re all going to feel really good about how he’s played the position through two games back (from injury). We’re just going to keep stacking those games.”
Tony Pollard leads the Titans with 666 rushing yards and three touchdowns but has been hindered by a foot injury. Calvin Ridley is the team’s No. 1 wide receiver with 32 catches for 483 yards and three scores.
The Vikings also are banged up in the backfield as Aaron Jones was limited in practice to start the week because of a rib injury. Jones has rushed for 653 yards and two touchdowns this season.
Justin Jefferson has a team-high 53 catches for 831 yards and five touchdowns in the first nine games of the season. He is looking to bounce back from a season-low of 48 receiving yards against Jacksonville last week.
This is the first matchup between the teams since Sept. 27, 2020, when the Titans earned a 31-30 win. This will be the Vikings’ first regular-season game in Nashville since 2016, when they beat the Titans 25-16.
