Kyler Murray Sounds Off on Vikings Offense Following Win

The Minnesota Vikings stayed unbeaten Sunday with a 23-16 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, relying on special teams, field goals and enough offense after losing Justin Jefferson to an ankle injury.

Kyler Murray completed 15 of 29 passes for 168 yards, one touchdown and one interception in his first full regular-season game with Minnesota. His passer rating was 66.5.Jefferson left in the first quarter after injuring his ankle and did not return. He finished with two receptions for 32 yards.

Jordan Addison became the primary target and caught five passes on nine targets for 90 yards, including a 41-yard touchdown from Murray in the second quarter.

Myles Price scored on an 86-yard punt return in the first quarter to give Minnesota a 10-0 lead. Will Reichard added field goals of 54, 56 and 43 yards.

The Vikings scored 10 points in the first quarter and seven in the second before managing only two field goals in the second half.

Minnesota finished with 230 total yards and nine first downs. Aaron Jones carried 17 times for 58 yards.

Tampa Bay gained 243 yards. Baker Mayfield completed 17 of 34 passes for 217 yards, one touchdown and one interception before leaving late with a thumb injury.

The Buccaneers dropped to 0-3 for the first time since 2014.

Murray acknowledged the offense was uneven after Jefferson exited.

“It’s only Week 3,” Murray said. “That was my first game, really, and again, like I said, 18 went down. I think we’re going to get better each and every week. I think that’s what our plan is.”

He said the team did not play its best but still left with a victory.

“Today we didn’t feel like we played our best game, but we’re leaving here with a win. It’s the NFL. We’re going to take those when we can. It’s not easy to win in this league, so we’re going to go back to work. We’ll get better.”

Murray was critical of his own throws and the unit’s timing.

“There were some throws I missed,” Murray said. “I felt, for my first game, first full game since October last year, I felt like I started to slow down for me. But at the end of the day, it just wasn’t offensively; we weren’t just on the same page.”

“It was a miss here, a miss there, a penalty here, a penalty there, and it just kind of piled up. But at the end of the day, we got the job done. Team effort, and we’re leaving here with a win.”

He noted the offense is built around Jefferson.

“Offense goes through 18, and then when he goes down, we’ve got to make adjustments on the fly,” Murray said. “But again, we did enough to win the game. Obviously, it wasn’t perfect by any means. I think everybody offensively knows that we got to be better, but at the end of the day, we’re 3-0.”

The Vikings are 3-0 for the second time in three seasons and host the 0-3 Miami Dolphins next week.

Minnesota was flagged nine times for 95 yards. Time of possession was nearly even.

The defense and kicking game covered for an offense that produced just 78 rushing yards and struggled after Jefferson’s departure.

Murray said the team will treat the result as a starting point rather than a finished product.

“We just beat a really good team despite what their record is on the road. And we’re going to be happy about winning this game, but obviously, we got to go back to work and get better.”