It’s gotten so bad for the Vikings lately that head coach Kevin O’Connell can no longer deny the reality.

O’Connell has been forced to look himself in the mirror over the past couple of weeks and come to terms with a simple fact — Minnesota has a bad offense in its current form.

After seemingly hitting rock bottom in a 23-6 loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Vikings somehow found a way to keep digging deeper in a 26-0 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. The only points the Vikings have scored in that span have come via a pair of lengthy field goals from kicker Will Reichard. They haven’t found the end zone since quarterback J.J. McCarthy threw a touchdown pass in the final minute of a 19-17 loss to the Chicago Bears three games ago.

The inability to push the ball down the field has been the biggest issue, whether it’s been McCarthy, veteran quarterback Carson Wentz, or rookie quarterback Max Brosmer starting under center.

“Obviously, our pass game has never really existed in a place where it wasn’t a Top-10 caliber in the league kind of pass game,” O’Connell said. “We are not that right now in any way, shape, or form.”

That has become very clear over the past couple of weeks, in particular, as the losses to the Packers and the Seahawks featured virtually no takeaways for the Vikings to feel good about as they walked off the field.

A deep dive into the numbers helps contextualize how historically bad this recent stretch has been for the Vikings from an offensive perspective. It’s as ugly as its ever been with O’Connell as the play caller.

The stats are damning in and of themselves, as the Vikings only gained 145 yards of total offense and 10 first downs in the loss the Packers, then followed it up by only gaining 162 yards of total offense and 11 first downs against the Seahawks.

The analytics are even worse, as the Vikings were abysmal in expected points added per play (EPA/play), which takes into account how much each play increased or decreased a team’s probability of scoring.

The data is incredibly jarring as the Vikings had an EPA/play of -0.43 in the loss to the Packers, and an EPA/play of -0.66 in the loss to the Seahawks.

To put that perspective, the Vikings had an EPA/play of -0.36 in last season’s playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams, when veteran quarterback Sam Darnold was pressured on almost every dropback, and an EPA/play added of -0.34 in the unforgettable 33-10 loss to the Packers in late 2023, when young quarterback Jaren Hall started before being mercifully benched at halftime.

Some of the comically bad performances from the recent memory were only marginally worse than what the Vikings put on tape against the Seahawks, as the Denver Broncos had an EPA/play of -0.72 when they started undrafted receiver Kendall Hinton at quarterback for an entire game, and the Cleveland Browns had an EPA/play of -0.72 during a game in which they only gained 26 yards of total offense.

More context on the offensive struggles were added by popular NFL analytics expert Aaron Schatz, who created an advanced metric called DVOA, which analyzes a team’s efficiency by comparing its performance on every play to the league average for similar situations. In a post that has since gone viral on social media, Schatz illuminated that the Vikings legitimately played the worst offensive game in franchise history against the Seahawks.

“We just did not have the type of an offensive performance that is ever going to be acceptable,” O’Connell said after the game. “It’s a collective group thing right now, where we are just not good enough to overcome some of the things that we’re doing.”

If it looks similar against the Washington Commanders on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium, the Vikings will almost certainly hear from the home crowd. The frustration is slowly starting to reach a boiling point within the fan base.

“You want to provide them with reasons to cheer and reasons to be excited about their team,” O’Connell said. “Not always the easiest thing to do when we’re kind of having to transform what we are in our current state as an offense.”

Related Articles

The Loop Fantasy Football Report Week 14: Tough matchups can ruin playoff plans

Mizutani: Vikings need a veteran quarterback to compete with J.J. McCarthy

A day after leaving Vikings, Adam Thielen joins Steelers

Where did it go wrong for Adam Thielen in his homecoming with the Vikings?

PFF grades from the Vikings’ loss to the Seahawks: Max Brosmer scores low in first start

Alarmed at the prospect of losing their “Silver Sneakers” senior gym memberships at YMCAs and Life Time Fitness locations across the Twin Cities, more than 50 protestors took their concerns to the corporate headquarters of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota in Eagan to demand full reinstatement of their Medicare Advantage fitness benefits.

They were met with a receptive audience, said Terre Thomas, who co-organized the chilly Wednesday afternoon protest with Steve Brandt, a former Star Tribune reporter and elected member of the Minneapolis Board of Estimate and Taxation. The two were invited by Blue Cross to relocate the 30-minute picket — which featured a brief but coordinated step-tap dance number — from a grassy easement. The protest was held instead in the more expansive Blue Cross parking lot off Yankee Road.

Thomas and Brandt had met the day before with Dr. Mark Steffen, chief medical officer for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, alongside the insurer’s marketing, sales and Medicare Advantage staff. Thomas said the group walked them through a timeline of events that helped shape their understanding of the situation.

“There were a lot of people at the rally that said this is all about corporate greed,” Thomas said. “I don’t think that’s true. It’s math. … What they said is we want to listen to you and let us explain the numbers to you.”

Gym benefit

Through a two-year contract with third-party benefits administrator Tivity, which is based in Tennessee, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota this year had offered “Silver Sneakers” gym memberships to all 425,000 of its Medicare Advantage members. Of that number, up to 26,000 members had signed up for free gym memberships at Lifetime Fitness and YMCA of the North locations throughout the Twin Cities through what Tivity defined as its “premier level” of service.

Only about 11,000 seniors were active participants at those sites, Thomas said she was told, but the contract was priced “per head,” as the benefit had to be made available under the law to all members.

By June, Thomas said, Blue Cross Blue Shield had largely determined what benefits it would offer next year, only to later learn that UCare, the state’s nonprofit health plan, would terminate all of its Medicare Advantage contracts by 2026. While many UCare members will shift to Medica, some 100,000 to 150,000 UCare members have found their way to Blue Cross Blue Shield, unexpectedly increasing the Eagan-based insurer’s total number of Medicare Advantage members well above 500,000.

The cost of covering Tivity’s premier level of service had already increased considerably, before new members were added, Blue Cross Blue Shield officials told Thomas.

Potential work-arounds

Thomas said she presented with Blue Cross Blue Shield with some potential work-arounds aimed at subsidizing or otherwise negotiating affordable memberships at the YMCA and Life Time Fitness. Officials with the insurance provider said the earliest any of those could be implemented would be 2027.

The YMCA has offered “Silver Sneakers” members impacted by the UCare and Blue Cross Blue Shield situation discounted rates of $49 per person, down from $77, and $79 per couple, down from $110.

Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare Advantage members may still access more than 200 alternate gym sites throughout the Twin Cities, as well as Life Time and YMCA sites outside the metro, though many boutique gyms and nursing home-based facilities offer limited hours, do not have swimming pools and host just a handful of senior classes per week.

Related Articles

Shredded cheese sold in dozens of states recalled due to potential for metal fragment contamination

What to know about the hepatitis B shot — and why Trump officials are targeting it

A hidden health crisis following natural disasters: Mold growth in homes

Delayed care to 2 Black pregnant women highlights maternal health disparities

Medical leave applications opening for Minnesotans who welcomed a child in 2025

“The evidence of the health benefits of exercise cannot be overstated,” said Dr. A. Mark Fendrick, a professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan whose research specializes in the healthcare insurance marketplace.

“Every study of cognitive health to to cardiovascular health to cancer survivorship to mental health shows regular exercise improves outcomes,” Fendrick said. “More is always better.”

By SAFIYAH RIDDLE

An instructor at the University of Oklahoma has been placed on leave after a student complained that she received a failing grade on a paper that cited the Bible to assert that the “belief in multiple genders” was “demonic.”

Samantha Fulnecky, 20, filed a complaint with the administration, the latest flashpoint in the ongoing debate over academic freedom on college campuses amid President Donald Trump’s push to end diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and restrict how campuses discuss issues of race, gender and sexuality.

“OU remains firmly committed to fairness, respect and protecting every student’s right to express sincerely held religious beliefs,” the university wrote in a statement on X. The school added that the failing grade would not affect Fulnecky’s academic standing while the administration investigated the matter.

The assignment was for a psychology class about lifespan development. Students were asked to write a 650-word response to an academic study that examined whether conformity with gender norms was associated with popularity among middle school students.

Fulnecky wrote that she was frustrated by the premise of the article because she doesn’t believe that there are more than two genders based on her understanding of the Bible, according to a copy of her essay provided to The Oklahoman.

“Society pushing the lie that there are multiple genders and everyone should be whatever they want to be is demonic and severely harms American youth,” she wrote.

She argued that promoting the belief in multiple genders would lead society to move “farther from God’s original plan for humans.”

The essays were graded out of 25 points, broken down by whether the student demonstrated an understanding of the article and addressed a specific aspect of the argument put forth. Fulnecky received zero points for her work.

“Please note that I am not deducting points because you have certain beliefs,” the instructor wrote in feedback obtained by The Oklahoman. Instead, the instructor said the paper did “not answer the questions for the assignment.”

The paper “contradicts itself, heavily uses personal ideology over empirical evidence in a scientific class, and is at times offensive” the criticism went on.

A contact for the instructor, whose name has not been confirmed by the university, was not immediately available.

Fulnecky’s complaint to the administration soon went viral after the school’s chapter of Turning Point USA, a conservative group founded by Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated in September, posted about Fulnecky’s experience on the social media site X.

“Professors like this are the very reason conservatives can’t voice their beliefs in the classroom,” the group posted.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt appeared to affirm that perspective, posting on X that the situation was “deeply concerning.”

“I’m calling on the OU regents to review the results of the investigation & ensure other students aren’t unfairly penalized for their beliefs,” he wrote.

The firestorm comes after a professor at Texas A&M was fired earlier this year after a video where a student confronted the instructor over her teaching of issues related to gender identity in a class on children’s literature went viral. A university committee in late November ruled that the firing was without good cause, and flouted formal procedure.

Since Trump took office, student affinity groups have shuttered campus offices and professors have altered curriculums. The president has also threatened federal funding for schools who don’t comply with standards for teaching, admissions and gender in sports supported by the administration. Both supporters and opponents of the Trump administration’s campaign say that freedom of speech is at stake.

By LISA MASCARO

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon knew there were survivors after a September attack on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea and the U.S. military still carried out a follow-up strike, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Related Articles

White House tours resume in time for Christmas, but they’re different than before

4 Republican states will help Homeland Security obtain driver’s license records

US adds more penalties to those linked to Tren de Aragua gang

The US will restrict visas for Nigerians and their families involved in violence against Christians

Pentagon watchdog finds Hegseth’s use of Signal posed risk to US personnel, AP sources say

The rationale for the second strike was that it was needed to sink the vessel, according to the people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss it publicly. The Trump administration says all 11 people aboard were killed.

What remains unclear was who ordered the strikes and whether Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was involved, one of the people said. That will be part of a classified congressional briefing Thursday with the commander that the Trump administration says ordered the second strike, Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley.

Hegseth has defended the second strike as emerging in the “fog of war,” saying he didn’t see any survivors but also “didn’t stick around” for the rest of the mission.

Hegseth is under growing scrutiny over the military strikes on alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. Legal experts and some lawmakers say a strike that killed survivors would have violated the laws of armed conflict.