Vikings escape with a win in Kyler Murray's return, but show offensive problems run deeper than QB

Ben Goessling, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Sep 27, 2026

Published in Football

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TAMPA, Fla. — Until a drive late in the fourth quarter, the Minnesota Vikings had more punts than first downs Sunday afternoon. They committed nine penalties for 95 yards, and for the second time this year, they ended a game with Justin Jefferson and Kyler Murray not finishing a full quarter together.

But the Vikings are heading home 3-0 after scrounging out their third consecutive NFC victory with a 23-16 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium.

They left Tampa with deep offensive concerns — the health of Justin Jefferson after a first-quarter ankle injury chief among them — and after two weeks of being one of the NFL’s least-penalized teams, they committed key infractions on both sides of the ball.

Once again, though, they were just resourceful enough to remain the only unbeaten team in their division.

The two primary reasons the Vikings preserved the lead were the same that led to their second win in Chicago last week: their defense’s ability to put the opposing quarterback in a maelstrom, and game-changing plays from their special teams.

The Vikings limited the Buccaneers to 3.8 yards per play, pressuring Baker Mayfield enough to hit him a dozen times and draw repeated penalties from a Tampa Bay offensive line that couldn’t handle their interior pressure.

And after the Vikings stopped the Buccaneers following Reichard’s first field goal, Miles Price put them up 10 points with their first punt return touchdown in nearly a decade.

Price hit 20.23 miles per hour on an 86-yard return, which tied Marcus Sherels for the third-longest punt return TD in Vikings history. The score was the Vikings’ first on a punt return since Sherels took one back against the Houston Texans in Week 5 of the 2016 season; it gave the Vikings a lead they would not relinquish, despite the Buccaneers’ attempts to overtake them.

The Vikings sacked Mayfield six times and hit him 12. They picked him off on his final throw of the day, as Mayfield left holding his right wrist when Blake Cashman drilled him. The Vikings converted just two of their 14 third-down attempts; the Buccaneers (2 of 16) were worse.

Jefferson sprained his ankle on the first drive of the game, when he was hauled down after a screen pass to set up Will Reichard’s first 54-yard field goal. Jefferson stood on the sideline with both of his ankles taped after an extended stay in the medical tent. He appeared to be advocating to head back into the game, but he went to the locker room with five minutes left in the second quarter and did not return; the Vikings downgraded him to out in the third quarter.

The Vikings’ offensive line was flagged for five penalties, with four being accepted, and gave up enough pressure that Kyler Murray had to operate with Buccaneers defenders swirling around his ankles for much of the day. And Murray completed only 15 of his 29 passes, connecting on a 41-yard touchdown throw to Jordan Addison in the third quarter but misfiring several times.

Minnesota managed just three first downs in the second half, and had to recoup 11 yards on a third-and-27 pass to Aaron Jones after back-to-back penalties on guards Will Fries and Donovan Jackson. Reichard’s 56-yarder, like his 54-yarder to open the game, hit the back of the net behind the uprights on the fly, putting the Vikings up four with 3:15 to go.

Mayfield’s interception set up a Reichard kick that made it 23-16, and with backup Jalon Daniels replacing Mayfield, Isaiah Rodgers picked off Daniels’ Hail Mary on the final play of the game.

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