Cam Jordan says the quiet part out loud about Vikings offense

The Minnesota Vikings defense has been the story while the offense hasn’t quite gotten going. They’re in the 31st in the NFL in total yards, but that means nothing to New Orleans Saints edge defender Cam Jordan. It shouldn’t mean much to Saints fans either. 

Jordan took the stereotypical game isn't played on paper and success is the most important thing approach to responding to a question about the Vikings' offensive rankings. "Couldn't care less about a ranking. What does that have to do with Sunday?" was Jordan's response. Honestly, not a lot and for more reasons than Jordan let on.

Saints don’t have the right to underestimate any offense

Maybe if this was after the first two games of the season, fans could have the luxury of reading into an opponent’s offensive rankings. The Saints defense lost that right with how they’ve played over the last two weeks. 

The fourth quarter offensive collapse was the story of Week 3, but the defense’s inability to stop Brock Bowers was a huge factor in the loss as well. They looked absolutely lost on what to do from the beginning and never recovered. That sounds a lot like the Saints against Bijan Robinson and the Falcons rushing attack. 

After back to back terrible performances, there’s no looking at games as an easy matchup. The Saints defense has to focus on their own execution, which Brandon Staley pointed out as an issue against Atlanta. 

Part of the struggles is facing great players and part is individual failures. The latter will yield poor results regardless of who you’re facing or where they rank among the NFL.

Justin Jefferson and T.J. Hockenson still exist

It’s also not like the Vikings are void of talent. They've lacked offensive success for sure, but when you look at the individual players on the team, the rankings become surprising, specifically through the air. With just a slightly deeper dive, injuries give important context for the stats.

Justin Jefferson is dealing an ankle injury that he suffered in Week 3 and kept him out of last week's game. Kyler Murray also suffered a concussion early in the season opener, forcing Minnesota to play handicapped in his debut as the Vikings quarterback.

The duo of Jefferson and Murray was a big reason to believe in what the Vikings could do offensively. So far, the pairing have suited up together for two games this year. Murray left Week 1 after 11 snaps, and Jefferson left Week 3 after 7 snaps.

Those passing stats look a whole lot different if your starting quarterback and star wide receiver, who is in the mix for the best in game, played a full game together. Jefferson is questionable for Sunday's matchup, but there's a chance the Saints are the first team to find out who Jefferson and Murray are as a duo for an entire game.

Whether Jefferson plays or not, the Vikings still have T.J. Hockenson at tight end as well. Kyle Pitts didn't make a huge impact, but he had some critical plays and was wide open on Zachariah Branch's touchdown. Brock Bowers just annihilated the Saints' defense for four quarters in Week 3, and there isn't much to say there.

Tight ends have found success against New Orleans in the last two weeks, and another talented one is coming to town. The Saints will have their work cut out for them for sure on two fronts. Minnesota may have the least amount of passing yards in the league, but Jefferson and Hockenson are two reasons to throw the rankings to the side.

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