Vikings Opt to Start Carson Wentz in Week 9 As Kyler Murray Manages Hamstring Injury

The Minnesota Vikings are 6-1 following their first loss of the season in Week 8 against the Detroit Lions, but even though the record has been good for Minnesota, head coach Kevin O'Connell has decided to make a quarterback change with quarterback Kyler Murray dealing with a hamstring injury.

According to senior NFL insider Adam Schefter, the Vikings will start quarterback Carson Wentz while fellow quarterback Kyler Murray manages what the team is calling a sore hamstring.

With that said, Wentz will be the starter for Minnesota as they prepare to host the Buffalo Bills on a primetime stage on Monday Night Football in Week 9.

Ultimately, O'Connell has to do what is best for the team to be able to have the best chance to win, and with Murray dealing with a hamstring injury, deciding to start Wentz is definitely the right move.

While Murray is injured, his play has not been great and has been a key reason why the Vikings have struggled offensively, and based on that it will be interesting to see if Wentz can take advantage of this opportunity to get the offense rolling and possibly take command of the starting job even when Murray gets healthy.

As a result of Wentz being the starter this week, it is important to take a look at how he has performed thus far, and it is important to note that Wentz has not played a ton this season, but he has been great when the Vikings have called his number.

The first instance was in Week 1 when Murray went down early, and when Minnesota put Wentz in the game, he delivered as he completed 12 of his 19 passes for 133 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions, which allowed the Vikings to pick up a 39-22 win over their divison rival Green Bay Packers to start the season 1-0.

Wentz also played the very next week as the Vikings had to hold Murray out for him to heal. In that game, Minneosta matched with another divisional opponent in the Chicago Bears and in that matchup there were adverse conditions, but nonetheless, Wentz played well as he completed 11 of his 20 attempts for 143 yards with zero touchdowns and zero interceptions and led the Vikings to a 9-3 win which improved their record to 2-0.

All that to say, when the Vikings have needed to rely on Wentz, he has been able to play clean football and lead this team to a pair victories which is exactly what they needed from him then, and what they are hoping he can do now.

So, as the Vikings head into Week 9 against the Bills, it will be interesting to watch how Wentz plays and if he can lead Minnesota to a victory, because if Wentz does plays well and the Vikings win, there could be a true quarterback controversy in Minnesota.