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I might have been the last human on earth to still believe in them. Whoops. Sorry, Vikings fans. You were right. Let's recap what we saw from Minnesota's offense in the 40-23 loss to the Falcons:

• Kirk Cousins threw an interception (one of three on the day) on his first pass attempt.
• They had a series where they ran on first down for a loss of three, ran on second down for a gain of 4 and then threw incomplete short of the sticks on third down.
• They had a first-and-goal from the Atlanta 2 and failed to score. The fourth-down call was a handoff to Mike Boone.
• Down 30-7 with 11:15 left, they ran the ball on second-and-10 from their own 25.

The Vikings knew they were going to probably take a step back this season, but 1-5 with a minus-37 point differential is embarrassing. Having said that, EPR still thinks the Vikings are significantly better than their record indicates.

The defense isn't good, which puts more pressure on the offense and Kirk Cousins isn't playing well enough for that. It's going to be a long season.

I keep coming back to training camp, when S Harrison Smith said, "I guess I've kind of been out of the loop -- I didn't know we were supposed to be bad." You should probably stay looped in going forward, Harrison.

Most impactful injury: DE Danielle Hunter

No question it's Hunter, who suffered a herniated disc in practice on Aug. 14 and hasn't done any football-related activity since. Even though the Vikings were optimistic Hunter's IR stay would be brief, they knew his injury could keep him out six to eight weeks. It led them to trade for Yannick Ngakoue under the guise that they'd have the league's top pass-rushing duo when it was clearly a move pulled off to aid the defensive line while Hunter sat out. The Vikings' defense is dealing with injuries everywhere, but Hunter's is the most significant for a defense that has been historically bad throughout much of 2020. -- Courtney Cronin

We wondered if the Vikings would get off the mat after that stomach-punch loss to the Seahawks on Sunday night of Week 5. Nope. They barely showed up in Week 6 and limped out of their own building after a 40-23 whipping by the previously winless Falcons. Following the loss, a game in which Kirk Cousins threw three interceptions for the second time in six weeks, the quarterback acknowledged he's playing at a level that could get him benched. It makes you wonder if general manager Rick Spielman is experiencing buyer's remorse on that two-year extension handed to Cousins back in March. On a bye now, a trip to Lambeau Field in Week 8 looms as a potential knockout punch.