Dan Wiederer began covering the Vikings in 2011, enthusiastically delivering insight on the team across the Star Tribune's print and digital products. Prior to joining the Access Vikings team, he spent seven seasons covering ACC basketball at The Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer. He also covered the Chicago Bears in 2003 and 2004. Follow him on Twitter @StribDW.
Mark Craig has covered football and the NFL the past 20 years, including the Browns from 1991-95 and the Vikings and the NFL since 2003. Since 2008, Craig has served as one of the 44 Pro Football Hall of Fame selectors. He can be followed on Twitter at @markcraignfl.
There are numerous reasons behind the Vikings 3-6 record, and their turnover margin certainly ranks near the top.
The Vikings are now last in the NFL in turnover margin at minus 11. They have turned the ball over 23 times compared to only 12 takeaways.
Brett Favre had four turnovers in Sunday's 27-13 loss to the Bears, including three more interceptions. Favre now leads the NFL with 16 interceptions.
Compare those figures to last season. The Vikings finished ninth in the league in turnover margin at plus 6. They had only 18 turnovers for the season, including only seven interceptions by Favre.
Think about that. The Vikings had 19 turnovers at the halfway point this season. They had 18 all of last season.
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