AP

The Vikings have gone all in with quarterback Christian Ponder, the 12th overall pick in the 2011 draft who was hand picked by G.M. Rick Spielman.

So with Ponder throwing for 58 yards and 63 yards in two of the team’s last three games, Ponder won’t be getting the blame for the performance. The guy responsible for getting Ponder to perform to the best of his ability likely will.

With the Vikings a week away from their bye week, it’s easy to speculate that offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave could soon be on his way out.

The Vikings need to do something to correct a two-game slide that transformed an eye-opening 5-2 start into a middle-of-the-pack-and-sinking 5-4. After Sunday’s home game against the surging Lions, the Vikings have a bye before a brutal final stretch that includes four games against the Bears and Packers in the final six, along with trips to St. Louis and Houston.

On Sunday, it was dink, dunk, and dank for the passing game, with Ponder completing 11 of 22 passes for a per-attempt average of 2.9 yards and a Twin Cities-temperature passer rating of 37.3.

This isn’t a report that Musgrave will be fired. Instead, it’s a recognition that, with the bye week looming and a collapse unfolding and the passing game that’s putrid (especially with Adrian Peterson drawing safeties into the box), a decision to keep Musgrave could make it harder for head coach Leslie Frazier to keep his job when the season ends.