Vikings Clips
When a team is winning, it’s hard for any offensive players who aren’t getting the ball as often as they should to be upset. When winning becomes losing, the frustrations can quickly surface.
That happened for the Vikings on Sunday against the Lions. Receiver Justin Jefferson, who made a spectacular touchdown catch in the first half, didn’t see the ball as often as he should have during proverbial nut-cutting time.
After the Vikings’ final drive — which curiously ended on a fourth-and-five punt with 3:01 to play at a time when the Detroit rushing game was clicking — Jefferson made a rare display of frustration. After the 19-15 loss, Jefferson declined to speak to reporters, per Kevin Seifert of ESPN.
Which means that Jefferson, who has a habit of always saying all the right things, doubted that he would have been able to do that.
“Obviously he’s frustrated, and that’s understandable,” quarterback Kyler Murray told reporters, via Seifert. “He is who he is, and he has every right to the way he feels when he doesn’t get the ball. That’s on us to find a way to get him the ball.”
“We had some opportunities for [Jefferson], and there were some chances there,” coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters. “But we’ve got to find a way to get him the ball, especially on potential chances for him on some of those sequences where we’re looking to kick off some momentum. He’s a great guy to do it behind, and we’ll continue to find ways to get him the football. But it was a division game. These guys want to win. I don’t fault the frustration or the competitiveness in any way, shape or form.”
Whatever the cause, there’s clearly a problem. And Murray, who missed time early in the season due to a concussion, should be up to speed now. On Sunday, he wasn’t good enough.
And here’s the basic reality. At some point, either en route to the playoffs or after the Vikings get there, Murray will have to make a big play in a big spot. The jury is out on whether he will.
The Vikings don’t have many options. They could try to make a trade, but who’s out there? They wanted to keep Daniel Jones after the 2024 season; maybe, at this point, the Colts would welcome the chance to move on.
If the Raiders had lost to the Jets, Kirk Cousins may have been available for a reunion. With Las Vegas now at 4-4, why would they move him?
The other option would be to ride with Carson Wentz, who has shown that he can and will get the ball to Jefferson.
However it goes, Sunday’s game exposed the biggest problem with the Vikings. Against teams that can’t be held to 15 points or less, the Vikings may not be able to muster enough points to beat them.
The Vikings are undefeated no more.
Despite losing several players on defense — including linebacker Jack Campbell — the Lions were able to beat the Vikings 19-15 behind an outstanding performance from running back Jahmyr Gibbs.
Gibbs put the Lions ahead with a 30-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter. He finished the game with 153 yards on 23 carries, plus two catches for 15 yards.
Sione Vaki was also valuable in the run game, taking 11 carries for 65 yards.
Goff finished 18-of-25 for 176 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
On the other side, Kyler Murray had a middling day, going 17-of-29 for 210 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. His best throws of the day came on a drive in the fourth quarter, with a 51-yard bomb to Jordan Addison leading to an 8-yard touchdown pass to T.J. Hockenson.
But Murray was also the team’s leading rusher with 35 yards on four attempts, signaling the ineffectiveness of the run game.
Murray and the Vikings’ offense continued to struggle to get the ball to Justin Jefferson, who had just five catches for 33 yards with a touchdown on nine targets. The Fox broadcast showed Jefferson expressing some frustration on the sideline toward the end of the game.
Of the several injuries suffered by the Lions’ defense, linebacker Jack Campbell’s was the most concerning. Campbell was taken off the field immobilized on a backboard and transported to a local hospital to evaluate a neck injury after going down in the second half.
With the win, the Lions improve to 5-2 after consecutive divisional wins. The club will be on the road to face the Dolphins in Week 9.
Minnesota falls to 6-1 with its first loss of the season. The Vikings will be at home to face the Bills on Monday night next week.
Kyler Murray’s day hadn’t been going particularly well in Detroit.
But with a couple of beautiful passes, Murray has given the Vikings a 15-12 lead over the Lions midway through the fourth quarter.
With the Lions down several defensive players due to injury, Murray connected with Jordan Addison on a play-action downfield pass for 51 yards, moving the team to Detroit’s 10-yard line.
A play later, Murray hit T.J. Hockenson for an 8-yard touchdown to put the Vikings up by one.
The club went for two and Murray found a wide-open Addison in the end zone for a successful conversion.
Murray is now 16-of-27 for 206 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
On the injury front, Lions linebacker Jimmy Rolder is questionable to return with a hamstring issue.
There is a concerning injury situation developing in Detroit.
Lions linebacker Jack Campbell has been carted off the field on a backboard after going down while making a tackle early in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against the Vikings.
Campbell stayed down on the ground and did not move after twisting down T.J. Hockenson on a 10-yard gain.
Medical personnel immediately tended to Campbell. Members of both the Lions and Vikings took a knee as Campbell was being taken care of. He was immobilized on a backboard with Lions players coming over to him as he was taken off the field.
Some Lions players, including edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson, were visibly emotional on the Fox broadcast.
Detroit leads Minnesota 12-7 early in the fourth quarter.
UPDATE 3:58 p.m. ET: Detroit announced Campbell has been transported to a local hospital to be evaluated for a neck injury.
The Lions have taken a second-half lead over the Vikings.
Jahmyr Gibbs put the ball in the box on an outstanding 30-yard run for a touchdown, giving Detroit a 12-7 advantage with 4:40 left in the third quarter.
Gibbs took a pitch in the backfield and ran it up the middle, evading defenders to the left sideline before powering his way past the goal line for the score.
Quarterback Jared Goff was down the field to help out Gibbs with a block just before he reached the end zone.
That run gave Gibbs 90 yards on 17 carries with a TD. He’s also caught a couple of passes for 15 yards.
The Lions went for two to potentially increase the leas to seven points, but didn’t get it on a run with Gibbs. After Gibbs had just exhausted himself on the run, it was a questionable use of personnel and play-calling.
On the injury front, Lions center Cade Mays (ankle) and Lions running back Jacob Saylors (neck) have both been downgraded to out.
The Lions will have to play the rest of Sunday’s game against the Vikings without two key defenders.
Edge rusher DJ Wonnum and defensive back Brian Branch have both been ruled out for the rest of the contest with concussions.
The two players collided in the second quarter when they were trying to tackle receiver Justin Jefferson.
It was a direct helmet-to-helmet hit for both players.
The Lions are down 7-6 to the Vikings early in the third quarter.
It’s been a heavyweight battle between NFC North foes in Detroit through 30 minutes, with the Vikings clinging to a 7-6 lead at halftime.
Detroit has gotten two field goals from Jake Bates, one from 25 yards and another from 37 yards late in the second quarter to narrow Minnesota’s lead to one point.
Justin Jefferson caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Kyler Murray early in the second quarter for Minnesota’s only points.
The Vikings had a chance to score more, but Will Reichard missed a 57-yard field goal wide right in the first quarter.
While Jefferson leads the Vikings with eight targets, he’s only been able to catch four passes for 25 yards with a TD. Murray is 7-of-15 for 86 yards with a touchdown and a pick. He also leads the Vikings with 26 yards on three carries.
On the other side, Jared Goff tossed his first interception of the season when Jameson Williams fell down on a route. The quarterback is 11-of-16 for 110 yards against Minnesota’s vaunted defense so far on Sunday.
Jahmyr Gibbs has 37 yards on 11 carries.
Lions edge rusher DJ Wonnum and defensive back Brian Branch are both being evaluated for concussions after colliding while trying to tackle Jefferson in the second quarter.
After scoring late in the second quarter, the Lions will have a chance to double up as they will receive the second-half kickoff.
Two Lions collided late in the second quarter and both had to be taken off the field.
Edge rusher DJ Wonnum was carted off after he and defensive back Brian Branch hit each other helmet-to-helmet while trying to bring down receiver Justin Jefferson on a catch.
Branch was able to walk off the field, but went to the locker room for further examination.
The Lions have a couple of other injury issues from the game against the Vikings so far. Center Cade Mays is questionable to return with an ankle injury. Running back Jacob Saylors is also questionable to return with a neck injury.
The Vikings lead the Lions 7-3 with two minutes remaining in the second quarter.
Justin Jefferson has made it to the end zone.
Kyler Murray hit Jefferson for a 1-yard touchdown early in the second quarter, giving the Vikings a 7-3 advantage.
Jefferson was matched up one-on-one on the left side, and was able to tip the fade pass to himself, diving to secure the catch.
It was Jefferson’s fourth touchdown of the season and his first reception of the contest.
Murray has now started the game 4-of-9 for 62 yards with a TD.
The Vikings could’ve scored in the first quarter, but Will Reichard missed a 57-yard field goal wide right.
Additionally, Detroit receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown had to be checked in the locker room after going down on what was eventually ruled an incomplete pass in the end zone. But he was back on the sideline and on the field for the next possession.
When the Vikings added receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to the practice squad, it was believed to be a message to free-agent acquisition Jauan Jennings. And possibly the first step toward a trade back to the 49ers.
Via Jay Glazer of Fox Sports, it almost happened.
Glazer reports that the Vikings and 49ers had a deal in place that would have resulted in Jennings being traded to San Francisco, where he had spent his entire career before signing with the Vikings. But the deal, per Glazer, was contingent on Jennings getting on a Zoom call with coach Kyle Shanahan and G.M. John Lynch.
Jennings passed. He decided to stay in Minnesota.
It will be interesting to see whether it leads to more production from Jennings. He had two catches for 34 yards last Sunday against the Colts. Before that, he had two catches for nine yards in four total games.
