4-0 is sweet and quite a nice surprise to start the season. The team is a lot better than many had figured due to the change in quarterback. The way the offense was moving last year with Nick Mullens should have informed more. It seems that KOC is able to use many different quarterbacks fairly effectively in his offense. He has unleashed Sam Darnold’s capabilities which are only going to improve the more he plays in this offense.

The Packer game exposed some issues with the defense (and offense) which they will have the chance to improve upon. It was bound to happen when you consider all the new faces and the fact that other teams would have a few games of tape to dissect in their attempts to be successful. It is all part of the dance.

There will sure to be more adversity but this team is continuing to just stack then wins!

Gotta love it!

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Minnesota Vikings News and Links

NFL Week 4 Power Rankings: Who deserves to be No. 1 a month into the season?

2. Minnesota Vikings 4-0

The Vikings should have some worry about their fourth quarters. Focus through 60 minutes is a skill, and almost blowing that game to the Packers wasn’t great. But overall, the Vikings couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season.

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NFL Week 5 Power Rankings: MVP candidate Sam Darnold has Vikings rolling; Texans move into top five

Sam Darnold for MVP.

Sounds crazy, right? It really isn’t. Darnold has the Minnesota Vikings at 4-0. He leads the NFL in touchdown passes with 11 to go along with 932 passing yards and 8.8 yards per attempt, showing his knack for the big play.

Darnold wasn’t flawless in the Vikings’ impressive road victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, throwing one pick and losing a fumble in the second half, but he threw three touchdown passes. Darnold, who came into the season with a career completion percentage under 60%, is completing 68.9% of his passes this season with a passer rating of 118.9 when his previous career best was 92.6 in six starts for Carolina in 2022.

It helps that he has Justin Jefferson, the best pure receiver in the game, and a great offensive mind in Kevin O’Connell calling plays, but give Darnold credit for resurrecting his career. He was a former high first-round pick of the Jets, flopped there, was just OK for the Panthers and then served as a backup for the 49ers. He came into this season as a stop-gap; the plan was for him to keep the seat warm until first-round pick J.J. McCarthy was ready to play.

When McCarthy got hurt in training camp, it was Darnold’s job and he’s made the most of it. Where would the Vikings be without him?

2. Vikings

They are rolling on both sides of the ball. They dominated the Packers Sunday for most of the game before letting them back in late. They will be challenged by the Jets this week in London.

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NFL Power Rankings Week 5: Believing in the Vikings and rookie check-in

1. Minnesota Vikings (4-0)

Last week: 4

Sunday: Beat Green Bay Packers 31-29

The Vikings are having the NFL’s most surprising season without much help from their rookie class. First-round quarterback J.J. McCarthy was lost to a knee injury in the preseason, opening the way for Sam Darnold, who leads the league with 11 touchdown passes and has thrown only three interceptions. First-round edge rusher Dallas Turner has only five tackles and one sack through four games.

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NFL Winners and Losers: Believe it, Vikings are contenders and Sam Darnold is an MVP candidate

When the Minnesota Vikings beat the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2, it was a nice upset. Then the Vikings beat the Houston Texans the following week, and it grew into a cool early season story.

Now there’s no mistaking what is happening with the Vikings anymore. They’re not just one of the best teams in the NFL, they might be the best team in the league based on the early returns.

If there was any wonder about the Vikings’ standing in the NFL’s hierarchy after a 3-0 start, they erased it after what happened at Lambeau Field. The Vikings led the Green Bay Packers 28-0 in the first half, and while the Packers rallied in the fourth quarter, Minnesota was so dominant though three quarters that it didn’t matter. The Vikings won 31-29 on Sunday in a performance that was a lot more impressive than the final score indicates.

Now the Vikings’ résumé looks a little different. No team has a trio of quality wins like the Vikings, and all three were unquestionable. The 49ers, Texans and Packers were all considered potential Super Bowl contenders, and the Vikings looked great against all three.

That must make the Vikings Super Bowl contenders themselves.

2. Minnesota Vikings 4-0 (4)

Sam Darnold has maximized the offensive pop with Justin Jefferson and the rest of the receivers. The defense continues to dictate terms with big plays, sacks, and takeaways. Kevin O’Connell easily has the best team in the NFC so far.

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Kevin O’Connell on Vikings London Prep, Win at Packers, Timelines for Injured Players

O’Connell said the Vikings will have their “normal workday” Wednesday and on Thursday adjust their schedule ahead of flying to the U.K., where they’ll arrive Friday morning. There is a six-hour time difference between London and Minnesota.

“I put a lot of trust in [Vikings Vice President of Health and Performance] Tyler [Williams] and [Director of Player Performance] Josh [Hingst] and our folks that have done a lot of research on it, much more than me,” O’Connell said. “I just trust that they tell me what they think is best, and I kind of put the schedule together hand-in-hand with that information.

“It’s all about the intent of making sure the players know exactly what to expect, what the challenges may be,” O’Connell continued. “You know, there’s no smoke and mirrors to it. It’s a difficult week, but it’s a difficult week for both teams with the travel. The best thing you can do is, you know, not try to confuse anybody, not try to trick anybody. ‘Here’s what it is, here’s how we’re going to attack it, and here’s why.’ Our guys always respond to that.”

1. Timeline for Hockenson & Risner

Tight end T.J. Hockenson and guard Dalton Risner both have spent the first four weeks of the season on the Physically Unable to Return and Injured Reserve lists, respectively, and would be eligible to return this week to practice, should the team decide they are physically ready to move forward.

According to the NFL’s guidelines, once a player is cleared to practice, a 21-day window begins and the player must be activated to the 53-man roster or be placed on season-ending Injured Reserve at the conclusion of that three-week period.

O’Connell said he and the training staff are discussing options and timelines for both players. The timing of Minnesota’s game in London and the ensuing bye week also are being taken into consideration.

“We’ll have some dialogue and then try to do what’s best for both of those guys – to be in their best positions to maximize that window,” he explained. “I’m excited about both those guys working really hard behind the scenes and, you know, both T.J. and Dalton are here for the plan we set [in motion] at the start of training camp, knowing right about the time we’d get them back.

“It would be a nice boost for our team,” O’Connell added. “So we want to give them the ample amount of practice time, because it’s one thing to just open a window, but what does that practice look like? It may be this week, it may not, but we’ll keep you guys posted.”

2. Close call in Green Bay

Things got a little too close for comfort on the road Sunday when the Vikings got off to a hot start, entering halftime up 28-7, but stalled a bit during the second half before leaving Lambeau Field with a 31-29 win over the Packers.

O’Connell was asked what he learned during the Border Battle.

“We’ve been on the other side of those 60 minutes, where we’ve been able to come back from some big deficits before,” he said. “But I just think this game is, you know, it’s a big-picture thing, and we all consume the game in these huge plays throughout the game. And when you’re on the road and you allow a team either at the end of the half or – with some of the things we didn’t do well, myself included – in the second half, you allow not only the team, but the momentum, the energy in the stadium, to start roaring back.

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Vikings snap counts and notable PFF grades from Week 4 win over Packers

Top 5 PFF grades on offense (min. 20 snaps)

1. Jefferson — 82.7

2. Darrisaw — 81.1

3. Addison — 76.8

4. Jones — 73.2

5. Ingram — 69.5

The usual suspects top this list, with Addison also making his impact felt in his return to the field. And give credit to the much-maligned Ingram, whose 68.3 pass-blocking grade was his best of the season. Bradbury (68.0 overall grade) also played well.

Top 5 PFF grades on defense (min. 20 snaps)

1. Grugier-Hill — 83.8

2. Murphy — 74.1

3. Bullard —70.5

4. Gilmore — 68.0

5. Metellus — 66.6

Murphy leads the Vikings’ defense by a mile (in a bad way) in missed tackles and yards allowed in coverage, so it was encouraging to see him come up with two big plays in the fourth quarter. Gilmore and Metellus have been very solid all year long.

My comments below …

PFF grading is curious at best. It seems to be weighted more towards making a play (interception) or committing a penalty than simply the overall play of the player. If I recall correctly, Murphy seemed to be getting picked on and the Packers were having success going against him. He usually is right there with the receiver but doesn’t make a lot of plays. The pick was good for his grade.

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Vikings Trade Pitch Nets Former 1st-Round Pick, $14 Million CB

Bleacher Report’s NFL Scouting Department suggested on Monday, September 30, that the Vikings pursue a trade with the Buffalo Bills for defensive back Kaiir Elam.

“Byron Murphy Jr. hasn’t been playing well this season, as he allowed 16 completions on 22 targets (72.7 percent) and a passer rating of 117.4 heading into this weekend, according to Pro Football Focus. Murphy is also in a contract year, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to bring in a young corner who can help right away and be a potential long-term solution,” B/R wrote. “The third-year pro [Elam] may not be the proven commodity the organization is hoping for, but that’s primarily because he’s been stuck behind Christian Benford. The 2022 first-round pick has plenty of talent to potentially be an immediate contributor, though.”

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NFL power rankings: Vikings, Chiefs stay undefeated; Steelers, Packers, Jets slip up for Week 5

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