The Minnesota Vikings took out the New Orleans Saints by a score of 27-19 and now have the tiebreaker over two of their biggest competitors for a wild card spot.
The game itself wasn’t easy though. The Vikings got up 27-3 but allowed the Saints to score the final 16 points and even afforded them a Hail Mary attempt to tie the game on its final play.
The Vikings now have won five games in a row, including two against division foes and three against teams who had records at or above 0.500.
After the game, head coach Kevin O’Connell spoke to the media and had some glowing words for multiple players and coaches.
Intro
“Excited for our team. Come back and get another win at U.S. Bank Stadium was our goal coming off of our last performance. And what the crowd was like a few weeks back and then to have them show up again today, I thought the crowd was phenomenal, the juice, the energy. And it really fueled and really got us going, especially in that first half. Complementary effort all the way around in the first half. Would have liked to, you know, maybe have the chance to put the football game away, you know, got a touchdown pulled off
the board there on a short yardage situation. But good defense over there. Some really good skill players. And, you know, offensively they’ve been doing some good things. So, it was going to take a complete team effort, 60 minutes of football. And we got it done. So excited for that group. Locker room is feeling, you know, very strongly about, you know, where we’re at as a football team right now. But also total awareness that it’s back to work and a continued emphasis on improving. I want to give you guys an update, Jordan Hicks, you know, lower leg, kind of contusion. And he did not return. Once he came back in the game for a few plays, did not return. We’ll see how that swelling looks and if we can get that to go down. Akayleb Evans
did not return with a calf. And then Alex Mattison did not return with a concussion sustained there. But, you know, a lot of guys stepped up. You know, didn’t have K.J. (Osborn). Didn’t have some guys that we’ve been without for a few weeks and that next man up mentality continues to flourish with guys ready to step on the grass and help us win football games. I thought T.J. Hockenson was as good as I’ve ever seen him when we absolutely needed him the most, just like he was last week. Can’t say enough about T.J. And then, of course, Josh Dobbs. You know, having fun coaching him right now. Just because, you know, there’s a lot that goes into it. But then when we get to play football, he goes out there and he looks like he’s enjoying himself. I know his teammates are enjoying watching him, continuing to get acclimated to our team and just really proud of Josh. And Josh knows he’s ready to get back to work and continue the momentum on this thing.”
On not turning the ball over
“Yeah, that’s — you know, knowing kind of historically, it’s kind of a win or lose type stat. We learned that lesson, quite honestly, early on in the year. When I talk about our team and how we’re built from substance, there’s some football things in there now, too, as far as what we’ve learned, how we need to play, technique and fundamentals of how we carry the football, decision-making, timing, accuracy. And then the defense’s ability to continue helping us win the turnover battle by making some critical plays, especially in the second half when, you know, we scuffled a few drives there. And it’s totally on me. Got to give our guys a better opportunity to move the ball offensively. But that’s where the complementary phasing comes in. I had guys coming up to me on the sidelines, ‘We got you Coach. Hey, next snap is going to be the best snap.’ Even when we got the touchdown taken off the board offensively, the expectation was we could still convert and we had a chance to convert on that third and 11. But compliments to our football team, our leadership, and
just the way these guys now believe in the man next to them and they believe in each other to go continue and improve. There’s still a long way to go. We’ve got to get a lot better. I got to continue to coach better and get our staff, which I thought our staff did a hell of a job today, especially Flo (Brian Flores) and his guys. Again, that’s a talented outfit over there. I do hope that, you know, Derek Carr is okay. Got a lot of respect for Derek and everything’s he’s done in this league. But when Jameis Winston comes in the game and you know how physically talented he is, for our defense to keep them out and hold on that victory, I was really proud of those guys.
On having fun coaching Josh Dobbs and giving him a second to enjoy it
“No. Yeah, I think it’s just looking back in the week, going off of last week’s game and knowing and time spent with Josh, watching him with our coaches, our offense. I think he had a fantastic week of practice, Wednesday and Friday, you would have thought he had been in our offense a lot longer than just the previous five days leading into last week’s game. He attacked the game plan, how we prepare our guys, how we teach them about, you know, coverages and fronts and pressures and what we’re trying to attack. And he handled a full game plan today. And it was Josh Dobbs out there playing quarterback. And we saw it again today with game-changing plays with his athleticism were, really, a defining thing to kind of fill some or the gaps for us offensively in the first half. And I just can’t say enough about, you know, his last two performances to be 2-0 with him and so much room for us all to improve. It’s what I’m excited about the most.”
Hockenson playing through a couple injuries there. Do you find yourself having to manage his workload?
“Yeah, yeah. We tried to get — you know, on some of those early down calls, we tried to get Johnny (Mundt) in there a little bit more, use Josh (Oliver) in some of the 11 groupings a little more. And, you know, mixing and matching personnel, making sure — you know, I give Brian Angelichio a lot of credit because I’m howling into the headset a bunch of gibberish that I want the right guys on the field and make sure we’re managing T.J. so he can make some of those huge plays in the passing game. But T.J. wanted to be out
there for everything. And, you know, he was out there, had some big blocks in the run game. And just all the way around, T.J. was phenomenal today.”
Did you try to get more creative with play calling?
“Yeah, especially against — you know, that’s another top ten defense. They’ve always been tough, physical, hard to — you know, they’re going to force some negative plays. And we were trying to avoid those, knowing that we could get into the different phases of our offense to try to — it’s one thing to try to marry it, but there’s other things especially with, you know, Josh’s athleticism and kind of an inside out passing game, still wanting to get Jordan (Addison) and Speedy (Jalen Nailor) and Brandon Powell going, as well, the screen game. There’s a lot that goes into it. But the creativity I give our guys, you know, I love the design we had on the — Ty Chandler’s touchdown there. Even on both of them. Even the one that got called back, situational calls there. And then we’ll continue to build on our inventory. Because I think our personnel will give us the opportunity to do that, to try to give ourselves advantages, buy back some numbers, angles, and things like that. But back to work and we’ll keep on trying to improve on that stuff.”
How does the team keep winning even when losing great players?
“Yeah, I think it’s putting together plans to try to maximize the guys we do have up for us. You know, guys like T.J. and Jordan, Alex and Ty. But then continuing to ask, you know, guys that have stepped up already like a Brandon Powell. You know, great to get Speedy back in there today. Which I was really proud of the way he went out there. And he might have not always got the ball, but I know he was separating and bursting and playing fast. And that’s going to be a great addition back into our offense. But, you know, it’s
truly about, you know, how well can we execute the scheme, what we’re trying to get accomplished, can we give our guys that premier, premier mindset, regardless of who’s in the game. And then the expectation is, if it is a one-on-one, go win, pitch and catch, progress in rhythm. I thought Josh did a really nice job in this game, especially the first half of really trusting that protection. The O-line gave him time and then he still used his legs. That’s really hard on the defense. And you saw them kind of respond a little bit, spying him a little more, doing a little bit more of that in the second half. And that’s when, you know, it gets exciting to think about when we do get Justin Jefferson and K.J. and our full group back, you know, defenses having to account for his ability to activate his legs only helps us.”
How has that running ability, like, changed the play calling for you and changed the offense?
“Yeah, I think it just — you know, it allows me to be aggressive, knowing that if we get the premier look I’m hunting or I’m looking for some scouted looks, have a lot of confidence there. But also his decision making and then knowing kind of the perfect balance. I mean, when he found T.J. off-schedule, drop 8, 2 Tampa, knowing he’s got time, kind of a veteran feel, buying some time, getting out and keeping his eyes up, those are all veteran things that Josh did today. And then there was still some dynamic throws in the pocket, play passes, third down. I thought the third and long conversion in the second half was kind of a nice one, feeling the zones and being aggressive to BP over the ball. So, there’s a lot to build off of. Like I said, there’s a lot of things that all continue to improve on to help Josh and the rest of our offense. But really encouraging, kind of two performances in a row, that we can operate with that group of guys on the field and continue to move the ball against a really good defense.”
More impressed by the fact that what Josh was able to do last week with almost no time, or this week to do against a good defense that he prepared for?
“Yeah, I think last week — I can’t emphasize enough what the circumstances were for him and our offense last week. But what I think was really special this week is even coming off of that performance, his work, how he prepared, you know, he was essentially living at the facility and going through his normal process while also allowing us to kind of show him how we do things, how we try to, you know, enhance his ability to play fast, while also giving him really good plays that he can be responsible for getting to one versus the other at the line, still using tempo, communicating the way he is. So I thought, you know, it was a pretty outstanding day from Josh. And the best thing about it is we’re all still getting to know each other and getting
the comfort level where we can continue to apply layers to this thing to be the most successful we can be on offense.”
On the direct snap, when did you guys put that in and what made that the moment to call it?
“Yeah, we put it in this week. We’ve had a couple things kind of — similar thoughts up at other times. But, you know, we just wanted to try to, you know, find some different unique ways against a really, really good front. It’s hard to get big with them and just think you’re going to run the ball down there, not many people have. So we wanted to try to see how we could get different numbers at the point, still have a chance to, you know, punch it in, but also give ourselves an advantage of making them react on the fly. And I thought our guys executed it. You know, as soon as I saw big CD out there, there was really one guy left, I thought we were in good shape.”
How about D.J. Wonnum’s performance today?
“Yeah, huge. I mean, there was a sequence there where he individually wrecked the game with a sack and, you know, tripping up — I think he tripped up Derek (Carr) on a scramble that would have got them off the field. DJ’s been — really, been as consistent as any player on our football team this year. Danielle has been outstanding again for us but I think DJ has really fed off that, as well. We ask him to do a lot of different jobs that maybe don’t jump out at people that’s maybe as impactful. But he’s making an impact on every snap and he continues to do it week after week. I gave him a game ball and he’s one of those guys — I’ve said this before, but the guys in that locker room know, they know the coaching staff and the teammates know. And they went crazy for him knowing that DJ is one of those guys that doesn’t get all the headlines, but all he does is show up on Sunday and playing winning football.”
When you get a lead like that in the second half, how difficult can it be to find that balance between wanting to run the ball and lose the clock but also not wanting to take your foot off the gas?
“Yeah, I think it comes down to knowing the fact that you want to be aggressive, but you also want to walk out of the stadium still winning the turnover battle. And I was that confident in our defense that if we didn’t give them anything and, you know, we played smart with the clock, that we could get it down to a situation where maybe we could get to 31 and get a touchdown on that play. We did and that would take us to 34. And then, you know, it gets pulled back and we don’t convert and we ended up punting and try to pull them deep there. But, you know, I’ve got to try to find that balance where I do believe in our guys and I do believe that I can stay aggressive for four quarters with our guys. And I’ll continue to work through that to make sure I’m giving them some premium ops. We had some chances there that maybe we didn’t make the play. But there were certainly few that I’d like to have back and knowing the situational management and milking the clock is one thing but staying aggressive is something we’ve got to do, as well.”
What are you thinking when Josh Dobbs scored his rushing touchdown?
“Yeah, I mean, a lot of times — you know, I like to fist pump with the best of them. But that was one where I was just kind of, Wow, they — I was going to tip my hat to the Saints. They ran, you know, a zone coverage there on third down and they got a little pressure in there on him. Had a couple chances here or there, but when a guy makes a play like that, it’s exciting. It’s exciting. Because you know that he just overcame a lot with an individual effort right there to finish it for six points. Huge, huge momentum play made by him. And that’s one of the reasons why — you know, listen, Josh Dobbs didn’t just start doing those things. That’s been a part of his game since he’s been an NFL quarterback and before that. Our job is to continue to allow
him to play the position the way he thrives playing it, while continuing to do our jobs. Which we feel pretty good about schematically helping him, as well. But like I said, we’ll continue to build on it. I’m proud of Josh and we’ll get right back to work tomorrow.”
How does that affect you as a play caller, having a quarterback that can do all those things and adding that to the offense?
“Yeah, you guys know. We’ve seen a lot of shell coverage. You know, even with Justin and some of our guys out, we’ve seen a lot of coverage where people are saying, We’re just going to rush four, potentially even drop eight and rush three. And, you know, he made some big plays today against some of those looks. Can we get more man coverage, can we be effective executing against man coverage? I mean, this team, I believe, led the league in interceptions coming in. And they’re very, very good. The corner spots, the safeties are very good and two of the best inside linebackers in football. And I didn’t even say anything about a front, I think with 94 (Cam Jordan) in that group, it’s a challenge at every level, their defense. So as a play caller, you can start to feel, I can call anything on this call sheet, but I want to be smart and make the calls reflect my intentions of trying to attack certain looks. And then when Josh makes a play, it’s a huge, huge bonus. And what I love is just, you know, how all of our guys, you know, are finishing those plays. You see when he finds T.J. on that scramble, who did you see down there barreling through the pile? Probably Dalton Risner, if my memory serves me right. So, our guys understand it’s whistle to whistle and we might be playing through the echo of it a little bit more on unique things that maybe we didn’t before
when we were, you know — you know, not that we didn’t have mobility at the position. But, I mean, Kirk (Cousins) was playing as well as anybody in this league, you know, really ripping apart coverage and attacking things and kind of running everything. Josh, in two starts, has kind of shown us what mobility, you know, in addition to what we do offensively can do for us in this tough time where we’re trying to overcome the loss of a guy like Kirk.”
You start 0-3. You lose Jefferson, lose Cousins, looked like the sky is falling. How are you guys in this position?
“Yeah, the sky was never falling to those guys in that locker room. I can remember vividly standing in front of them the Monday after we did go 0-3 and I can remember the message was I felt, you know, all of us together included working forward to accomplish something special was one of the greatest opportunities we would have professionally. You know, adversity, truly, if you look at it as an opportunity and you have your football team all looking inward and trying to be the best versions of themselves for that greater good of trying to accomplish something special, I am of the belief that we can continue to go out and write our own story. And we’re holding the pen. There’s a lot of challenges out in front of us. We got to laser our focus
like we’ve done each opportunity, each day, each meeting, each walkthrough, each practice. And when you do it the way these guys have, and you got the leadership we do, my expectation is things will continue to be, you know, what we’ve been.”
