Big Game Bound: Minnesota

LONDON (AP)Get to London early in the week, bond as a team, then try to snap a losing streak. New Orleans Saints coach Dennis Allen has been here before, in 2014 when his then-Oakland Raiders lost 38-14 to the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium. They slipped to 0-4 and it was their 10th straight loss […]

EAGAN, Minn. (AP)Through four NFL seasons, running back Alexander Mattison has started six games, serving as the understudy to Dalvin Cook’s starring role with the Minnesota Vikings. Mattison, a third-round pick in 2019 out of Boise State, has demonstrated his importance when he’s received his opportunities. In four of his starts, he’s run for at […]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP)After opening with a decisive win against the Green Bay Packers, the Minnesota Vikings have been tested the past two weeks. A Minnesota offense looking to make a jump under new coach Kevin O’Connell is still a work in progress. But a three-play, 56-yard drive in the final minute Sunday against Detroit led to […]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP)Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook injured his shoulder late in the third quarter against the Detroit Lions on Sunday and was ruled out for the remainder of the game. Cook had 17 carries for a season-high 96 yards and his first touchdown of the year, but on a first-down run near midfield he […]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP)The Minnesota Vikings have been trying to craft under new coach Kevin O’Connell a diverse and unpredictable offense that can still succeed when their best players are taken away. Lessons from a lopsided loss a week earlier led to a more complete and sound performance on Sunday – capped by a stadium-rocking, last-minute rally. […]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP)When Jared Goff’s pass on the last play of the game in Detroit last year sailed across the goal line and landed in the arms of a rookie named Amon-Ra St. Brown to stick Minnesota with a stunning defeat, the identity of the receiver seemed rather insignificant at the time. The Lions finally, in […]

EAGAN, Minn. (AP)The Minnesota Vikings rarely strayed from a commitment to rushing over the last five years since Dalvin Cook was drafted, a strategy previous coach Mike Zimmer felt so strongly about that he more than once publicly criticized the play-calling by his offensive coordinator. The signs of a philosophy shift have been apparent, beginning […]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP)Guiding a team’s navigation of the inherent rollercoaster of a regular season is a vital part of the job for an NFL head coach. Making the right strategical adjustments to maximize the ups and minimize the downs is just as important. Kevin O’Connell, welcome to the club. After the Minnesota Vikings had all the […]

PHILADELPHIA (AP)Jalen Hurts rolled to his right, scampered down the sideline and stutter-stepped to the 5-yard-line, where he was wrapped up by a defender with another in pursuit. Hurts twisted his body, lowered his head, dragged two defenders with him and powered his way in for an adrenaline-filled 26-yard touchdown run that about broke the […]

PHILADELPHIA (AP)Kirk Cousins tried to get the ball to Justin Jefferson. Darius Slay kept getting in the way. Cousins was pressured into three interceptions, Jefferson was shut down a week after one of his career-best games, and the Minnesota Vikings were run off the field from the opening drive in a 24-7 loss to the […]

PHILADEPLHIA (AP)Jalen Hurts has a trio of winged receivers – bats, of sorts, in this case as much as they are Eagles – in the offense and ready to Sock! Pow! Bam! their way into the end zone against Minnesota. Who are those masked men? Eagles cornerback Darius Slay sees on the field a twist […]

EAGAN, Minn. (AP)Justin Jefferson has proven to be one of the most difficult receivers in the NFL to cover, starting his third season seemingly with the potential to dominate the game for the next decade. The Minnesota Vikings are trying to toughen the task for their opponents, just by making it harder to figure out […]

PHILADELPHIA (AP)Still the offensive coordinator in Indianapolis, Nick Sirianni could not miss an opportunity to scout some of the loaded talent that littered the rosters of LSU and Clemson in the 2020 national championship game. Trevor Lawrence and Joe Burrow were the can’t-miss QBs. Sirianni, though, also kept an eye on LSU’s Justin Jefferson, the […]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP)After Minnesota’s 15-18 record over the last two seasons prompted dual replacements of the general manager and the coaching staff, a teardown of the roster that would have naturally followed those firings never came to fruition. For all the flaws the Vikings have revealed in recent years, they still boasted as much top-tier talent […]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP)Having boldly stated before the season his goal to be the best receiver in the league, Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson can already stake a claim to this subjective yet coveted status. Aaron Rodgers can only wish Jefferson was on his side. Jefferson smashed rival Green Bay for 184 receiving yards and two touchdowns in a […]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP)When Kevin O’Connell takes the field with the Minnesota Vikings for his first game as a head coach, the 37-year-old will carry with him the blank slate that’s one of the benefits of being a rookie in this high-pressure, much-coveted job. O’Connell needn’t be concerned for now about being booed at home by impatient […]

EAGAN, Minn. (AP)Za’Darius Smith wore a wide smile in the Minnesota locker room before practice on Monday, a knowing expression that exuded the eagerness of getting to his first game with the Vikings. The eighth-year outside linebacker didn’t want to divulge any depth of the feelings he might be harboring about facing his former team, […]

EAGAN, Minn. (AP)Wide receiver Jalen Reagor was acquired by Minnesota in a trade with Philadelphia on Wednesday, sending two draft picks to the Eagles for the player who was selected immediately in front of Vikings star Justin Jefferson two years ago. The Vikings dealt a seventh-round 2023 pick and a conditional fourth-round 2024 pick to […]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP)The Minnesota Vikings waived quarterbacks Sean Mannion and Kellen Mond at the NFL’s roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, keeping only one backup for Kirk Cousins. Mannion and Mond became expendable last week when the Vikings acquired Nick Mullens in a trade with Las Vegas for a conditional 2024 seventh-round draft choice. Cousins has never missed […]

EAGAN, Minn. (AP)Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Bisi Johnson will miss the season with a knee injury for the second straight year. Johnson was placed on injured reserve on Monday, one day before the NFL’s deadline for reducing rosters to the 53-player limit for the regular season. The fourth-year player was hurt in the team’s final […]