<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/vikings-news-why-sam-darnold-isnt-eligible-win-comeback-player-of-the-year-2024');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why Vikings QB Sam Darnold isn’t eligible to win Comeback Player of the Year in 2024');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Vikings-news-Why-Sam-Darnold-isnt-eligible-to-win-Comeback-Player-of-the-Year-in-2024.jpg"></figure><h1>Why Vikings QB Sam Darnold isn’t eligible to win Comeback Player of the Year in 2024</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-11T08:30:16-07:00">October 11th, 8:30am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-11T08:30:16-07:00">October 11th, 8:30am</time><address><a>Owen Crisafulli</a>Owen Crisafulli is a Senior Editor and NFL Lead at ClutchPoints. He recently received his Masters in Business Administration from Nichols College. Previously, he obtained his Bachelor's degree in Sport Management and for a while ran his own sports website. Sports are his passion, and he thoroughly enjoys writing about thoughts and opinions that are related to the game. He has been a lifelong fan of the major professional teams in Boston and loves discussing all topics surrounding those teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NFL</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Minnesota Vikings have been <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl-power-rankings-week-6-vikings-remain-undefeated-as-49ers-seahawks-upset">arguably the biggest surprise in the NFL</a> so far this season, and that’s due in large part to the incredible play from <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/vikings-sam-darnold-gets-real-narrative-jets-failed-him">quarterback Sam Darnold</a> under center. Darnold went from being a cast off veteran quarterback to leading Minnesota to an undefeated record through five games, making him an early frontrunner to win several awards.</p><p>While Darnold is considered a leader in the MVP race currently, one award he’s surprisingly not eligible to win is the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year award. While there’s no doubt that Darnold’s story is quite a comeback, the league <a href="https://x.com/RobMaaddi/status/1844732143731442083" rel="noopener">sent a memo to voters</a> ahead of the season that would prevent them from voting for Darnold to win the award.</p><p>Via Rob Maaddi:</p><p>“Vikings QB Sam Darnold probably would’ve been a candidate for the Comeback Player of the Year award before the AP issued guidance to voters before the season, instructing them that ‘the spirit of the award is to honor a player who has demonstrated resilience in the face of adversity by overcoming illness, physical injury or other circumstances that led him to miss playing time the previous season.’ If he keeps playing at this level, Darnold could end up with another award: Most Valuable Player.”</p><h2><b>Sam Darnold could end up winning MVP for the Vikings instead</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Sam-Darnold-of-the-Vikings.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Darnold has certainly put together quite a comeback story, as he’s finally realized the potential that resulted in him being selected with the third overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft. The problem is that the league is narrowing the scope of what the award defines, which means Darnold doesn’t really fit the criteria for the Comeback Player of the Year.</p><p>Still, if Darnold keeps playing at this incredibly high level (87/137, 1111 YDS, 11 TD, 4 INT), he will likely manage to rack up some awards this season. It just won’t be the Comeback Player of the Year award, as it seems it will end up going to a player who further fits the criteria of the award than Darnold, despite his obvious comeback story.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why Vikings QB Sam Darnold isn’t eligible to win Comeback Player of the Year in 2024

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/vikings-news-aaron-jones-gets-positive-injury-timeline-update');   ga('set', 'title', 'Aaron Jones gets positive injury timeline update');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Vikings-news-Aaron-Jones-gets-positive-injury-timeline-update.jpg"><figcaption>ClutchPoints</figcaption></figure><h1>Aaron Jones gets positive injury timeline update</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-08T12:01:43-07:00">October 8th, 12:01pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-08T12:01:43-07:00">October 8th, 12:01pm</time><address><a>Julian Ojeda</a>Julian Ojeda is an Orlando-based sports journalist with 3 years of professional writing under his belt, specializing in both NBA and NFL coverage. A devoted Orlando Magic fan, he deftly balances fervent fandom with insightful reporting, possessing a keen eye for compelling narratives.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NFL</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones received a <a href="https://x.com/alec_lewis/status/1843704316009558179" rel="noopener">positive update</a> on his injury status following his exit during <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/3-vikings-reasons-concern-after-close-victory-over-jets-london">Sunday’s game in London against the New York Jets</a>. Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell addressed the situation in a virtual press conference, expressing optimism that the injury may not be as severe as initially feared.</p><p>“Aaron Jones continues to be evaluated, but all the early information that we’ve got so far, it looks like we’ve avoided a long-term injury. I would classify him as really week-to-week at this point,” O’Connell said.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/vikings-news-aaron-jones-picks-up-hip-injury-in-contest-vs-jets">Aaron Jones suffered a hip injury</a> after rushing seven times for 29 yards and adding one reception for 24 yards before leaving the game. His absence was immediately felt as the Vikings’ rushing attack faltered, with backups Ty Chandler and Myles Gaskin combining for only 32 yards on 16 carries. Despite the setback, Minnesota managed to pull off a 23-17 win, maintaining their undefeated 5-0 start to the season.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Coach O’Connell gives an injury update <a href="https://t.co/bpQbbOtA5S">pic.twitter.com/bpQbbOtA5S</a></p><p>— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) <a href="https://twitter.com/Vikings/status/1843704372431106183?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><p>“He’ll get treatment throughout this week and I’ll give you guys an update on where he’s at next week as we kind of hopefully work him back into getting involved in practice and leading into whether we’ll have him versus the Lions,” O’Connell added.</p><h2><b>Aaron Jones’ recovery timeline crucial as Vikings eye divisional clash against Lions</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Aaron-Jones-33-runs-the-ball-against-the-Green-Bay-Packers.jpg"><figcaption>© Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Jones has been an essential part of Minnesota’s offense, contributing to the team’s strong start with consistent performances both on the ground and as a receiver. Before the injury, he was on pace for nearly 2,000 total yards this season, making his presence crucial for the Vikings’ success moving forward.</p><p>The Minnesota Vikings have a bye week ahead, which may provide Jones additional recovery time before their divisional matchup against the Detroit Lions on October 20. O’Connell’s update suggests that the team is hopeful Jones will return in time for that key game, but his progress will be closely monitored in the coming days.</p><p>The Vikings’ victory over the Jets also had broader consequences, as <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/jets-news-fire-robert-saleh-after-lackluster-start-to-season">Jets head coach Robert Saleh was fired</a> just two days after the game. However, Minnesota’s attention remains focused on getting Jones back on the field as they prepare for the next phase of the season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Aaron Jones gets positive injury timeline update

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/vikings-news-eye-opening-stat-measures-minnesotas-dominance-during-5-0-start');   ga('set', 'title', 'Eye-opening stat measures Vikings dominance during 5-0 start');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Eye-opening-stat-measures-Minnesotas-dominance-during-5-0-stat.jpg"></figure><h1>Eye-opening stat measures Vikings dominance during 5-0 start</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-07T06:46:27-07:00">October 7th, 6:46am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-07T06:46:51-07:00">October 7th, 6:46am</time><address><a>Ben Strauss</a>Ben Strauss is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a die-hard NFL fan who cheers for the Detroit Lions. He has previously written fantasy football content for IDPGuys and ImportantNonsense.com.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NFL</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Minnesota Vikings have been one of the most pleasant surprises in the 2024 NFL season. Many NFL fans and analysts dismissed Minnesota’s chances before the season, especially after <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/vikings-news-jj-mccarthy-injury-update">J.J. McCarthy’s injury that ended his rookie season before it began</a>. However, that hasn’t stopped the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/3-vikings-reasons-concern-after-close-victory-over-jets-london">Vikings from starting the season 5-0</a> and putting up some eye-popping stats.</p><p>One stat shows that Minnesota has had a hot start for the ages. The 2024 Vikings are a <a href="https://x.com/FieldYates/status/1843255784156909814" rel="noopener">top-five team since 1970</a> when measuring the least amount of time trailing through five games.</p><p>Here are the top six teams during that stretch, along with the amount of time they trailed during those games:</p><ul><li>2009 New Orleans Saints – 0:00</li><li>1984 Miami Dolphins – 1:07</li><li>2023 San Francisco 49ers – 1:45</li><li>1999 St. Louis Rams – 2:30</li><li><b>2024 Minnesota Vikings – 3:26</b></li><li>1998 Denver Broncos – 4:23</li></ul><p>This is more impressive when you look at where the rest of these teams ended their seasons. All five teams other than the Vikings reached the Super Bowl, with three of them (Saints, Rams, Broncos) winning the Lombardi Trophy. This bodes well for the Vikings making a deep playoff run.</p><p>It’s not just the 5-0 start that is impressive, it’s the amount of time that they have dominated that is noteworthy. After all, the Vikings <a href="https://champsorchumps.us/team/nfl/minnesota-vikings/started-5-0" rel="noopener">have had eight 5-0 starts prior to this season</a> and none have resulted in a Super Bowl berth.</p><p>The last time the Vikings started 5-0 was in 2016. That Vikings squad finished the season 8-8 and missed the playoffs.</p><p>Sam Darnold and the 2024 Vikings will do everything in their power to avoid an outcome like that.</p><h2><b>Vikings RB Aaron Jones injured during Week 5 victory in London</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Aaron-Jones-takes-a-handoff-from-Sam-Darnold.jpg"><figcaption>© Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Vikings did get a little banged up during their Week 5 victory against the Jets.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/vikings-news-aaron-jones-picks-up-hip-injury-in-contest-vs-jets">RB Aaron Jones left the game during the first half with a hip injury</a>. He was initially ruled as questionable to return, but was changed to out after the second half started.</p><p>Jones was limping around the sidelines in obvious pain after sustaining the injury.</p><p>Jones <a href="https://x.com/RapSheet/status/1843265781917757828" rel="noopener">will have an MRI on Monday</a> to determine the scope of the damage, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapaport.</p><p>“Aaron Jones is going to have an MRI today just to see what damage it did on that hip,” Rapoport said on Monday via Good Morning Football. “This doesn’t seem like a major injury on its face, though. Kevin O’Connell saying right after the game that he believed it would be short term, and the schedule does them some favors, too. They have a bye coming up, so there is a real chance — depending on the results of the MRI — that Aaron Jones could be back after the bye.”</p><p>Aaron Jones has been a major part of the Vikings offense through five games, so losing him for extended time would be a problem. Jones leads the Vikings with 71 carries for 350 yards and one touchdown on the ground. He also has the most targets (20), receptions (17), and receiving yards (167) on the team aside from Justin Jefferson.</p><p>Vikings fans should hope for some positive results from Monday’s MRI, otherwise they could be without a core offensive weapon during a crucial stretch of the season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Eye-opening stat measures Vikings dominance during 5-0 start

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/3-vikings-reasons-concern-after-close-victory-over-jets-london');   ga('set', 'title', '3 Vikings reasons for concern after close victory over Jets in London');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Vikings-reasons-for-concern-after-close-victory-over-Jets-in-London.jpg"><figcaption>10/6/24</figcaption></figure><h1>3 Vikings reasons for concern after close victory over Jets in London</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-06T17:56:06-07:00">October 6th, 5:56pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-06T17:56:06-07:00">October 6th, 5:56pm</time><address><a>Steve Silverman</a>Steve Silverman has been covering the NFL for more than 35 years, and his writing has appeared in ESPN Magazine, Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, Pro Football Weekly, and Forbes.com. He has written 10 books, including "Who's Better, Who's Best in the NFL." He has won multiple awards from the Pro Football Writers of America.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NFL</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/vikings-news-justin-jefferson-kevin-oconnell-blunt-assessments-win-jets">Minnesota Vikings have been the biggest surprise</a> in the NFL through the first five weeks of the season. They have shocked most observers by beating all five of their opponents and taking a 5-0 record into their bye week.</p><p>At the start of the season, it appeared that a 1-4 or 2-3 start would have been likely for head coach Kevin O’Connell’s team. Perhaps a win in the season opener against the Giants and a victory in the London game against the Jets. But the three games in between — at home against the 49ers and Texans and a road game against the Packers — appeared to be out of reach.</p><p>But the Vikings were clearly ready for all of their opponents and they have played with a lead all season. They trailed the Giants 3-0 in the season opener for about 4 minutes, but they have not trailed in any game since.</p><p>They have gotten excellent play from quarterback Sam Darnold, a player the Vikings signed to a <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/player/_/id/25098/sam-darnold">one-year free-agent contract</a> in the offseason. He had been with three other teams prior to signing with the Vikings and had never displayed consistency. However, O’Connell and quarterback coach Josh McCown have been able to get the most out of McCown.</p><p>Running back Aaron Jones has been an upgrade for the Vikings. They parted company with Dalvin Cook after the 2022 season because he had too many negative runs. They thought Alexander Mattison would do the job last year, but he was just ordinary. As a result, they signed Jones away from the rival Packers and the results have been quite explosive.</p><p>Additionally, they have the best wide receiver in football in Justin Jefferson, and it’s clear that he is a major difference maker. However, the rest of the season may not be a smooth ride.</p><h2><b>Sam Darnold is bound to face some adversity</b></h2><p>Darnold has proven to be a student of the game and has finally been able to play the way that many observers expected to see when he was the No. 3 selection in the 2018 NFL Draft by the New York Jets.</p><p>He has finally found a great work environment in Minnesota, and he has completed 87 of 137 passes for 1,111 yards with 11 touchdown passes and 4 interceptions. Darnold is able to read the defenses prior to the snap and audible to the proper play. He has delivered accurate passes on a consistent basis. The QB1 has also shown the ability to run out of the pocket when he is pressured and he has avoided making multiple mistakes.</p><p>However, now that the Vikings have the best record in the league, they will have a target on their backs and opponents will attempt to slow down Darnold any way they can. Prior to this season, having consecutive strong games was not in his repetoire, but he played four good to excellent games in a row before an ordinary effort (14 of 31 for 179 yards with 1 interception) in Week 5 against the Jets.</p><p>He is likely to have other average to below average games. Will he be able to do enough in those games to keep the Vikings on track every time out? It seems very unlikely based on his past record.</p><h2><b>Can Aaron Jones remain in the lineup?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/The-Vikings-are-hoping-that-Aaron-Jones-will-return-to-the-lineup-shortly.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Vikings could not depend on their running game in either of the last two seasons. They attempted to change that reality by making Aaron Jones a key part of their game plan every week.</p><p>In the early part of the season Jones gave the Vikings a terrific ground attack that complemented Darnold’s hot start to the season.</p><p>Through the team’s first five games, Jones has rushed for 350 yards on 71 carries and scored 1 touchdown with a long run of 39 yards. Additionally, he has caught 17 passes for 167 yards and 1 touchdown.</p><p>Jones had 29 rushing yards on 7 carries against the Jets and also caught 1 pass for 24 yards before he had to leave the game with a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/vikings-kevin-oconnell-crossing-fingers-aaron-jones-injury">hip injury</a>. He was not able to return.</p><p>The Vikings have their bye in Week 6 and O’Connell is hoping that the injury will not force Jones to miss significant time. Backup running back Ty Chandler is tough and elusive, but he is not as effective as Jones.</p><p>If the Vikings’ <a href="https://x.com/AryePulli/status/1842936254109024560">running game suffers</a>, it will diminish their overall offensive play. It will give opponents multiple opportunities to double-cover Justin Jefferson and that will keep Minnesota from putting up explosive offensive numbers.</p><h2><b>Can the defense play solid football all season?</b></h2><p>Brian Flores is clearly one of the best defensive coordinators in football. The Vikings improved from one of the two worst defenses in 2022 to an average unit last year. This year they are one of the best defensive teams in the league even though ace pass rusher Danielle Hunter (16.5 sacks in 2023) left through free agency.</p><p>The Vikings signed Blake Cashman, Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard and those three have given the Minnesota defense consistency and versatility. Van Ginkel has already returned two interceptions for touchdowns, Cashman is one of the team’s best tacklers and Greenard can get after opposing quarterbacks.</p><p>However, there is some vulnerability with their pass defense. Opponents will certainly try to exploit that aspect in the coming weeks.</p><p>It seems quite likely that the defense will go through a downturn at one point. How they recover from an average game or two will determine how successful the team will be over the long run</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

3 Vikings reasons for concern after close victory over Jets in London

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/vikings-news-andrew-van-ginkel-reveals-aaron-rodgers-message-pick-6');   ga('set', 'title', 'Vikings’ Andrew Van Ginkel reveals Aaron Rodgers’ message after pick-6');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Vikings-news-Andrew-Van-Ginkel-reveals-Aaron-Rodgers-message-after-pick-6.jpg"></figure><h1>Vikings’ Andrew Van Ginkel reveals Aaron Rodgers’ message after pick-6</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-06T12:08:44-07:00">October 6th, 12:08pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-06T12:08:44-07:00">October 6th, 12:08pm</time><address><a>Jaren Kawada</a>Jaren Kawada is a former full-time sports bettor and is now a NFL, College Football and Betting Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. Kawada was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, but now resides in Indianapolis, Indiana, after graduating from Butler University with a B.A. in sports media. Aside from football, Kawada is an avid combat sports and basketball bettor.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NFL</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Not a lot of offense occurred during the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/jets-news-aaron-rodgers-admission-game-losing-interception-vs-vikings">Week 5 London game</a> featuring the New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings, making Andrew Van Ginkel’s defensive touchdown a marquee moment of the matchup. After the linebacker returned an interception 63 yards for a score in the first half, Van Ginkel claimed that Aaron Rodgers approached him with a message.</p><p>Van Ginkel said that Rodgers told him that <a href="https://x.com/BenGoessling/status/1842988944604172511" rel="noopener">“Christmas came early”</a> for him, per Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune. In response, Van Ginkel noted that he simply thanked the former MVP.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">ANDREW VAN GINKEL PICK-6!</p><p>📺: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NYJvsMIN?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NYJvsMIN</a> on NFL Network<br>📱: Stream on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NFLPlus?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NFLPlus</a> <a href="https://t.co/2FUojk8zLu">pic.twitter.com/2FUojk8zLu</a></p><p>— NFL (@NFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1842928852160700592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Van Ginkel’s score in the first quarter was the first touchdown of the game and came off a delayed dropback drawn up by defensive coordinator Brian Flores that was not picked up by Rodgers. The play gave Minnesota a 10-0 lead and set the tone for the rest of the game, ultimately leading to a 5-0 start for the Vikings.</p><p>Despite being primarily an edge rusher, Van Ginkel has already scored twice in the young season after returning an interception for a touchdown in Week 1 <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/3-reasons-giants-must-panic-daniel-jones-horrific-outing-vikings">against the New York Giants</a>. His two touchdowns are shockingly third on the team only behind receivers Justin Jefferson and Jalen Nailor.</p><h2><b>Vikings ride defense to remain undefeated against Jets</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Andrew-Van-Ginkel.jpg"><figcaption>Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Van Ginkel had the most impactful play of the game for the Vikings’ defense in Week 5 but was not the only player on the team who held a significant part in shutting down the Jets. Van Ginkel was one of three different players to record an interception of Rodgers in the game, joined by <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/vikings-news-minnesota-parent-trap-celebration-goes-viral">safety Camryn Bynum</a> and cornerback Stephon Gilmore.</p><p>The Minnesota secondary limited Rodgers to just 244 passing yards on 54 attempts and completely shut down the ground game, allowing just 36 total rushing yards to Breece Hall and Braelon Allen. The pass rush also played a part in their dominance, pressuring Rodgers on nearly every dropback and sacking the 40-year-old three times.</p><p>Veteran safety Harrison Smith led the charge as one of five players with a team-leading six tackles in the game. Smith accounted for one of the team’s three sacks while playing a key role in limiting New York’s downfield offense.</p><p>The Vikings’ defense helped offset a subpar performance from the offense with quarterback Sam Darnold throwing for just 179 yards and no touchdowns. The offense had just one score in the game, a short plunge from fullback CJ Ham.</p><p>Darnold, the NFL’s leader in touchdown passes entering the week, ended the game without a score for the first time in 2024.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Vikings’ Andrew Van Ginkel reveals Aaron Rodgers’ message after pick-6

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/vikings-news-stephon-gilmore-revelation-game-winning-aaron-rodgers-interception');   ga('set', 'title', 'Stephon Gilmore offers up revelation on game-winning Aaron Rodgers interception');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Vikings-news-Stephon-Gilmore-offers-up-revelation-on-game-winning-Aaron-Rodgers-interception.jpg"></figure><h1>Stephon Gilmore offers up revelation on game-winning Aaron Rodgers interception</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-06T12:02:22-07:00">October 6th, 12:02pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-06T12:02:22-07:00">October 6th, 12:02pm</time><address><a>Matt De Lima</a>Matt De Lima is an Associate Editor for NFL and college football at ClutchPoints. He has been covering sports for over 12 years at sites like Sports Illustrated, The Game Day, and countless others. Born and raised in California, he is a graduate of Virginia Tech and a diehard Hokies fan who now resides in southern Maryland.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NFL</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/vikings-news-minnesota-parent-trap-celebration-goes-viral">Minnesota Vikings traveled to London in Week 5</a> and stifled Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets. The veteran signal-caller threw three interceptions against the superb Vikings’ defense, including a game-winning pick by cornerback Stephon Gilmore. Down six and with less than a minute left to play, the Jets were on the move and pushing toward the red zone. On third-and-10 from the Vikings’ 26, Rodgers delivered a back-shoulder throw to Mike Williams that Gilmore made a great play on to seal the game. After the matchup, Gilmore spoke about Rodgers’ ball placement tendencies and how <a href="https://x.com/BenGoessling/status/1842982354991677720" rel="noopener">he knew it was coming</a>, per Ben Goessling of the Minnesota Star Tribune.</p><p>“He [Rodgers] is the king of the back shoulder. I just played good technique and made a play on the ball.”</p><p>Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell also spoke about Gilmore’s impact on this defense in these key situations.</p><p>“You think back to last year, where if you insert Gilly into some of those moments and you can get a little stickier with your coverage, playing some calls right there, where he’s really kind of on an island, as we’re trying to worry about where Garrett Wilson is. He knows the ball might find him in those moments, and he’s ready to not only make the play, but catch the football. You have to have finishers.”</p><p>Gilmore’s interception shut down the Jets’ momentum and sealed Minnesota’s 5-0 start to the 2024 NFL season.</p><h2><b>The Vikings’ defense is the silent MVP behind 5-0 start</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Vikings-Stephon-Gilmore-adjusting-to-the-ball-to-haul-in-a-game-winning-interception.jpg"><figcaption>Kirby Lee-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Minnesota has a -34.5% defensive DVOA, which is best in the NFL by nearly two-fold, as the No. 2 New Orleans Saints are at -17.5%. What this means when comparing their performance based on situation and opponent against the league-average baseline, the Vikings defense significantly outperforms the rest of the league.</p><p>Vikings’ <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/vikings-news-justin-jefferson-kevin-oconnell-blunt-assessments-win-jets">Justin Jefferson was critical of the offense’s performance</a> but acknowledged how the defense came up big in their win against the Jets <a href="https://x.com/cjzero/status/1842974571370250538" rel="noopener">when speaking</a> with NFL Network’s Stacy Dales.</p><p>“I feel like we didn’t play well on the offensive side of the ball. You know, we didn’t have any energy. I mean, we had energy in ourselves, but we didn’t make the place to, you know, contribute the energy. So, I mean, it’s definitely a tough win. We definitely got to give thanks to our defense today for giving us this dub. But offensively, it wasn’t good enough.”</p><p>The Vikings have a bye in Week 6 but will host the Detroit Lions in Week 7 on Sunday, October 20, at 1:00 p.m. EST.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Stephon Gilmore offers up revelation on game-winning Aaron Rodgers interception

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/vikings-kevin-oconnell-crossing-fingers-aaron-jones-injury');   ga('set', 'title', 'Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell ‘crossing fingers’ on Aaron Jones injury');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Vikings-news-Kevin-OConnell-crossing-fingers-on-Aaron-Jones-injury.jpg"></figure><h1>Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell ‘crossing fingers’ on Aaron Jones injury</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-06T11:35:15-07:00">October 6th, 11:35am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-06T11:35:15-07:00">October 6th, 11:35am</time><address><a>Malik Brown</a>Malik Brown is a multimedia reporter based in Atlanta who covers the Hawks and Dream for ClutchPoints. Malik has worked in entertainment and sports, and he specializes in the NBA and NFL.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NFL</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Minnesota <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/jets-news-aaron-rodgers-concerning-ankle-injury-vikings-loss">Vikings walked out of London with a win</a> against the New York Jets, but they also came out with an injury to one of their offensive players. Running back <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/vikings-news-aaron-jones-picks-up-hip-injury-in-contest-vs-jets">Aaron Jones left the game in the first quarter</a>, as the last time he had the ball was a 24-yard catch from Sam Darnold. After the game, head coach Kevin O’Connell was hoping that Jones’ injury wouldn’t <a href="https://x.com/SeifertESPN/status/1842977185289875783" rel="noopener">keep him out</a> for long.</p><p>“Keeping my fingers crossed that that hopefully will be short term,” O’Connell said.</p><p>Jones finished the game with 29 yards on seven carries. He was replaced by Ty Chandler, who finished the game with 30 rushing yards on 14 carries.</p><p>It’ll be interesting to see what Jones’ availability will look like in the upcoming week and if he will miss any practice days.</p><h2>Aaron Jones having fun with the Vikings</h2><p>The Vikings are one of the biggest surprises of the NFL season so far, and they’ve been making plays on both sides of the ball. Aaron Jones signed with the Vikings in free agency, and after their game against the Houston Texans, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/vikings-news-aaron-jones-drops-fun-truth-bomb-on-vikings-shocking-3-0-start">Jones revealed that he’s having fun</a> on his new team.</p><p>“I’m having a blast. This is probably the most fun I am having in my career,” Jones. “We have a great group of guys in the locker room, great coaches and great fans. They affected the game many time. It was close to 100 decibels in here, and that’s crazy. I’ve never seen that. Everyone has a piece of what’s going on here.”</p><p>Hopefully, Jones will be able to come back as soon as possible and continue to have fun with a team that is currently 5-0 and clicking on all cylinders. If not, it looks as if they have the necessary depth to replace him while he recovers from his injury.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell ‘crossing fingers’ on Aaron Jones injury

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/vikings-news-justin-jefferson-kevin-oconnell-blunt-assessments-win-jets');   ga('set', 'title', 'Vikings’ Justin Jefferson, Kevin O’Connell give blunt assessments of win vs. Jets');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Vikings-news-Justin-Jefferson-Kevin-OConnell-give-blunt-assessments-of-win-vs.-Jets.jpg"></figure><h1>Vikings’ Justin Jefferson, Kevin O’Connell give blunt assessments of win vs. Jets</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-06T11:32:33-07:00">October 6th, 11:32am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-06T11:32:33-07:00">October 6th, 11:32am</time><address><a>Tim Crean</a>Tim Crean started writing about sports in 2016 and joined ClutchPoints in 2022. He excels with his versatile coverage of the NFL, NBA, soccer, sports media, and more. As a longtime self-professed sports junkie, it is a dream to write about sports professionally. He’s a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan from Western New York and when he’s not enjoying a round of golf he's probably coaching youth soccer or flag football. You can catch all of his sports-related musings on Twitter at @twcrean.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NFL</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Minnesota Vikings stayed undefeated in Week 5, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/jets-news-aaron-rodgers-concerning-ankle-injury-vikings-loss">beating the New York Jets in London</a> 23-17. Despite picking up the W, star wide receiver Justin Jefferson and head coach Kevin O’Connell were <a href="https://x.com/cjzero/status/1842974571370250538">not happy with how the offense played</a>.</p><p>“I feel like we didn’t play well on the offensive side of the ball,” Jefferson told the NFL Network’s Stacey Dales after the game. “We didn’t have any energy. … It’s definitely a tough win. We definitely gotta give thanks to our defense today for giving us this dub. But, offensively, it wasn’t good enough.”</p><p>Jefferson’s <a href="https://x.com/SeifertESPN/status/1842977699553505601">head coach agreed with the All-Pro pass-catcher</a>.</p><p>“Kevin O’Connell also taking a frank approach to speaking about the Vikings’ offense. ‘Not up to our standard,’ but notes the defense took care of the endgame,” ESPN’s Kevin Seifert reported.</p><p>While Sam Darnold and company looked rough at times in the Vikings-Jets tilt across the Pond, they still did enough to keep their unblemished record in 2024.</p><h2><b>Vikings offense vs. defense</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Justin-Jefferson.jpg"><figcaption>Kirby Lee-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Sam Darnold, and by extension, the Vikings offense struggled against a good Jets defense. The QB completed fewer than half of his passes, going 14-of-31 for 179 yards with an interception and no touchdowns. Justin Jefferson was still able to make the most of his touches, though, catching six balls for 92 yards.</p><p>While Kevin O’Connell’s offense struggled, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl-rumors-vikings-brian-flores-the-buzziest-coordinator-in-league-but-theres-a-catch">defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ defense</a> was excellent most of the game.</p><p>The unit allowed just 254 total yards and limited the potent Jets rushing attack to 36 yards on the ground. They also sacked Aaron Rodgers three times and picked him off three times as well. Minnesota’s D forced six punts and allowed the Jets O five third-down conversions on 17 attempts</p><p>Minnesota will remain undefeated for at least one more week as the team returns to the States and heads into their Week 6 bye. When they play again in Week 7, it will be in a massive NFC matchup against the Detroit Lions.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Vikings’ Justin Jefferson, Kevin O’Connell give blunt assessments of win vs. Jets

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/vikings-news-minnesota-parent-trap-celebration-goes-viral');   ga('set', 'title', 'Viking’s Parent Trap celebration goes viral');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Minnesotas-Parent-Trap-celebration-goes-viral.jpg"></figure><h1>Viking’s Parent Trap celebration goes viral</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-06T09:15:37-07:00">October 6th, 9:15am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-06T09:15:37-07:00">October 6th, 9:15am</time><address><a>Jaren Kawada</a>Jaren Kawada is a former full-time sports bettor and is now a NFL, College Football and Betting Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. Kawada was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, but now resides in Indianapolis, Indiana, after graduating from Butler University with a B.A. in sports media. Aside from football, Kawada is an avid combat sports and basketball bettor.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NFL</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Minnesota Vikings have shockingly had a lot to celebrate early in the 2024 season, including a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/jets-news-aaron-rodgers-suffers-injury-scare-vs-vikings">two-interception first half against Aaron Rodgers</a> and the New York Jets in London on Oct. 6. After the second forced turnover of the game by cornerback Camryn Bynum, the veteran used an iconic dance to celebrate with teammate Josh Metellus.</p><p>Following the turnover, Bynum and Metellus rushed to the far end zone with the ball and mimicked <a href="https://twitter.com/KassidyGHill/status/1842936443318223163" rel="noopener">Lindsay Lohan’s famed ‘Parent Trap’ handshake dance</a> from the 1998 film <i>The Parent Trap</i>. Carolina Panthers reporter Kassidy Hill paralleled a clip of the dance from the broadcast with the original movie scene on TikTok, furthering the moment’s viral attraction.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Don’t say I never did anything for yall*</p><p>(*i did this for me) <a href="https://t.co/hwlCDgY0G9">pic.twitter.com/hwlCDgY0G9</a></p><p>— Kassidy Hill (@KassidyGHill) <a href="https://twitter.com/KassidyGHill/status/1842936443318223163?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Bynum followed edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel in picking off the former MVP quarterback in the first half. Van Ginkel turned his into a 63-yard interception returned for a score, the only touchdown of the first half.</p><p>Through the first three quarters, both offenses have struggled against the opposing defenses in London. Both teams have been additionally hurt by injuries with Rodgers, Sauce Gardner and Aaron Jones all <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/vikings-news-aaron-jones-picks-up-hip-injury-in-contest-vs-jets">receiving medical attention</a> during the game.</p><h2><b>Vikings defense dominating the Jets early in London</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Josh-Metellus.jpg"><figcaption>Brad Rempel-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>In the first London game of the 2024 season, fans in attendance at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would need to be lovers of defense to enjoy the game. Neither offense has had much success in the game, though the Vikings’ defense has been more impactful, scoring the only touchdown of the game.</p><p>On top of Van Ginkel’s score, Rodgers’ former NFC North rivals have sacked him twice through three quarters and pressured him on nearly every drop back. On one hit in the third quarter, the 40-year-old stayed down holding his back but came back two plays later after a roughing the kicker penalty kept the Jets’ drive alive.</p><p>At halftime, Rodgers was held to under 100 passing yards with no scores and two interceptions with no support in the run game. Running back Breece Hall had under 10 rushing yards in the first half with rookie Braelon Allen not able to generate much of anything behind him.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Viking’s Parent Trap celebration goes viral

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/vikings-news-aaron-jones-picks-up-hip-injury-in-contest-vs-jets');   ga('set', 'title', 'Vikings’ Aaron Jones picks up hip injury in contest vs. Jets');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/College-football-power-rankings.jpg"></figure><h1>Vikings’ Aaron Jones picks up hip injury in contest vs. Jets</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-06T07:48:21-07:00">October 6th, 7:48am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-06T08:25:03-07:00">October 6th, 8:25am</time><address><a>Troy Finnegan</a>Troy Finnegan is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023 with a degree in journalism and minors in communications and sports media, as well as a critical sports studies certificate. He has had a passion for sports his entire life, and enjoys covering and writing about all sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NFL</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Minnesota Vikings lost one of their top offensive weapons during <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/minnesota-vikings-bold-predictions-for-week-5-vs-jets">Sunday’s game with the New York Jets</a>. Running back Aaron Jones <a href="https://x.com/TomPelissero/status/1842935604180562214" rel="noopener">went down with a hip injury</a>, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Stacey Dales of NFL Network was the first with the news. The Vikings originally announced Jones was questionable to return, but ruled him out shortly after the second half started.</p><p>Jones was seen shortly after the injury limping around on the sideline in obvious pain.</p><p>Jones has been involved in both the running game and the passing game this season, leading the team in rushing (321 yards) coming into Sunday’s game. His 143 receiving yards prior to Week 5 also ranked second on the Minnesota roster.</p><p>Missing their top running back hasn’t hurt the Vikings yet in this one, as they have raced out to a 17-7 lead over the Jets at halftime in what was supposed to be one of the more tightly contested games on the Sunday slate. The defense got on the board with a pick-six of Aaron Rodgers, and then the offense followed suit with a touchdown by CJ Ham.</p><p>Before exiting the game, Jones ran the ball seven times for 29 yards and had one 24-yard reception. Ty Chandler and Myles Gaskin will take over the primary running back duties while Jones is out, and you may see a little bit more of CJ Ham as well.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/2-vikings-overreactions-latest-big-win-over-packers">The Vikings’ run game has been one of the surprise stories</a> for Minnesota this season. It hasn’t necessarily been an elite ground attack, but it has been enough to keep the Minnesota offense ahead of the sticks and allow Sam Darnold to work from favorable situations. If Jones is unable to go in the second half, they could become a little bit more one-dimensional, so it’s worth monitoring if the Vikings are able to keep some sort of balance in the offense.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Vikings’ Aaron Jones picks up hip injury in contest vs. Jets

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/vikings-news-minnesota-makes-crucial-tj-hockenson-move-before-week-5');   ga('set', 'title', 'Vikings make crucial TJ Hockenson move before Week 5');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/TJ-Hockenson-set-for-practice-return-with-Lions-game-on-the-radar.jpg"><figcaption>ClutchPoints</figcaption></figure><h1>Vikings make crucial TJ Hockenson move before Week 5</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-04T08:08:08-07:00">October 4th, 8:08am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-04T08:24:40-07:00">October 4th, 8:24am</time><address><a>Ben Strauss</a>Ben Strauss is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a die-hard NFL fan who cheers for the Detroit Lions. He has previously written fantasy football content for IDPGuys and ImportantNonsense.com.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NFL</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Minnesota Vikings are one of the best stories of the 2024 NFL season so far. Vikings fans were crushed when they learned that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/vikings-news-jj-mccarthy-injury-update">J.J. McCarthy will miss his rookie season</a>. Thankfully, veteran Sam Darnold has stepped in and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/vikings-news-sam-darnold-outrageous-first-half-vs-packers">played the best season of his NFL career</a>. Minnesota will get another shot in the arm on offense soon after a positive injury update.</p><p>The Vikings have <a href="https://x.com/RapSheet/status/1842190304717226395" rel="noopener">officially opened the practice window</a> for tight end T.J. Hockenson, who returns to practice on Friday. This gives Hockenson a full three weeks of practice before he makes his 2024 Vikings debut.</p><p>Hockenson traveled with the team to London ahead of Minnesota’s Week 5 matchup against the New York Jets.</p><p>The star tight end has been on the PUP list after <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/vikings-news-t-j-hockenson-out-season-knee-injury">suffering a torn ACL during a Christmas Eve game</a> against his old team, the Detroit Lions, towards the end of the 2023 season. Participating in practice is a huge step forward for Hockenson, who now has three weeks to prove that he is ready to return to action.</p><p>If Hockenson performs well during practice, he will likely return in Week 8 against the Los Angeles Rams.</p><p>Ultimately, the Vikings have until October 25th, 21 days from today, to make a final decision on Hockenson for the season.</p><h2><b>T.J. Hockenson could add another weapon to hot Vikings offense</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/T.J.-Hockenson-of-the-Vikings.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Vikings do not seem like they are desperate for weapons on offense. Minnesota is 4-0 and looking the best they have in several seasons.</p><p>This is what makes it so exciting to add Hockenson to the mix. Hockenson could help take the Vikings offense to another level and give them an edge against teams down the stretch. This is especially intriguing because teams don’t have tape on Hockenson this season, so he could provide new wrinkles the Vikings can exploit in crucial late-season games.</p><p>Hockenson had his best statistical season of his career in 2023. <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/4036133/tj-hockenson" rel="noopener">He hauled in 95 receptions for 960 yards and five touchdowns</a>. Hockenson also led the team in targets with 127 despite only playing in 15 games.</p><p>The one unknown for Hockenson this season is his chemistry with QB Sam Darnold. The pair will need to forge a close bond quickly during practice if Minnesota wants to get the most out of their high-priced tight end.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Vikings make crucial TJ Hockenson move before Week 5

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/new-york-jets-bold-predictions-week-5-vikings');   ga('set', 'title', 'New York Jets bold predictions for Week 5 vs. Vikings');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/PUB-10-2-New-York-Jets-bold-predictions-for-Week-5-vs.-Vikings.jpg"></figure><h1>New York Jets bold predictions for Week 5 vs. Vikings</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-04T05:23:42-07:00">October 4th, 5:23am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-04T05:26:20-07:00">October 4th, 5:26am</time><address><a>Christopher Hennessy</a>Christopher Hennessy graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022. He has also worked at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders writer. Chris is originally from Connecticut and is a lifelong New York Yankees, Islanders, and Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New York Jets enter Week 5 after suffering an embarrassing defeat, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/jets-most-blame-week-4-loss-broncos">losing 10-9 to the Denver Broncos</a>. The rain-soaked affair saw kicker Greg Zuerlein miss a 50-yard fourth-quarter field goal that would have won the game. Now, they cross the Atlantic to face the undefeated Minnesota Vikings. Ahead of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/jets-vs-vikings-prediction-odds-pick-for-nfl-week-5-2024">the Jets-Vikings matchup</a>, we’ll be making out Jets Week 5 bold predictions.</p><p>After two weeks with the offense humming, Aaron Rodgers and the Jets stalled in Week 4. While the elements certainly played a factor, Rodgers missed multiple throws in the loss. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/jets-news-garrett-wilson-rips-ny-offensive-scheme">Garrett Wilson sounded off in the media</a> about the lack of creativity of the offense and the New York soap opera continues.</p><p>Brian Flores has been just of much of a star for the Vikings as Sam Darnold. In the first three-and-a-half games, the Minnesota defense was nearly perfect. Jordan Love and the Packers scored 22 second-half points <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/game/_/gameId/401671643/vikings-packers" rel="noopener">to almost complete</a> the comeback in Week 4. Rodgers must study his former team’s tactics and hope they work for him on Sunday.</p><p>The Jets must avoid a 2-3 record by winning this game. A losing record would only make the noise around the team louder and make this season seem more like a failure. With all that said, let’s look at our Jets Week 5 bold predictions.</p><h2><b>Garrett Wilson finally cracks 70 yards</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Garrett-Wilson-on-NY-Jets.jpg"><figcaption>Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Jets’ star wide receiver Garrett Wilson has had a poor start to the season. While fantasy managers and Jets fans alike are frustrated, there is hope that he will turn it around. His best performance of the season was the sixty yards he picked up in Week 1. He scored a touchdown in Week 3 but had only 40 yards and no scores against the Broncos. Rodgers and Wilson will connect for 70 yards on Sunday.</p><p>Davante Adams requested a trade from the Raiders this week. His previous relationship with Rodgers from Green Bay makes the Jets an obvious connection. Insiders reported that Joe Douglas and crew have called to check on the star wideout since the request news broke. Wilson must break out of his shell and shine this week to quell any Adams rumors from stirring up even more.</p><p>The Vikings allowed over 100 yards to Jayden Reed last week and over 80 yards each to Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs the week before. While their defense has been spectacular, they are susceptible to big games from star wide receivers. Wilson can solidify himself as a star in 2024 with a great game in London.</p><h2><b>Braelon Allen scores his third touchdown</b></h2><p>The Jets struggled to run the ball in the driving rain, which set the offense behind the pace all game. Breece Hall ran for just four yards on ten carries and could not punch in a touchdown in two goal-line attempts. The tide must turn to Braelon Allen in short-yardage situations. While Hall has the pedigree, Allen has the size to dominate in the red zone.</p><p>Expect the youngest player in the NFL to score his third touchdown of the season. Aaron Rodgers must find Allen to get the team into the end zone, whether rushing or through the air. The Jets need a stellar run game to stabilize their offense and dominate time of possession. With their great defense, that will be a recipe for success.</p><h2><b>Jets defense sacks Sam Darnold three times, forces one turnover</b></h2><p>Speaking of that defense. expect them to have some big plays in this game. They are not known as a big-play defense, as they only have one interception this season. Expect that to change against the Vikings because of Sam Darnold’s turnover issues so far. It is the only blemish on his record, as he has a pick in three of the four games so far. Whether it is a pick or a fumble, expect the Jets to flip the field at least once.</p><p>Even with the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl-rumors-jets-haason-reddick-dilemma-gets-eye-opening-update">Haason Reddick drama continuing</a>, the Jets have been great on the pass rush. Will McDonald is tied for third in the entire league with five sacks so far. That trend will continue in this game, as McDonald and the Jets will sack Darnold three times. If they have any chance of winning this game, their defense must go punch-for-punch with the Vikings unit.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

New York Jets bold predictions for Week 5 vs. Vikings

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/minnesota-vikings-bold-predictions-for-week-5-vs-jets');   ga('set', 'title', 'Minnesota Vikings bold predictions for Week 5 vs. Jets');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Minnesota-Vikings-bold-predictions-for-Week-5-vs.-Jets.jpg"></figure><h1>Minnesota Vikings bold predictions for Week 5 vs. Jets</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-03T15:49:38-07:00">October 3rd, 3:49pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-03T15:49:38-07:00">October 3rd, 3:49pm</time><address><a>Shane Shoemaker</a>Shane Shoemaker is an Associate Editor and Editorial writer for ClutchPoints, covering a wide range of sports and entertainment topics. Shane is a lifelong Tennessean yet refuses allegiance to any Tennessee-based teams. He's a graduate from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga with a BA in Communications/Journalism. There's a good chance he'll never let you forget the Atlanta Braves won the 2021 World Series.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Minnesota Vikings are off to a surprising start, doing what few expected them to achieve this season, at least not to this degree. Through the first four weeks, the Vikings are 4-0, leading the NFC North and standing as one of only two remaining undefeated teams in the NFL—the other being the Kansas City Chiefs.</p><p>Last week, the Vikings managed to handle their division rival, the Green Bay Packers, spoiling Jordan Love’s return in the process. Now, they head across the pond for the NFL’s first London Series game of the season, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/jets-vs-vikings-prediction-odds-pick-for-nfl-week-5-2024">facing</a> Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets.</p><p>The Jets (2-2) are coming off an ugly 10-9 loss to the Denver Broncos at home in Week 4, where tensions appeared to be rising between Rodgers, coach Robert Saleh, and just about anyone who dared to look at the quarterback the wrong way.</p><p>Although this matchup won’t take place in Rodgers’ former home of Green Bay or in Minneapolis, the veteran quarterback is very familiar with the Vikings, holding a 17-11-1 record against them. The Vikings, and their own quarterback, Sam Darnold, who <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/vikings-sam-darnold-gets-real-narrative-jets-failed-him">faces his former team</a>, will aim to avoid any such familiarity and hand the Jets (and Rodgers) their second consecutive loss. With that in mind, let’s dive into some bold predictions for the Vikings against the Jets in Week 5.</p><p><i><b>*Watch NFL games LIVE with fuboTV <a href="https://www.fubo.tv/lp/football/?irad=356362&amp;irmp=492408" rel="noopener sponsored">(free trial)</a>*</b></i></p><h2><b>Vikings defense sacks Aaron Rodgers at least twice, picks-off at least once</b></h2><p>Even though the Vikings’ defense had its worst performance last week against the Green Bay Packers, allowing a second-half comeback, this is still a unit to be feared—especially if you’re Aaron Rodgers this weekend in London.</p><p>While the Jets’ offensive line may be slightly improved, it hasn’t faced a pass rush like Minnesota’s yet. The Vikings currently lead the NFL in sacks with 17. Meanwhile, the Jets have already allowed Rodgers to be sacked 10 times in four games.</p><p>With pressure likely in his face for much of the day, Rodgers could be forced into some errant throws. And guess who is tied for the league lead in defensive interceptions? That’s right, the Vikings, with eight. Rodgers has just one interception on the season so far, but that number could change this Sunday.</p><h2><b>Vikings barely reach 300 yards of total offense</b></h2><p>Only once this season have the Vikings failed to account for more than 300 yards of total offense—against the Houston Texans in Week 3, when they managed just 274 yards but still pulled out a 34-7 win. As they prepare to face the Jets on Sunday, they’ll be up against another stout defense. New York currently ranks second in the league in yards allowed, giving up just 256.5 per game.</p><h2><b>Justin Jefferson has at least 80 receiving yards but doesn’t score a touchdown</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Justin-Jefferson-with-Minnesota-Vikings-1.jpg"><figcaption>Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin</figcaption></figure><p>Justin Jefferson has been his usual impressive self this season, especially with Sam Darnold under center. He’s already racked up 358 receiving yards and four touchdowns, scoring in every game so far. While Jefferson should again be a favorite target for Darnold this weekend, he might not find the end zone. The Jets rank No. 2 in passing defense and have allowed only two passing touchdowns all season.</p><h2><b>Vikings beat Jets by at least a touchdown or more in London</b></h2><p>Pressure is mounting once again in New York. The Jets are now 2-2 after an ugly loss to the Broncos in which they failed to score a touchdown, and tensions are running high. Meanwhile, under head coach Kevin O’Connell, the Vikings look like one of the best-coached teams in the NFL.</p><p>That doesn’t mean Sam Darnold won’t face his share of struggles against the Jets’ stellar defense. Darnold hasn’t been perfect this season, having thrown three interceptions so far. He’ll be challenged on Sunday, but Minnesota’s defense will likely bail him out and further exacerbate the tensions between Rodgers, Saleh, and the rest of the team. The Vikings win this one convincingly.</p><p><i>*Stats provided by <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/articles/nfl/2024-nfl-defense-rankings-team-pass-and-rush-stats" rel="noopener">Fox Sports</a>.</i></p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Minnesota Vikings bold predictions for Week 5 vs. Jets

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/vikings-news-minnesota-makes-2-roster-moves-ahead-london-game');   ga('set', 'title', 'Vikings make 2 roster moves ahead of London game');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Vikings-news-Minnesota-makes-2-roster-moves-ahead-of-London-game.jpg"><figcaption>10/3/24</figcaption></figure><h1>Vikings make 2 roster moves ahead of London game</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-03T14:44:07-07:00">October 3rd, 2:44pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-03T17:19:58-07:00">October 3rd, 5:19pm</time><address><a>Steve Silverman</a>Steve Silverman has been covering the NFL for more than 35 years, and his writing has appeared in ESPN Magazine, Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, Pro Football Weekly, and Forbes.com. He has written 10 books, including "Who's Better, Who's Best in the NFL." He has won multiple awards from the Pro Football Writers of America.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NFL</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/vikings-news-sam-darnold-outrageous-first-half-vs-packers">Minnesota Vikings have rolled through</a> the first four weeks of the schedule, winning all four of their games and rising to the top of the NFC. They have served notice that they have the weapons on offense and defense to cause problems for most opponents throughout the rest of the season.</p><p>A great start does not necessarily result in a championship or even a playoff spot, but the Vikings are not taking anything for granted as they prepare to play their Week 5 game against the New York Jets in London.</p><p>The Vikings have <a href="https://x.com/DaneMizutani/status/1841934015160344864?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet" rel="noopener">signed tight end</a> Robert Tonyan and released running back Myles Gaskin. Insider Dane Mizutani reports that bringing Gaskin back on the practice squad seems likely because he has been used in multiple formations to this point in the season.</p><p>Tonyan has been a pass-catching tight end throughout his career. However, he has played just two games for the Vikings this season and has not caught a pass yet from quarterback Sam Darnold.</p><p>Tonyan’s best season came in 2020 for the Green Bay Packers when he caught 52 passes for 586 yards and 11 touchdowns. This is Tonyan’s seventh season in the NFL and his first with the Vikings. He could be a decent weapon until starting tight end <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/vikings-news-tj-hockenson-practice-return-with-lions-game">T.J. Hockenson returns from the knee injury</a> he suffered last season.</p><h2><b>Vikings have multiple weapons on offense</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Sam-Darnold-has-had-command-of-the-Vikings-offense.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The growth of Sam Darnold from retread quarterback to accomplished starter for Minnesota has been quite significant this season. Based on his track record with the Jets, Panthers and 49ers, Darnold had completed several decent games, but he had never put them together consecutively.</p><p>He has benefitted from working with a quarterback guru like head coach Kevin O’Connell as well as QB coach Josh McCown. Darnold has completed 73 of 106 passes for 932 yards for an average of 233.0 yards per game with an eye-catching 11-3 TD to interception ratio.</p><p>Darnold is getting a big assist from running back <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/vikings-news-aaron-jones-drops-fun-truth-bomb-on-vikings-shocking-3-0-start">Aaron Jones</a>, who has rushed for 321 yards and a touchdown while averaging 5.0 yards per carry.</p><p>Justin Jefferson is the best-paid wide receiver in the NFL and he is playing like it. He has caught 20 passes for 358 yards with four touchdowns and five receptions of 20 yards or more. One of those was a 97-yard catch and run for a touchdown against the 49ers.</p><p>The Vikings offense received a big upgrade when second-year wideout Jordan Addison returned to the lineup and he caught three passes for 72 yards and a touchdown in the 31-29 win over the Packers.</p><p>While the skill-position players have done their job, so has the offensive line. That unit, led by tackles Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill, has opened holes in the running game and given Darnold the time he needs to make plays.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Vikings make 2 roster moves ahead of London game

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/packers-news-multiple-crucial-injury-updates');   ga('set', 'title', 'Packers get multiple crucial injury updates');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Green-Bay-gets-multiple-crucial-injury-updates.jpg"></figure><h1>Packers get multiple crucial injury updates</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-03T13:39:07-07:00">October 3rd, 1:39pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-03T17:36:26-07:00">October 3rd, 5:36pm</time><address><a>Mike Gianakos</a>Mike Gianakos is the former editor-in-chief of High Times magazine, where he also spearheaded the video department and event production. He is a longtime podcaster and even longer suffering NY Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NFL</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Injuries have impacted the NFL landscape in 2024 and the Green Bay Packers are no exception. The team <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/packers-news-jordan-love-painful-injury-eagles-sparks-major-fears">lost starting quarterback Jordan Love to an MCL sprain</a> in the Packers’ season debut. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/packers-news-jordan-love-making-return-from-injury-vs-vikings">Love was able to return to the field</a> for the team’s Week 4 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings. However, star cornerback <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/packers-news-green-bay-trouble-vs-justin-jefferson-vikings-after-injury-update">Jaire Alexander was forced to miss the game</a> with a quad injury and the Packers third-year wideout Christian Watson was carted off the field during the contest with a sprained ankle.</p><p>Alexander was able to <a href="https://x.com/TomSilverstein/status/1841890269915967788" rel="noopener">return to practice</a> on Thursday, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tom Silverstein on X, formerly Twitter. Watson, Luke Musgrave and Devonte Wyatt remained sidelined. Elgton Jenkins and Kenny Clark joined Alexander <a href="https://x.com/BillHuberNFL/status/1841890338182684834" rel="noopener">in returning</a> to the practice field, per Packers’ insider Bill Huber. Romeo Doubs did not participate in the team’s Thursday practice due to personal reasons.</p><p>Green Bay missed Alexander’s elite pass coverage in last Sunday’s clash with the Vikings. Minnesota quarterback – and early Comeback Player of the Year candidate – Sam Darnold went 20/28 for 275 yards with three touchdowns and one interception against the Packers in the Vikings 31-29 victory. Justin Jefferson caught six passes for 85 yards and a score.</p><h2><b>Packers wideout Christian Watson was carted off after an ankle injury in Week 4</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Christian-Watson.jpg"><figcaption>Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Watson was injured early in the game on his only target, which was intercepted by the Vikings. The receiver’s left leg was awkwardly bent behind him resulting in a high-ankle sprain that initially looked significant. The wideout <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/packers-news-christian-watson-carted-locker-room-injury-jordan-love-interception">needed to be carted to the locker room</a> and was ultimately ruled out for the remainder of the game. Fortunately, it appears that Watson will avoid a trip to the injured reserve as his <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/packers-christian-watson-gets-positive-injury-timeline-update">ankle ailment isn’t as bad</a> as first feared. He will, however, miss some time for the Packers.</p><p>Defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt and tight end Luke Musgrave are also dealing with ankle injuries. Both players missed Thursday’s practice.</p><p>The Packers fell to 2-2 on the season after the loss to Minnesota. Green Bay will head to Los Angeles to face the Rams Sunday. LA has been ravaged by injuries as the team has already lost its top two receivers in <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rams-news-cooper-kupp-out-paclers-game-week-5">Cooper Kupp</a> and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rams-news-puka-nacua-knee-injury-week-week">Puka Nacua</a>.</p><p>The Rams are 1-3 heading into their Week 5 matchup against Green Bay. The Packers will have Love back under center as he <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/packers-news-jordan-love-injury-message-loss-vikings">didn’t suffer any setbacks</a> with his knee injury in Week 4.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Packers get multiple crucial injury updates

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/vikings-news-tj-hockenson-practice-return-with-lions-game');   ga('set', 'title', 'T.J. Hockenson set for practice return with Lions game on the radar');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/TJ-Hockenson-set-for-practice-return-with-Lions-game-on-the-radar.jpg"><figcaption>ClutchPoints</figcaption></figure><h1>T.J. Hockenson set for practice return with Lions game on the radar</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-02T13:16:43-07:00">October 2nd, 1:16pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-02T13:17:09-07:00">October 2nd, 1:17pm</time><address><a>Julian Ojeda</a>Julian Ojeda is an Orlando-based sports journalist with 3 years of professional writing under his belt, specializing in both NBA and NFL coverage. A devoted Orlando Magic fan, he deftly balances fervent fandom with insightful reporting, possessing a keen eye for compelling narratives.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NFL</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Minnesota Vikings are inching closer to a significant offensive boost as star tight end T.J. Hockenson prepares for a potential return to action. Head coach Kevin O’Connell confirmed during a Wednesday press conference that Hockenson will travel with the team for their Week 5 trip to London and <a href="https://x.com/Andrew_Krammer/status/1841546779558330777" rel="noopener">take part in Friday’s practice</a>. This session will kick off a crucial 21-day evaluation window for the Vikings to assess his progress in rehabilitation and determine his readiness to rejoin the active roster.</p><p>Hockenson has been sidelined on the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/vikings-news-tj-hockenson-training-camp-pup-list">Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list</a> after suffering a torn ACL during a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/vikings-news-t-j-hockenson-out-season-knee-injury">Christmas Eve game against the Detroit Lions last season</a>. His upcoming participation in practice is a critical step in his recovery process, though the team has not yet provided a specific timeline for his return to game action. The Vikings now have three weeks to monitor his performance and decide whether to activate him. If not activated within that period, Hockenson will remain on the PUP list, ending his season.</p><h2><b>T.J. Hockenson set to return to Vikings practice</b></h2><p>Since being acquired in a midseason trade from the Detroit Lions in 2022, T.J. Hockenson has emerged as a cornerstone of Minnesota’s offense. In just 25 games with the Vikings, the tight end has hauled in 155 receptions for 1,479 yards and eight touchdowns, cementing his role as a dependable option for quarterback Kirk Cousins. His presence as both a pass-catcher and blocker has been instrumental in balancing the Vikings’ offensive attack.</p><p>While Hockenson’s exact return to game action remains uncertain, the tight end could miss the next few games, including Sunday’s matchup against the New York Jets in London. The team might also opt for caution, potentially holding him out through Week 7 against the Lions or Week 8 against the Rams, depending on his progress. The Vikings must make their final decision regarding his activation by October 25.</p><p>For the undefeated Vikings (4-0), T.J. Hockenson’s return would provide a significant upgrade to an already potent offense. With the team riding a strong start to the season, his recovery and eventual return would add another dimension to Minnesota’s passing game, giving Cousins a proven weapon as they push to extend their winning streak.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

T.J. Hockenson set for practice return with Lions game on the radar

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/vikings-news-how-minnesota-gave-kirk-cousins-peace-during-games-with-stefon-diggs');   ga('set', 'title', 'How Vikings gave Kirk Cousins ‘peace’ during games with Stefon Diggs');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Vikings-news-How-Minnesota-gave-Kirk-Cousins-peace-during-games-with-Stefon-Diggs.jpg"></figure><h1>How Vikings gave Kirk Cousins ‘peace’ during games with Stefon Diggs</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-02T08:19:50-07:00">October 2nd, 8:19am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-02T08:19:50-07:00">October 2nd, 8:19am</time><address><a>Ben Strauss</a>Ben Strauss is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a die-hard NFL fan who cheers for the Detroit Lions. He has previously written fantasy football content for IDPGuys and ImportantNonsense.com.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NFL</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Minnesota Vikings are one of the best stories in the NFL through four weeks of the 2024 season. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/2-vikings-overreactions-latest-big-win-over-packers">Minnesota is one of the last undefeated teams at 4-0</a> and they sit atop the NFC North. The Vikings are led by WR Justin Jefferson on offense, a player <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/vikings-news-stefon-diggs-trade-was-triggered-by-one-thing-in-particular">they acquired through a 2020 trade involving current Texans WR Stefon Diggs</a>.</p><p>Stefon Diggs is <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/41549792/stefon-diggs-buffalo-bills-divorce-houston-texans-josh-allen" rel="noopener">not an easy player to have on your roster</a>, according to several anonymous sources who spoke to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Fowler published an article on Wednesday that chronicles Diggs’ divorce from the Buffalo and looks back at this time in Minnesota to shed light his entire career.</p><p>Diggs always believes that getting him teh ball can help his team win. That is part of what makes him a great wide receiver. However, it seems that Minnesota spent a lot of time and effort to manage Diggs both on gameday and during the week.</p><p>“He needs to have someone he can talk to, listening to his concerns, work through what was bothering him, recognizing him as a voice,” a Vikings source who directly observed Diggs’ tenure there said.</p><p>The Vikings came up with one solution to give QB Kirk Cousins some peace on the sideline during games. Vikings coaches once placed the wide receivers apart from the QBs and closer to the defensive backs on the benches, according to one ex-Viking source.</p><p>“It can be a lot,” once source said about Diggs. “He might throw his helmet. He will wear on your quarterback. But find me a premier receiver that’s not a diva. … And he works incredibly hard. That’s why coaches love him.”</p><h2><b>Reexamining the Vikings trading Stefon Diggs to the Bills in 2020</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Caleb-Farley.jpg"><figcaption>Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Minnesota Vikings finally had enough of Stefon Diggs after the 2019-20 NFL season. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/vikings-news-gm-opens-up-about-stefon-diggs-trade">Minnesota traded Diggs to Buffalo the following offseason</a>.</p><p>The complete trade terms are as follows.</p><p>Bills received:</p><ul><li>WR Stefon Diggs</li><li>2020 seventh-round pick</li></ul><p>Vikings received:</p><ul><li>2020 first-round pick (which became WR Justin Jefferson)</li><li>2020 fifth-round pick</li><li>2020 sixth-round pick</li><li>2021 fourth-round pick</li></ul><p>This trade obviously turned out incredibly well for Minnesota. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/why-justin-jefferson-was-the-perfect-choice-for-the-vikings-in-the-2020-nfl-draft">The Vikings upgraded from Diggs with Justin Jefferson</a>, and got him on a rookie contract. They also received multiple late-round draft picks as a kicker, making it an obvious win for Minnesota.</p><p>However, it wasn’t a completely terrible trade for the Bills. Diggs spent four seasons in Buffalo and put up over 1,100 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in each of his four seasons. He quickly became one of Josh Allen’s favorite weapons and helped propel the Bills into the top tier of AFC teams.</p><p>However, it wasn’t always easy in Buffalo either. That’s just the Stefon Diggs experience.</p><p>Graziano highlighted that his source did not recall the Bills asking the Vikings for advice on how to handle Diggs. However, one Bills source confirmed that it wasn’t always easy having Diggs in the locker room.</p><p>“You always have to worry about how he feels,” a Bills team source said. “That wears on a locker room.”</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/stefon-diggs-trade-grades-texans-bills-blockbuster">The Bills traded Diggs to the Texans earlier this spring</a>. Houston is 3-1 and in control of the AFC South, so the trade looks like a success so far.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

How Vikings gave Kirk Cousins ‘peace’ during games with Stefon Diggs

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/sam-darnold-hawk-tuah-girl-nfl');   ga('set', 'title', 'Is Sam Darnold the Hawk Tuah Girl of the NFL?');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Is-Sam-Darnold-the-Hawk-Tuah-Girl-of-the-NFL.jpeg"></figure><h1>Is Sam Darnold the Hawk Tuah Girl of the NFL?</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-01T14:04:50-07:00">October 1st, 2:04pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-01T14:21:48-07:00">October 1st, 2:21pm</time><address><a>Josh Silverstein</a>Josh Silverstein writes for The Association and writes, edits, and produces content for the video team as well. He's a writer for television/film/new media/stage/print and probably a few other mediums he's forgetting. He is also a wearer of many Mediums for those looking to buy him a shirt.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Celebrity</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Over the summer, Sam Darnold <a href="https://x.com/StephieSmallls/status/1807915029422866597" rel="noopener">created a mini-stir</a> on social media when he added a heart emoji reaction to a Barstool Sports promo for the first public interview of Haliey Welch, better known since her viral infamous video clip as Hawk Tuah Girl.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">why is this sending me lmfaoooooo <a href="https://t.co/9ny8BNd5Sq">pic.twitter.com/9ny8BNd5Sq</a></p><p>— smalls (@StephieSmallls) <a href="https://twitter.com/StephieSmallls/status/1807915029422866597?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 1, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><p>Darnold’s post immediately sparked rumors that he was either dating or thirsting after Hawk Tuah Girl (none of which has been substantiated at this point). I’d like to propose a more innocent explanation for Darnold’s hearting of the promo (heaven knows this whole story could use a dash of innocence).</p><p>I choose to believe Darnold indicated his love for the post not for any salacious reasons, but rather because he empathized with Haliey Welch and her sudden rise to fame.</p><p>After all, Darnold was all but written off as a bust prior to this season. And like Welch, he burst onto the scene out of nowhere one weekend, and was suddenly all anyone could talk about, in Minnesota and far beyond as well. Now, both Darnold and Welch are seizing on their fifteen minutes of fame.</p><p>Welch has shrewdly turned her online celebrity into less of an online joke and more of an entire social media persona — she’s now <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/7KCh1Z181LOIh3IP6EbqNR" rel="noopener">a podcast</a> host of the aptly named Talk Tuah podcast. Even more impressive, Talk Tuah after just four episodes, is the #5 <a href="https://podcastcharts.byspotify.com/" rel="noopener">most listened to</a> podcast on the Spotify charts. That’s insane?! She sure has grabbed a hold of that microphone and — well, you know.</p><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><p>Darnold similarly has decided to turn a surprisingly stellar debut into a bona fide breakout season as quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings. He somehow has the Vikings at 4-0 and looking like the best team in the league, in what should have been a lowly rebuilding season after Minnesota lost Kirk Cousins to free agency.</p><p>Like Welch, Darnold has taken a lot of hits — though both of these rising stars are taking the unflattering first-impression labels the public has bestowed upon them and are turning them into a badge of honor instead.</p><p>Some of you reading this may count yourselves fans of Haliey Welch, aka the Hawk Tuah Girl, aka the host of the Talk Tuah podcast. Others may gravitate more toward Sam Darnold, aka the star quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings, aka heart-emoji-bestower of a Haliey Welch interview promo. Others still may be fascinated by both of these head-scratching enigmas and pop cultural phenomena.</p><p>Wherever you stand, rather than spread further unsubstantiated rumors about <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/vikings-news-sam-darnold-outrageous-first-half-vs-packers">Sam Darnold</a> and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hawk-tuah-girl-haliey-welch-reality-tv-decision">Haliey Welch</a>, try spreading a little more heart emoji around the world instead — because Darnold and Welch, whether you like it or not, have spit upon our expectations of them, and are the epitome of today’s American dream.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Is Sam Darnold the Hawk Tuah Girl of the NFL?

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/reasons-for-optimism-despite-packers-loss-vs-vikings');   ga('set', 'title', '3 reasons for optimism despite Packers loss vs. Vikings');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/3-reasons-for-optimism-despite-Packers-loss-vs.jpg"></figure><h1>3 reasons for optimism despite Packers loss vs. Vikings</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-09-30T19:08:06-07:00">September 30th, 7:08pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-09-30T19:08:06-07:00">September 30th, 7:08pm</time><address><a>Shane Shoemaker</a>Shane Shoemaker is an Associate Editor and Editorial writer for ClutchPoints, covering a wide range of sports and entertainment topics. Shane is a lifelong Tennessean yet refuses allegiance to any Tennessee-based teams. He's a graduate from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga with a BA in Communications/Journalism. There's a good chance he'll never let you forget the Atlanta Braves won the 2021 World Series.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Green Bay Packers fell to 2-2 in Week 4, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/packers-most-to-blame-for-week-4-loss-to-vikings">losing</a> to the Minnesota Vikings 31-29. Taking a bitter loss to an NFC North rival like the Vikings, especially at Lambeau Field, is never easy. Despite the loss, the Packers showed a valiant comeback effort.</p><p>Trailing 28-7 at halftime, Green Bay mounted a fourth-quarter rally, scoring 22 points, including a final touchdown with under a minute remaining. However, a failed onside kick sealed their fate, handing the win to Minnesota.</p><p>While the Packers’ first-half struggles were alarming, especially with conference implications on the line, Sunday’s game needs context rather than scrutiny. This year’s Packers squad still appears to be one of the NFC’s best. And that begins first in part due to their starting quarterback.</p><h2><b>Jordan Love’s return wasn’t all bad</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Jordan-Love-throwing-a-football.jpg"><figcaption>© Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Malik Willis proved to be a capable stand-in for an injured Jordan Love over the previous two games, but Packers fans were clamoring for their starting quarterback’s return against an undefeated Vikings team. They got their wish.</p><p>Love had been spotted back at practice leading up to last week’s game against the Tennessee Titans. Fortunately, he wasn’t needed as Willis handled business against his former team, going 2-0 while filling in for Love.</p><p>It seemed like perfect timing for Love to return against the Vikings, but <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/packers-news-jordan-love-reassuring-injury-update-roller-coaster-return">his performance</a>—especially early on—was about what should have been expected. Love had a career-high day in yards (389) and touchdowns (4) but also matched it with a career-worst three interceptions, completing 32 of 54 pass attempts. Two of those interceptions were capitalized on in the first half, helping Minnesota build a 28-0 lead. Love would find Jayden Reed on a 15-yard touchdown reception right before the end of the half to cut the lead to 21.</p><p>Even though Love may have been the right choice for his potential against the Vikings, facing one of the league’s top-ranked defenses was a tough ask for the returning quarterback. Before facing the Packers, the Vikings were ranked No. 2 in scoring defense, allowing just 10 points per game. They also led the league in interceptions (8) and sacks (17). The Packers were not exempt from the Vikings’ defensive onslaught.</p><p>Again, this wasn’t the best matchup for Love’s return. But don’t be fooled by this one game. If anything, take a look at what Love and the Packers were able to do in the second half, staging a comeback. Despite the loss, this was still a career day for Love and one he and the team can build upon for the rest of the season.</p><h2><b>The Packers’ schedule gets easier</b></h2><p>The Packers pulled off two impressive wins over the Indianapolis Colts and the Tennessee Titans in Love’s absence, keeping them at .500 after the loss to the Vikings. Those were relatively easy opponents that aren’t posting winning records. Good news–the next three out of four games are against teams with losing records.</p><p>The Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals, their next opponents, are a combined 2-6. After that, they’ll host the 3-1 Houston Texans before heading on the road to face the winless Jacksonville Jaguars, who could potentially be without head coach Doug Pederson by then. These matchups should offer more favorable scenarios for Love as he continues to transition back from his injury.</p><h2><b>The Packers’ defense is still strong</b></h2><p>Despite allowing 31 points, the Packers’ defense remains a unit that shouldn’t be underestimated. Against the Vikings, they produced two sacks, five tackles for loss, and forced three turnovers, including a Sam Darnold interception from Xavier McKinney.</p><p>Heading into Sunday, the Packers were right there with the Vikings among the league leaders in interceptions (2nd) and sacks (7th). Part of the blame for the loss falls on the Packers’ offense. On their first four possessions, they missed two field goals, threw two interceptions, and turned the ball over on downs at the Minnesota 34. The defense was constantly being put in bad situations and the offense couldn’t match points–that equals a recipe for disaster.</p><p>This isn’t the time to panic in Green Bay. Love is back and appears healthy. Sure, there was some rust to shake off, but with an easier schedule ahead and enough talent around him, the Packers are still on track to achieve their lofty goals this season.</p><p><i>*Stats provided by <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/nfl/team-stats?category=defense&amp;sort=def_pts_a&amp;season=2024&amp;seasonType=reg&amp;sortOrder=asc" rel="noopener">Fox Sports</a>.</i></p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

3 reasons for optimism despite Packers loss vs. Vikings

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/2-vikings-overreactions-latest-big-win-over-packers');   ga('set', 'title', '2 Vikings overreactions from latest big win over Packers');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/X-Vikings-overreactions-from-latest-big-win-over-Packers.jpg"><figcaption>9/29/24</figcaption></figure><h1>2 Vikings overreactions from latest big win over Packers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-09-29T18:32:45-07:00">September 29th, 6:32pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-09-29T18:32:45-07:00">September 29th, 6:32pm</time><address><a>Steve Silverman</a>Steve Silverman has been covering the NFL for more than 35 years, and his writing has appeared in ESPN Magazine, Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, Pro Football Weekly, and Forbes.com. He has written 10 books, including "Who's Better, Who's Best in the NFL." He has won multiple awards from the Pro Football Writers of America.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NFL</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/vikings-news-sam-darnold-outrageous-first-half-vs-packers">Minnesota Vikings</a> have gotten off to something of a dream start in 2024. They have won all four of their September games, and they are starting to make believers of many NFL observers who have seen them combine an explosive offense with a defense that has been dominating at times.</p><p>The Vikings opened the season with a relatively easy and expected win over the New York Giants, but the ensuing three games have been upsets. They beat the San Francisco 49ers and and Houston Texans — both with Super Bowl aspirations — when they came to U.S. Bank Stadium. They traveled to Lambeau Field in Week 4 and defeated the Green Bay Packers.</p><p>The Vikings played almost pristine football for 3 1/2 games. In the 31-29 victory over the Packers, they built a 28-0 lead in the first half. The Packers would turn things around shortly thereafter, outscoring the Vikings 29-3 the rest of the way.</p><p>The Vikings are clearly a team that is off to a great start, but are they a team that can dominate the opposition? A 4-0 record may allow them to make a strong argument, but there are still 13 games to go in the season and they did not look like a championship team in the final 30 minutes against the Packers.</p><p>Here are two key overreactions that have emerged from the Week 4 win over the Packers.</p><h2><b>The Vikings have a championship-caliber offense</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/There-are-still-questions-about-the-Vikings-offensive-line.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The start of the game was brilliant for head coach Kevin O’Connell’s offense. They scored four first half touchdowns as Sam Darnold continued his brilliant play as the team’s QB1. He found superstar wideout <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/vikings-news-justin-jefferson-trolls-packers-fans-griddy-td">Justin Jefferson</a> with a well-thrown TD pass and he also hit speedster Jordan Addison with another scoring pass.</p><p>Addison also added a touchdown when the took the ball on a jet sweep and darted through Green Bay’s attempted tackles. The Vikings also got a huge contribution from ex-Packer running back Aaron Jones. He rushed for 93 yards on 22 carries and also caught 4 passes for 46 yards. While he did not get into the end zone and did not perform a Lambeau Leap, he was happy to contribute to his new team.</p><p>“This is what I came here for,” <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/41517949/vikings-aaron-jones-gets-lambeau-leap-return-win">Jones said</a>, per Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com. “If someone had told me, ‘Hey, you’ll go in and have a good game. You won’t score but you’ll get the [win],’ I’d say that’s what I’m here for. At the end of the day, as long as we win, it doesn’t matter who is putting the points on the board, as long as they’re being put up.”</p><p>The Vikings offense could look even more dangerous when tight end T.J. Hockenson returns from a knee injury. That is expected in the coming weeks.</p><p>However, Darnold has never been more than a quarterback who could deliver occasional good games prior to this season. The assumption that will play consistent football on a week-in, week-out basis is not realistic.</p><p>The other area of concern is the Vikings offensive line. At the start of the year, starting tackles Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill looked excellent, but the interior portion of the line was not as talented. Major issues have not surfaced yet, but they could in the future.</p><h2><b>Vikings have a dominant defense</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Brian-Flores-has-the-responsibility-of-driving-the-Minnesota-defense.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Minnesota defense certainly has been impressive at the start of the season. That unit also looked dominant in the first half against the Packers. However, the second half was not a positive showing.</p><p>Perhaps the big lead enticed the Vikings to bend-but-don’t-break defense in the second half. If that was the choice, defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ charges did not perform in impressive fashion.</p><p>Packers quarterback Jordan Love demonstrated the Vikings defense could be vulnerable. Love missed the last two games for Green Bay due to a sprained MCL, but he returned against the Vikings. He completed 32 of 54 passes for 389 yards with 4 TDs and 3 interceptions.</p><p>Love did nearly all of his damage in the second half. The Vikings defensive players looked a step slower than the Packers receivers and the Minnesota pass rush took a step back. They were held to one sack against Love. They put quite a bit of pressure on Love in the first half, but Love seemed to have more time on most plays in the final 30 minutes.</p><p>The performance of the Green Bay quarterback could encourage upcoming signal callers to attack the Minnesota pass defense.</p><p>It will be up to Flores and players like Blake Cashman, Andrew Van Ginkel, Pat Jones II, Harrison Smith, Shaq Griffin and Byron Murphy to display more resilience in the upcoming weeks.</p><p>If not, the Vikings may not be able to keep stacking wins.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

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