EAGAN, Minn. — Speaking after Sunday's loss to the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold acknowledged some of the missed opportunities — a second-quarter interception, mounting pre-snap penalties, a late three-and-out — but made one thing crystal clear.
"No matter what the score, no matter what's happening, we're going to continue to be resilient," said Darnold, who finished the game 22 of 27 for 259 yards, one touchdown and an interception.
The Vikings trailed by 11 points — twice — and, with the help of a fourth-quarter scoop-and-score, clawed back to recapture the lead with less than six minutes remaining. The Lions eventually won the game 31-29 after a late Jake Bates field goal, but Darnold and the Vikings proved they're more than capable of competing with some of the league's top teams — Lions included.
"We haven't batted an eye all year, no matter what the circumstances," Darnold said. "So we're just going to continue to, like I said, put our heads down, continue to be resilient."
Darnold and the Vikings (5-1) will test that resiliency again as they look to bounce back from their first loss Thursday night on the road against the Los Angeles Rams (2-4).
Teams often despise playing on a short week, but coming off a loss, the Vikings will quickly get another opportunity to get the season back on track.
"The beauty of a short week is you don't have a ton of the time to think about narratives or anything like that," said Darnold during his media availability on Tuesday. "We just gotta do the best we can to get our game plan in, own it and move forward from there."
Hockenson 'questionable' but seems likely to return
Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson is listed as "questionable" for Thursday's game against the Los Angeles Rams, but all signs point to him playing.
He's been limited in practice since the team opened his 21-day practice window back on Oct. 4, and last week he told reports he was feeling "bigger, stronger, faster" after tearing his ACL and MCL last December. The Vikings could still wait until Friday to officially activate the two-time Pro Bowler, but if he's able to go on Thursday, it would give Minnesota an instant boost on offense that could help get the team back in the winner's column.
Offensive guard Dalton Risner, who returned to practice last week, is also questionable for Thursday's game. Risner opened the season on the Injured Reserve after injuring his back in training camp. His return will be interesting because left guard Blake Brandel has been playing well in Risner's typical position, however, there's speculation that he could take over for Ed Ingram at right guard.
There's no question where Hockenson will line up when he's healthy. He's been one of the top pass catchers for the Vikings since the team acquired him midway through the 2022 season in a rare inter-division trade with the Lions. In his 25 games with Minnesota, Hockenson has hauled in 155 passes for 1,479 yards and eight touchdowns. He led the team with 95 receptions last season, and his 960 receiving yards were second only to star receiver Justin Jefferson (1,074).
In his absence this season, tight ends Josh Oliver and Johnny Mundt have combined to make 18 catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns.
Reichard's stellar start
Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell told reporters after Sunday's loss that he toyed with the idea of sending rookie kicker Will Reichard out for a potential game-winning field goal had a late illegal formation not been called in the game's final seconds.
Quarterback Sam Darnold connected with receiver Jalen Nailor for a 20-yard reception on the game's final drive to move the Vikings to midfield. With no timeouts, the team hustled to the line of scrimmage to spike the ball with just two ticks remaining, but the team was flagged for not getting enough players on the line of scrimmage when the snap was taken.
As a result, the Vikings were backed up to their 45-yard line, and O'Connell rolled the dice with a last-second Hail Mary attempt. Darnold was eventually sacked on the drop back and the Lions escaped with a 31-29 victory, but O'Connell spoke after the loss about what was going through his head following the 20-yard reception.
"My confidence in him is — I was thinking about sending him anyway when the penalty kind of marked it back, I think it would have been about a a 73-yard field goal at that point — just outside his range," said O'Connell. "But, yeah, I would've absolutely hopefully give him a swing there."
Reichard has been perfect this season, and has won over the confidence of his coaches and teammates to hit from just about anywhere inside the 50. He's connected on all 12 field goal attempts, including a 58-yarder indoors against the Houston Texans, and he's sent them all through the uprights with plenty of distance left over.
Forgive Vikings fans if they still clench up whenever any kicker lines up for a field goal or extra point, but Reichard has been making his kicks look effortless through six games of his young career.
Ground game starts with Jones
Veteran running back Aaron Jones has been the backbone of the Vikings' rushing through six games this season as he's proving to be one of the most valuable players on offense. The 29-year-old's ability to plow his way for extra yardage has been on full display as he continues to set the Vikings up with more manageable second- and third-down situations.
He leads the team with 443 rushing yards, but it's been his 182 yards after contact that have perhaps been the most impressive part of his game so far this season. His motor has extended plays an additional 2.1 yards per carry as he currently ranks tied for third in yards-per-carry (5.2) of all runners league-wide with at least 85 rush attempts.
Jones was dealing with a hip injury entering Sunday's game with the Lions, but was still able to rush for 93 yards on 14 carries, including a 34-yard touchdown on Minnesota's opening drive.
"Aaron is a true pro's pro," said Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell after J. "One of those standards for our team, and the fact he was able to not only make it but have the impact he did on the game, just very, very fortunate to have Aaron Jones on the football team that I coach."
Not only has Jones been an asset to the ground game, but he's also been the team's No. 2 receiver in terms of catches (23).
Jones' availability this season will be crucial as the Vikings' other running backs — Ty Chandler and Myles Gaskin — have combined to average just 3.2 yards per carry in his absence. Minnesota recently traded for Cam Akers, who averaged 3.7 yards per carry in five games with the Texans this season, but he's yet to be inserted into the Vikings' ground game this year.
Cooper Kupp's impact
Star receiver Cooper Kupp is set to return to the field on Thursday for the Los Angeles Rams after suffering an ankle injury in Week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals. The Rams went 2-2 in Kupp's absence, but the passing game has struggled to find much consistency in that span.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford has completed 64.8% of his passes over the past four games, while the team averaged just 195.3 yards through the air.
It's unclear if Kupp will be on a snap count Thursday, but his presence should provide a boost to an offense that's averaging just 19 points per game this season.
Fellow receiver Puka Nacua also returned to practice on Tuesday, however, it would be a long shot for him to suit on Thursday.
Darnold's fourth-quarter struggles
While the Vikings have been the best first-quarter team in the league this season, outscoring opponents 58-3, quarterback Sam Darnold has struggled in the final frame. Despite being tied for fifth in the league in passing touchdowns (12) and seventh in passer rating (104.0), he's completed just 55.6% of his passes in the final 15 minutes of games with a passer rating of 77.1. Through six games, he's engineered just one touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.
He completed 3 of 4 passes for 65 yards in the final quarter on Sunday against Detroit, but his lone incomplete pass came on a crucial third down with just 2:46 to play. Had Darnold completed the pass, the Vikings could have extended their drive and potentially run out the clock for their sixth win of the season. Instead, Minnesota punted the ball and Lions kicker Jake Bates connected on a 44-yard field goal with 15 seconds remaining to give Detroit the victory.
Darnold has had his moments in the fourth quarter, including a late a 14-play scoring drive against the San Francisco 49ers to all but seal the victory, but he's been far too inconsistent for a team that's likely to be in a lot of tight games while playing in one of the best — if not the best — division in football.