When the Minnesota Vikings used a first-round pick on Jordan Addison last year to give Justin Jefferson a top-class running buddy, the vision was two great wide receivers dominating together. It took a while, but the Vikings finally got the Jefferson/Addison monster game, and they saw their offense dominate the opposition.
The Vikings Finally Got the Monster Game
Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons marked the first time that Jefferson and Addison both went over the 100-yard mark in the same game — with the small matter of five receiving touchdowns as the cherry on top. Addison had 12 targets, which was a career-high, and caught 8 of them for 133 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also nearly caught another deep ball from Sam Darnold despite pass interference from former Viking first-round pick Mike Hughes. The penalty gained the Vikings 47 yards and set up their second touchdown.
Jefferson caught all seven of his targets for 132 yards and 2 touchdowns. It was the first time Jefferson had multiple touchdown catches since Week 4 of last season against the Carolina Panthers. There has been a lot of talk recently about defenses choosing to either let Jefferson have a big day or sell out guarding him and let others have big days. What we saw on Sunday was what happens when both Jefferson and Addison have big days. The Vikings offense looks unstoppable.
It didn’t end with the two wide receivers; RB Aaron Jones had 84 yards from scrimmage and a rushing touchdown. After drawing a blank in the first half, TE T.J. Hockenson had a string of important catches for the first down, totaling 45 yards. The final scoring drive started with Cam Akers running all over the Falcons and finishing with 37 yards at 7.4 yards per carry. There was also a 26-yard reception for Josh Oliver, and we saw the very best of this Vikings offense led by Darnold.
End of the 40-Point Drought
Sunday’s 42-21 win over the Falcons marked the first time the Vikings have scored 40+ points in a game in 5 years. The last time it happened was against the Detroit Lions back in 2019. It was the first time since Kevin O’Connell took the job of Vikings head coach that his team had topped 40 points. For a team that is renowned for its explosive playmaking ability, that is something of a surprise.
There are two reasons it happened on Sunday. First, the offense stayed consistent throughout the game and made big plays after big plays. Second, the Vikings finished the game strong with touchdowns on their last four meaningful drives. They did something they have often failed to do and finished the game on offense. Minnesota has often had a fourth-quarter lead and could not put teams away and let them get back in.
The Standard Has Been Set
Coach O’Connell uttered a very important line during his post-game locker room speech. “That’s the standard. That you guys went out and set.”
We are into the business end of the season with four regular season games left and almost certainly playoff football ahead for the Vikings. It’s the Chicago Bears this week, followed by another team the Vikings could potentially play in the playoffs (after the Cardinals and Falcons), the Seattle Seahawks. Minnesota finishes the season against Green Bay and at Detroit. Two huge games that will be like the playoffs come early.
The offense’s ability to repeat the level of performance they showed on Sunday will go a long way toward determining how successful the Vikings are going to be over the remaining games. The ability to get Jefferson and Addison flying while backed up by Jones and Hockenson will give any team a headache.
Can the Vikings repeat that high-powered offensive performance? It needs to become more of the norm rather than an outlier. The Vikings are good enough to achieve that.
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