Someway, somehow, the banged-up, short-handed Minnesota Vikings continue to find ways to win.
Even after quarterback Kirk Cousins, who had been playing very well this season, went down with a torn Achilles in Week 8, and even with superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson sidelined for the last five games with a hamstring injury, they currently have a five-game winning streak. At 6-4, their chances of making the playoffs are improbably alive.
With Jefferson unable to play, two men have stepped up for Minnesota: rookie wideout Jordan Addison and tight end TJ Hockenson. In Sunday’s win over the New Orleans Saints, Hockenson had 11 catches for 134 yards and a touchdown, and it made him only the second tight end in the NFL to have at least 10 catches, 100 yards and a touchdown in a half since 1978.
Hockenson got it done in the first half of the contest as the Vikings ran up a huge lead. But his production dried up after halftime, and not coincidentally, they saw their lead dwindle. The Saints got to within 27-19 early in the fourth quarter, but Minnesota’s defense was able to maintain its lead to get the win.
NFL News & Rumors: TJ Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings Updates
But what made his performance, at least in the first half, even more impressive was the fact that he wasn’t 100 percent due to a rib injury.
On the season, Hockenson, who has made the Pro Bowl in two of the last three years, has collected 681 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 71 catches in 10 games. Meanwhile, Addison has put himself on the edge of contention for the Offensive Rookie of the Year award with 603 yards and seven touchdowns.
Joshua Dobbs has been keeping the seat warm in Cousins’ absence, and against New Orleans, he completed 23 of 34 passes and got sacked only once.
Minnesota likely won’t catch the red-hot Detroit Lions, who are 7-2, in the running for first place in the NFC North, but if the regular season ended today, it would be in the playoffs as the third and final wild-card team in the conference.
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