MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings have quickly become a confident and resilient team under rookie coach Kevin O'Connell and his staff, and they sure showed it in this short week.
Kirk Cousins threw for 299 yards and three touchdowns, the last a go-ahead score to Adam Thielen with 9:34 left to push Minnesota past the New England Patriots in a 33-26 victory Thursday night.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The NFL this season is as competitive as ever, with all-time record rates of close games and comeback wins. Only a scant few teams are either out of contention or way ahead of the pack.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — More than one-third of the way through their first season under coach Kevin O’Connell, the Minnesota Vikings have the only two-game lead among the NFL’s eight divisions.
The question about how close this team is to seriously contending for the Super Bowl — with a roster mostly similar to the one that missed the playoffs the last two years — remains unanswered.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — MINNESOTA (4-1) at MIAMI (3-2)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, FOX
BETTING LINE: Vikings by 3½ according to FanDuel SportsBook
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings have staked out a favorable position through the first quarter of their season by winning three of four games amid predictable growing pains with new playbooks and play callers on both sides of the ball.
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Wide receiver Jalen Reagor was acquired by Minnesota in a trade with Philadelphia on Wednesday, sending two draft picks to the Eagles for the player who was selected immediately in front of Vikings star Justin Jefferson two years ago.
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Bisi Johnson will miss the season with a knee injury for the second straight year.
Johnson was placed on injured reserve on Monday, one day before the NFL's deadline for reducing rosters to the 53-player limit for the regular season.
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — When the Minnesota Vikings held out their entire starting offense for last weekend’s second preseason game, there was a notable addition to the list — K.J. Osborn.
Minnesota features one of the league’s top duos in Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen.
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — As Kirk Cousins enters his fifth year with the Minnesota Vikings, he's working with his fifth different play-caller.
For a quarterback long at his best when his surroundings in both the facility and the pocket are stable, this carousel of offensive coordinators has not been ideal.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS (8-9)
New faces: HC Kevin O’Connell, DC Ed Donatell, OLB Za’Darius Smith, DT Harrison Phillips, LB Jordan Hicks, G Ed Ingram Jr., S Lewis Cine, CB Chandon Sullivan, CB Andrew Booth Jr., TE Johnny Mundt, G Jesse Davis, OL Chris Reed.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen has restructured his contract to give the team salary cap relief, his agency announced on Friday, with a new deal that gives him $18 million guaranteed.
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Cornerback Cameron Dantzler has joined the list of Minnesota Vikings unavailable for their Sunday night game with the Green Bay Packers.
NEW YORK (AP) — Matthew Slater and Lavonte David are nominees for the fourth time for the NFL's Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award.
The league announced Thursday the eight finalists for the honor that recognizes players who best demonstrate the qualities of on-field sportsmanship, including fair play, respect for the game and opponents, and integrity in competition.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings have had one of those nail-biter seasons, and there's not much left to chew on with their chance of making the playoffs now in low-percentage territory.
The math problem won't be any easier to solve without Adam Thielen.
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Two straight wins have put the Minnesota Vikings back in playoff position. The passing attack has not inspired as much confidence.
Perhaps the return of receiver Adam Thielen from a sprained ankle can spark an offense that was largely grounded during uneven victories over Pittsburgh and Chicago.
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings placed wide receiver/punt returner Dede Westbrook on the COVID-19 reserve list on Tuesday, another hit to their skill position depth on offense amid a spike in positive tests across the NFL.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook has returned to the lineup for a critical game against Pittsburgh, after missing just one week with a shoulder injury.
Cook was on the active list for the Vikings to face the Steelers, despite the shortened recovery time with the Thursday night game.
After Adam Thielen was injured on Minnesota’s sixth offensive play Sunday, Kirk Cousins naturally focused on his other standout receiver, Justin Jefferson.
Jefferson responded with career highs of 11 catches and 182 yards, but the Vikings wasted that performance in a gut-wrenching 29-27 loss to Detroit.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — As Kirk Cousins rolled to the right out on third down in overtime of a game the Minnesota Vikings badly needed to win, Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen were covered.
K.J. Osborn was open on a crossing route, so Cousins delivered a difficult throw on the run and off balance.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — So much for the Minnesota Vikings' second-half scoring woes.
Kirk Cousins threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns against the league's top-ranked pass defense, including a 27-yard touchdown pass to K.J.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Needing one big play downfield to stall the Cleveland pass rush and potentially come back to steal a win against the Browns, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins lofted a deep pass to Adam Thielen in the fourth quarter.
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The architect of the improvement Minnesota's offense made two years ago, Gary Kubiak, has retired to his ranch in Texas.
One of the directors, Kevin Stefanski, is currently the head coach in Cleveland.
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Kirk Cousins took the shotgun snap and had the Seattle Seahawks’ pass rush immediately closing in. The Minnesota quarterback lofted a pass into the middle of the field while backpedaling, a potentially scary situation for a team nursing a 10-point lead and looking to win its first game of the year.
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings wore purple jerseys and white pants for their season opener. The yellow flags were an unplanned and unwelcomed accessory.
Nothing will spoil a game quite like recurring penalties, and the Vikings ultimately sealed their demise in Cincinnati with a bad rash of early infractions.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings signed former Jacksonville wide receiver Dede Westbrook on Sunday, adding some needed depth at the position and another option for a punt returner.
Westbrook's agency announced the news on Twitter.
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings initiated an aggressive makeover of their defense this year, following a collapse so severe it triggered a December declaration from veteran coach Mike Zimmer that the group was the worst he's ever had.
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings will begin training camp with their entire 15-player draft class under contract after finalizing rookie deals Thursday, including first-round picks Justin Jefferson and Jeff Gladney...
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Once Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings took the lead on Green Bay, they played with a fierce refusal to let it go...
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — As Kirk Cousins backpedaled in the pocket with Minnesota on the move late in the first half last week, Adam Thielen broke for the back corner of the end zone...
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — When Minnesota's offense huddled for the first time that mid-September afternoon in Pittsburgh, Case Keenum's energy and confidence quickly filled the circle...