eBay Deals


6 hours ago 20

The Vikings defeated the Dolphins on Sunday to remain one of three undefeated teams in the NFL. The 15-10 victory at U.S. Bank Stadium was far from pretty, but the Purple and Gold figured out a way to get the win, and that's all that matters.

A lot of credit for the win has to go to how head coach Kevin O'Connell used the players he had available for the game. The snap counts for Week 4 were interesting since they might not have worked out the way many thought they would.

Let's take a look at two winners, two losers, and one player who saw their role with the Vikings change against the Dolphins.

Snap count winner: T.J. Hockenson, tight end

There wasn't a bigger winner on Sunday than Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson. The starting tight end played 65 of a possible 78 offensive snaps against the Dolphins and was the most efficient offensive player by far.

Hockenson led Minnesota in receiving by catching all 13 targets thrown his way and gaining 119 yards on the day. With his backup, Josh Oliver, on injured reserve with a torn biceps muscle, Hockenson saw his role expand significantly.

Snap count loser: Gavin Bartholomew, tight end

When talking about tight ends who should have gotten some playing time with Oliver out, Gavin Bartholomew should have been in line to be Hockenson's direct backup in Week 4. However, he only played 17 offensive snaps and 15 special teams snaps against Miami.

Gavin Bartholomew wasn't exactly making much noise with his limited offensive snaps on Sunday. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Bartholomew caught one pass for four yards on his solo target, but Minnesota couldn't take Hockenson off the field since he was the player who was having the most success through the air on Sunday.

Snap count winner: Kyle Van Noy, edge rusher

In his first game since being signed to the 53-man roster, edge rusher Kyle Van Noy played 21 of 39 possible defensive snaps to not only give the Vikings a strong pursuit of Dolphins QB Malik Willis, but also give Dallas Turner and Andrew Van Ginkel some rest.

Van Noy only had two tackles on the day, but they were both solo efforts for a loss. He also finished with solid Pro Football Focus grades for tackling (72.4) and run defense (73.7). If he can continue playing well in his limited role, his value for Minnesota will continue to increase with every passing week that he suits up.

Snap count loser: Aaron Jones, running back

The Vikings couldn't have game-planned for Aaron Jones Sr. to play 57 offensive snaps this week. That kind of workload on a player who is working through a knee injury at 31 years old—with his extensive injury history—is scary.

Jones did turn his 24 touches into 128 total yards between his rushing and receiving. It felt like the only way Minnesota could move the chains was if Jones and Hockenson were on the field to spark the offense.

Role Change: Caleb Tiernan, offensive line

While Bartholomew was supposed to be the tight end to get extra work with Oliver on injured reserve, the Vikings turned to offensive lineman Caleb Tiernan instead. The rookie offensive tackle was called upon to be an extra lineman against Miami.

It might not sound like a lot, but Tiernan's eight offensive snaps and five special teams snaps are a massive improvement from a player who had been inactive all season up to this point. It's nice to see the Vikings find a role for him, especially if starting left tackle Christian Darrisaw misses time.

Get Vikings On SI straight to your inbox: sign up for our free newsletter here.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow
Read Entire Article