The Vikings never reached the end zone today. To beat the Dolphins, they didn’t need to.
Minnesota won 15-10 on the strength of five Will Reichard field goals.
The Vikings were without their best player, wide receiver Justin Jefferson, but they got a great game out of tight end T.J. Hockenson, who caught all 13 passes thrown to him, for 119 yards. On Hockenson’s last catch, he purposely went to the ground just short of the goal line at the two-minute warning, which was smart clock management as the Dolphins were out of timeouts and the Vikings just had to kneel down to win it from there.
Vikings running back Aaron Jones carried a big workload, with 20 carries for 94 yards, and while quarterback Kyler Murray wasn’t great, he was good enough on a day when the Vikings didn’t need to score much.
It didn’t help Murray that the Vikings lost the left side of their offensive line, as left guard Donovan Jackson (knee) and left tackle Christian Darrisaw (neck) both exited the game with injuries.
The bright spot for the Dolphins was running back Ollie Gordon, who had a 100-yard game in his first start in place of the injured De’Von Achane. But Gordon was just about the only player on the Dolphins’ offense who got the job done today. Miami quarterback Malik Willis struggled to find open receivers, and the Vikings’ pass rush didn’t give him much time.
At 0-4, the Dolphins look like the worst team in the NFL. At 4-0, the Vikings look like one of the league’s most pleasant surprises.