Minnesota Vikings left guard Donovan Jackson likely will miss the rest of the regular season because of a torn meniscus in his knee that will require surgery, after the promising second-year player was injured in the first quarter during a 15-10 win over Miami.
Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell announced the news on Monday, revealing another significant setback for an offense that has struggled to consistently move the ball despite the team's 4-0 start. Jackson was a first-round draft pick out of Ohio State in 2025.
“It's very, very unfortunate,” O'Connell said. “Don's gotten off to a great start.”
Left tackle Christian Darrisaw also began the week with uncertainty surrounding his availability for the upcoming game at New Orleans, after he was placed in the concussion protocol on Sunday. Darrisaw hurt his neck in the second quarter, returned in the third quarter and had to be pulled again for evaluation following another hit.
Joe Huber, a second-year player who made the team last season as an undrafted rookie out of Wisconsin, replaced Jackson. Ryan Van Demark, who signed with the Vikings as a free agent this year after three seasons with Buffalo, took over for Darrisaw.
The offensive line depth, which was a persistent problem last year as the interior injuries piled up, could get a boost soon with the return of center/guard Michael Jurgens, who began the season on injured reserve. Jurgens will have his 21-day practice window opened this week, O'Connell said.
The Vikings' offense also was without star wide receiver Justin Jefferson (ankle) on Sunday, his first absence in nearly three years. Running back Jordan Mason (thumb) will miss at least one more game on injured reserve.
Jefferson made “great progress” last week, according to O'Connell, but he didn't practice at all and was ruled out ahead of the game. The Vikings have a bye in Week 6 and thus could give him extra recovery time with only one more absence, but O'Connell said the schedule won't be a factor in the decision about when Jefferson returns.
“We'll see how he does throughout the week,” O'Connell said. “I don't have any real projection on whether we'll have him or not.”
Viking Offense is still a work in progress
O'Connell didn't dance around it Monday, saying his offense with Kyler Murray under center needs to get better.
"We know we've got to be more consistent on offense and penalties, you know, whether they were guys stepping in or whatever it may be as we continue to get comfortable with the kind of moving pieces," O'Connell said Monday. "What it's been for us offensively early on in the year, there's no excuse for it, and it starts with me. We've got to put together a plan to rectify those issues."
O'Connell did say Murray started to find a groove in the second half, despite the injuries to the offensive line, and without star wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
"I will say this, I was very encouraged by the way Kyler finished the football game," O'Connell added. I think he was 13 of 14 over that final kind of frame of the game. The way (tackle Ryan) Van Demark stepped in, (guard) Joe Huber stepping in was critical for us to be able to kind of have that ability to move the football. But we do need to score more points and finish some of those drives with touchdowns."
Murray seemed to develop a connection with tight end T.J. Hockenson, who caught 13 of his targets for 119 yards, tying his single-game career high. Hockenson could have easily scored a TD near the end of the game, choosing to slide down at the 1-yard line instead. The Vikings were then able to take a knee and run out the clock.
It's been a pretty historic run of bad offense up to this point however. The Vikings are just the third team to start a season 4-0 while failing to score an offensive touchdown in two of those games. The others? The 1922 and 1923 Chicago Cardinals. Clearly an era where offense wasn't up to today's standard.
The Vikings are also just the second NFL team in the last 90 years to win three straight games in a season while scoring one or fewer scrimmage touchdowns across those games. The other team was the Steelers in 1994, weeks 10-12.
Viking Coach Kevin O'Connell says the offense needs to get better but he was encouraged by Murray's 4th quarter
Viking Coach Kevin O'Connell says the offense needs to get better but he was encouraged by Murray's 4th quarter
