Vikings Grab a Little Bit of Justice
It won’t change the box score or much of anything, really, but the NFL acknowledged its mistake on Monday.
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Joshua Dobbs was smacked in the face via helmet-to-helmet contact near the start of the team’s matchup with Denver Broncos, causing a fumble and early-game momentum swing in favor of Denver. Minnesota ultimately lost by one point, 21-20.
Vikings Grab a Little Bit of Justice
The referees totally missed it in the moment, but the NFL’s superintendency did not. Here was the illegal and dirty smack from Kareem Jackson, a repeat offender.
Fast forward to Monday evening, and Jackson received comeuppance. ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted, “Broncos’ DB Kareem Jackson has been suspended without pay for four games for repeated violations of playing rules intended to protect the health and safety of players, including during Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings.”
Thirty minutes later, Schefter tweeted, “Source: Broncos’ DB Kareem Jackson is appealing the four-game suspension handed down today, just as he did the previous one that subsequently was reduced to two games by hearing officer Derrick Brooks, jointly appointed and compensated by the NFL and NFLPA.”
So, it’s rinse, wash, repeat for the 35-year-old Jackson.
The Vikings would turn the ball over twice after that transaction, and an upside-down turnover differential of minus-three caused the team’s fifth loss of 2023. In fact, Minnesota is 0-49 on the road in the last 40 years when losing the turnover battle by three or more.
Reporters asked Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell about the hit on Dobbs and subsequent no-call after the game. He replied, “On the field, it felt like that. I’ll have to go back and look at it. It tends to happen pretty fast out there, but in the moment, coming from the second level the way he did, it seemed like a pretty direct helmet-to-helmet type hit. But I’m sure [officials] saw it differently on the play. They’re officiating a fast play right there.”
Jackson had just returned from a two-game suspension for a similar hit on Green Bay Packers tight end Luke Musgrave. Jackson said upon returning from the two-game absence, “I’m unsure as to how I play the game going forward. Because, like I said, I’m still going to be in those situations two to three times every week. So, for me, just try to lower my target and don’t end up in the same situation.”
He evidently didn’t learn a damn thing.
After the missed Jackson flag on Sunday Night Football, the officiating crew bungled another helmet-to-helmet hit on running back Alexander Mattison.
It is unclear if Singleton will be fined or suspended.
Jackson has a history of defending his hits on the X app, clinging to the idea that he’s an old-school ball player who doesn’t know how to tackle any other way.
We shall see if he changes his ways — or retires after 2023 — because his X app digital profile seems to hint at his belief that the NFL is “soft.”
Jackson entered the league during the 2010 NFL Draft, five picks before Tim Tebow.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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