5 Hidden Heroes behind Vikings First Victory
The Minnesota Vikings made a fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football. Most of the praise was heaped on JJ McCarthy as the quarterback came back from adversity to lead the Vikings to victory in his first NFL start.
Five unsung heroes stepped up in the Vikings’ first win, making key contributions that might have gone unnoticed. Here are the details.
However, the win was a team effort, and the efforts of some other players may have gone unnoticed by some people.
The Under-the-Radar Standouts for the Vikings in Week 1
The game might not have started well, but there was a lot to like in all three phases of the game that should give Vikings fans plenty to be optimistic about going forward. Four players outside of the big names like Justin Jefferson and Jonathan Greenard stepped forward and delivered big performances in big moments that played a big part in the Vikings’ win.
Will Reichard
When your offense is struggling, you still need to find a way to score. Before McCarthy engineered the comeback, Minnesota managed to get six points on the board, all from the right foot of Will Reichard.
The big moment for Reichard came when the Vikings were scrambling for points before halftime, and he connected with a career-long 59-yard field goal that also broke the record for the longest successful field goal ever made at Soldier Field—a stadium notorious for being difficult to kick at.
Reichard was perfect on the night, adding a successful kick from his only extra point attempt, but most importantly, when the team was struggling, he stepped up with a huge kick to give the team some life going into halftime.
Myles Price
For the last couple of seasons, the Vikings had Brandon Powell as their punt returner. A man who could catch the ball cleanly, which was an improvement on what came before him. However, averaging seven yards per punt return, he wasn’t doing much to help the Vikings flip field position.
That is something Myles Price did do on a couple of occasions on an impressive debut. On a night that the undrafted rookie received praise from head coach Kevin O’Connell, Price returned four punts for 68 yards at an average of 17. He also returned two kickoffs for 49 yards.
There wasn’t a significant explosive return, with all of the returns under 30 yards, but he certainly showed the potential to do something special. The Vikings have a genuine threat in the return game.
Eric Wilson
Bringing back Eric Wilson might be the Vikings’ most underrated move of the offseason. To quote O’Connell from post-game: “I don’t know if we win the football game unless you have Eric Wilson.”
Wilson showed off his special teams prowess by getting his hand on a punt. After Blake Cashman pulled up with a hamstring injury, he wore the green dot and became the chief communicator on the defense.
After being picked up by the Vikings as an undrafted rookie in 2017, Wilson left and spent the last four seasons in Philadelphia, Houston, and most notably, Green Bay. With Cashman looking at an extended absence with his injury, the Wilson signing looks even more important.
Donovan Jackson
Minnesota drafted Donovan Jackson in the first round of this year’s draft to play left guard and be part of the solution for a much-needed revamped offensive line. Jackson was excellent in his NFL debut, particularly in pass protection.
From 31 pass pro snaps, Jackson allowed zero sacks, pressures, QB hits, or hurries, while scoring a league high 89.1 pass pro grade from Pro Football Focus. Great stats for a rookie making his debut. If he can keep anywhere near the standard he’s set in Week 1, then the Vikings will have found exactly what they were looking for in their first-round rookie.
Jay Ward
Finally, we have Jay Ward. Nothing fancy will show up on the stat sheet for the Vikings’ safety, but with Harrison Smith unavailable due to illness, he was needed to step up, and he did just that. The 2023 fourth-round pick played on only 28 defensive snaps last season, primarily contributing to special teams in his first two seasons in the league.
On Monday, Ward played on 25 defensive snaps, almost equalling his total from last season in one game. He had a solid outing with a team-high grade on defense of 77.1 from PFF. The Vikings needed Ward to be solid and not let them down, and he delivered.
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