Vikings Get Reinforcement to the Secondary This Weekend
Heading into this weekend, the Minnesota Vikings have dug themselves quite the hole in the NFC North race at 4-5.
The team sits in last place in the division, and with both the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions sitting at 6-3, the Vikings need to start putting some wins together if they are going to have any chance at competing for a division title this year.
Sunday is a great opportunity to begin doing that as Minnesota faces off with Chicago at home, and when they do so, it appears they will have additional help in the secondary.
Vikings Get Defensive Reinforcements
It seems that safety Theo Jackson will be back on the field this weekend after missing last weekend’s game with a concussion. Head coach Kevin O’Connell talked with the media earlier this week, indicating Jackson could be on his way back.
“Theo Jackson cleared the concussion protocol this morning, so he should be a full participant and be back this week,” O’Connell said.
So far, that prognosis has lived up to the billing as Jackson has been a full participant in both practices on Wednesday and Thursday.
Jackson is the latest player in the Vikings organization to follow the path of being a special teamer turned key defender, following the mold that was laid out by Josh Metellus a couple years ago. This offseason, Jackson signed a three-year contract with Minnesota worth just over $9.3 million, meaning he could be a bargain over the next couple years if the experiment with him works as well as it did with Metellus.
So far, though, it hasn’t been as smooth for Jackson. He has played eight games and made six starts, but the only interesting items on his stat sheet are 31 total tackles and a forced fumble and recovery. He has yet to record a tackle for loss, sack, pass breakup, or interception this season.
This offseason, the Vikings saw Camryn Bynum leave in free agency to join the Indianapolis Colts, and the hope for Jackson was that he could help replace the star’s production in the secondary. So far, that has not happened.
To be fair to Jackson, that has been the overall story across the entire defense to this point in the season. Minnesota’s run defense has not been as good as it was in 2024, they have not forced nearly as many turnovers, and they rank 18th in points allowed per game.
With Jackson getting a chance to rest though, maybe he will be able to lead a resurgence over the home stretch.
The Vikings kick off their Week 11 game against the Bears at 12 p.m. Central on Sunday.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Focus and Pro Football Reference.
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