Wild Sunday for Jordan Addison Had Everything
The Minnesota Vikings pulled out a squeaker dub overseas in England, coming from behind to defeat the Cleveland Browns. Along the way, Jordan Addison provided suspense — in a weird way — in addition to an in-game redemption arc.
The Minnesota Vikings won on Sunday in Week 5, and Jordan Addison went from bozo to boss all in about three hours across the pond.
Indeed, Addison was in classic Jordan Addison mode, allowing his behavior to thicken the plot while also saving the day with his on-the-field heroism.
Sunday Was Peak Jordan Addison Scenes
Addison pulled out sweet and sour in London.
Jordan Addison Benched in 1st Quarter
Minnesota and Cleveland kicked off at 8:30 am CST, and once Carson Wentz and Co. took the field, Addison did not join them. The NFL Network telecast mentioned zilch about Addison’s absence, but fans on social media were quick to notice, and those in attendance claimed the young playmaker sat on the sidelines.
In short, nobody knew what the hell was going on. Was he hurt with no intel from any reporters? Had he pissed someone off before the game? Was he refusing to play? Was he ill? Had he been purposely benched by the coaching staff with no warning to the masses?
Cluelessness prevailed. So, onlookers had to wait until the start of the 2nd Quarter, when Minnesota got the ball again, to determine if Addison would be involved in the offense.
The Game-Winning Touchdown
The suspense ended when Addison joined his teammate in the 2nd Quarter on the field. Fans breathed a sigh of relief, putting the “why” of his absenteeism to the side for a time to be named later.
Addison wound up tabulating 5 receptions for 41 yards, a modest performance on the whole. But it was the flair of his final catch that took the cake.
Trailing by three points, late-late in the 4th Quarter, Wentz found Addison for paydirt, shutting the door on Cleveland and allowing Minnesota to achieve a 3-2 record before its Week 6 bye, a necessity because the schedule turns evil and two weeks, and the Vikings have battled injuries out the wazoo for about two months.
Here’s the game-winner from Addison after a wild morning:
A “Missed Walkthrough”
Star Tribune‘s Ben Goessling tweeted after the win, “Kevin O’Connell said Jordan Addison missed a walk-through this week, and was held out for the first quarter because of it.”
O’Connell said, “Those types of things aren’t in alignment with our standards. Wanted to make sure he was held accountable for that. He knows that isn’t acceptable. Thought he handled it professionally. He spoke with the team to let them know that whenever I gave him the opportunity to go in the game, they could count on him. And he makes the game-winning catch.”
Addison’s teammate Justin Jefferson added, “It’s a difficult situation. I definitely had my words with JA. But it’s just all about growing up and just being a part of the team and knowing the stakes and knowing that he’s a valuable part of the team. I’ve just got to do better keeping him under my wing and making sure he has his head on straight.”
And that solved the mystery.
Addison didn’t play in the 1st Quarter because of his own strange antics. He missed a walkthrough, and to avoid the appearance of preferential treatment, O’Connell basically suspended him for one quarter.
This … Is the Jordan Addison Experience
If you’re new to the Vikings or Addison personally, this is what he does. Sunday was the Jordan Addison experience in peak form.
In July 2023, Minnesota Highway Patrol popped Addison for driving 140 MPH in a 55 MPH zone. He later wiggled out of that with a misdemeanor. The following summer, Addison was found asleep on a Los Angeles freeway in his vehicle, later booked for DUI. He was suspended to start this season because of that transgression.
Then, this week, he missed a walkthrough. When the guy is on the field, he’s brilliant. When he’s not on the field, you cross your fingers and hope for the best.
Sunday had a little bit of it all.
More Addison Takes
Daily Norseman’s Christopher Gates on the Addison situation: “Kevin O’Connell told reporters during the post-game that Addison missed a walkthrough during the week, and as a result was benched for the first quarter.”
“You’d think that it would be damn near impossible to get in trouble during something as highly regimented as an NFL trip to a foreign country, but Addison managed to find a way somehow. Addison is a grown-up and needs to be held accountable for his actions. Hopefully, at some point, someone can get it through his head that there’s a standard that he’s expected to uphold.”
For future reference, Addison contract extension talks will heat up next offseason. This incident will almost assuredly be mentioned by fans.
“He’s too important a piece of the team to have to constantly deal with disciplinary issues. But if you were wondering why it was that #3 was not free during the first quarter of Sunday’s game, we now know the reason why. Hopefully, this is the last issue like this we hear about with Addison for a long time,” Gates concluded.
Addison and the Vikings next take on the Philadelphia Eagles at U.S. Bank Stadium on October 19th.
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