The highlight of the Vikings’ 24-16 preseason loss to the Tennessee Titans on Saturday night at U.S. Bank Stadium happened postgame in the home locker room when teammates sang happy birthday to quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Cousins also got a nice ovation from the announced crowd of 66,689 when the scoreboard wished him a happy 35th. Other than that the game got the Vikings one step closer to the end of the preseason — that will come next Saturday against Arizona — and the start of the regular season on Sept. 10 against Tampa Bay.
The Vikings have now lost nine consecutive exhibition games, and Kevin O’Connell is 0-5 in the preseason as the Vikings’ head coach. As O’Connell spoke about that latest loss on Saturday, he appeared as eager as everyone else to get done with the meaningless games and have the real thing begin.
But there were a few points of interest. Here are four of them.
Don't expect to see Vikings' starters in preseason finale against Cardinals
When the NFL preseason was four games, it was common for a team’s starters to play a series in the first game, maybe a couple in the second and then the entire first half, and sometimes into the third quarter, in the third exhibition before sitting out the finale.
With the regular season now at 17 games, and the preseason down to three, the Vikings are among the teams that no longer have the majority of their starters see any game action. The new approach is to schedule two days of joint practices with an exhibition opponent and get the starters their situational reps in those sessions.
Cousins and Minnesota’s starters got reps last Wednesday and Thursday against the Titans at the Vikings’ practice facility, and O’Connell is planning to get his starters even more reps this coming week in two days of practices against the Cardinals in Eagan, Minn. The Wednesday practice will be especially grueling with the high-temperature forecast at nearly 100 degrees.
“It’s going to be a big-time challenge for our guys,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said.
That will mean next Saturday’s game will serve exclusively as an audition for backups to try to make the roster ahead of the cutdown from 90 to 53 players on Aug. 29.
N'Keal Harry misses opportunity to make an impresson after aggravating injury in warmups
The Vikings wanted to get a look at N’Keal Harry, but the wide receiver did not play because of what O’Connell called, “a soft tissue aggravation” in warmups.
“We wanted to be smart with him, instead of trying to make him push through it,” O’Connell said. “That was unfortunate. I wanted to see him tonight.”
Harry, a first-round pick of the Patriots in 2019, was signed this month and has had some impressive moments in camp.
The Vikings’ first three wide receiver spots are set with Justin Jefferson, K.J. Osborn and Jordan Addison. Free-agent addition Brandon Powell appears to be a lock to make the roster in part because of his versatility, including the fact he can return punts. Jalen Nailor, who impressed late last season, was the favorite to be the fifth wide receiver but he hasn’t practiced since the first day of camp because of injury.
That means Jalen Reagor, a 2020 first-round pick of the Eagles, could win the fifth spot. The starting wide receivers on Saturday were Powell, Reagor and Trishton Jackson.
Asked about the competition for the final wide receiver spots, O’Connell said, “I think that group is going to be very tough for us to figure out. Whether it’s five or six or, ultimately, what the depth looks like on the practice squad because there’s probably four or five names that are all deserving. These are good problems to have.”
O’Connell said he expects Addison to return from concussion protocol this week. Addison did not take part in the joint practices against the Titans, or Saturday’s game, after he was placed in the protocol last week.
Kevin O'Connell isn't concerned about struggles of run defense
The Vikings’ second and third-team defense gave up 281 yards rushing to the Titans, including 98 to Julius Chestnut, with 196 coming in the second half.
That number would upset O’Connell and new defensive coordinator Brian Flores during the regular season, but in the preseason it’s a product of putting as little as possible on film.
“We’re trying to give (our) guys enough of an opportunity, enough of a plan to compete, but also our mindset is on Sept. 10,” O’Connell said of the opener against the Buccaneers. “And much, much beyond. (It’s) a short week after that (against the Eagles) and then on into what’s out in front of us. We’re asking our guys to play differently than they do every single day (in practice), and I think that’s OK in the evaluation process, really on offense and defense, for that matter.”
This comes as no surprise given every team plays as vanilla as possible in preseason games. This is especially true when the scheme on one side of the ball has been revamped.
Opponents will study Flores’ defensive tendencies from his previous stops, including his time as the Dolphins head coach, but any new wrinkles he has introduced won’t be put on display until the opener.
Offensive coordinator Wes Phillips given an opportunity to call plays
O’Connell serves as the Vikings’ offensive play-caller during the season, but he said Saturday that he turned those duties over to offensive coordinator Wes Phillips early in the game. O’Connell did the same in the Vikings’ preseason opener in Seattle.
O’Connell said he wanted to get Phillips some play-calling reps, adding that he’s, “thinking about trying to get creative with the game next weekend.”
O’Connell got that opportunity in the preseason when he was an assistant coach in Washington and realizes the benefit of the experience. Giving up playcalling also enables O’Connell to put his attention elsewhere as he attempts to evaluate the roster.
“I just think it’s a really good thing for me to sit back and kind of evaluate our whole team sometimes, especially as some of the guys down the line on the roster (play). I want to have a great feel for them, I want to be able to watch things closely in all three phases and that helps me do that.”
It’s likely Phillips will get another chance to call plays against the Cardinals.
