Big Divisional Win vs. Lions, J.J. McCarthy, Preparing for Ravens | X’s and O’s with Kevin O’Connell

Big Divisional Win vs. Lions, J.J. McCarthy, Preparing for Ravens | X’s and O’s with Kevin O’Connell

X’s and O’s. The Minnesota Vikings uh host the Baltimore Ravens at US Bank Stadium Sunday at noon. Ravens are three and five. And um more on the uh Ravens coming up soon uh because the um Lamar Jackson’s back. They’ve won two consecutive. And um it’s the National Football League, which means a National Football League trade deadline day today. And the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings joins us now. guys working on any whoppers up there on the old second floor. Mr. Okonnell, I would say the whoppers are more on the whiteboard right now with the coaching staff drawing some plays more so than Yeah. Uh me being involved directly right now with any of that stuff, but I know there’s a lot of calls going on. Quy and his staff do a great job with that and see where the day goes. Um well done. Yeah, there you go. Um uh the um the locker room after the Alliance win, wild, loud, and joyous. Uh and it reminded me it’s like you got four wins. So locker room after the Bengals game, cool. After the Browns game, everybody’s tired, wants to get home. Cool. But after the Bears win and after this win, kind of reminded me of each other there. Um, and and you know, with with the joyous nature of the locker room after that victory, you could just tell that those guys worked really really hard during the week and during the day to win that game, didn’t they? Yeah, it was uh it’s it really started the the Monday after we got back from uh you know played on Thursday, gave the guys the weekend off and then when they came in on Monday um you know I was I’d spent a lot of time thinking about the direction we needed to go last week and I was pretty direct and I told them exactly what uh where I thought we were at and where we needed to go and how wildly capable we were uh to do the things required to to win the football game last Sunday. and just so proud of the guys, proud of our leadership. Um, it’s just one game in this league. You know, obviously the NFC North battles always seem to mean a little bit more, especially on the road, and we’re two and0 on the road this year in the division, right? Um, and we’ve got uh we’ve got to keep having uh many of the same principles that we were able to kind of put in play and really envision for this team, you know, many, many days and months ago. Uh, we got to put it into action every single week in this league. the the hardest thing, the true measure of teams is their ability. Once they find their rhythm, once they’re uh through some of the adversity that we went through early on in the season, injury-wise, uh can you be consistent? That’s the hardest thing is week in and week out, teams are game planning, coaching at a high level. Uh you’re playing against another great quarterback this week and a team that uh has really found themselves again. and and when they have, you know, their uh their team built the way they want around that quarterback and and a defense flying around with a bunch of talent. Uh this is one of the best teams in football. So, we’re going to have to make sure uh that we don’t just, you know, expect that feeling in that locker room post game. A lot goes into it. uh players deserve all the credit and and now I’m going to put it on them to try to make sure we can repeat while repeat those performances while also I think there’s a lot of things we can still do better PA you know as we continue to grow and it sounds crazy to say that after playing eight games but it does feel like in many ways a new season for our team just the feeling of uh you know wanting to continue to grow through getting guys back on the field really finding that formula of what the 2025 Vikings are going to be when it’s all said and done. Kevin, I’m really glad you said that about the division, the NFC North, because into that game, okay, it’s you guys were either perceived underdogs or point spread underdogs into that game on the Okay. Right on. Tough place to go play for sure. However, I’m rarely stunned when a perceived underdog wins a division game. Yep. Because of the familiarity, you know what I mean? Yeah. And you just I mean, you you know them well, they know us well. There’s a there was some new coordinators on that side, but obviously Dan’s done a a heck of a job, you know, building a staff that can kind of transition from losing both coordinators and and kind of keep guys that were very much aware of how they’ve had a lot of their success on offense and on defense. So, but yeah, it’s it they always mean a little bit more, but it it also means a little bit more cuz in both the Chicago and Detroit wins, we know we’re going to see these guys again and and we’re going to see them at US Bank Stadium, but that doesn’t mean um we’re going to let one get away from us today and just try to play good football. And it helps to have a team that you know well and you know some of the cast of characters that you’ve got to basically, you know, try to win matchups against and and see if you can win enough of the one-on- ones across the field throughout the game in all three phases that they add up. Yeah, division wins are the bomb. And um really the underdog status kind of gets thrown out the window no matter the records because they know each other so well. Not all the time, but sometimes. Uh now to the meat and potatoes and McCarthy portion of the equation and and from a meat and potatoes standpoint and I’m gonna have to read this because I don’t want to mess it up is they get down there, Leapora goes 366 and one. All right, place is loud. They’re up 70-0. Yep. You get that kick return which so well timed to like get people to sit down for a second. Ford Fields become a place I said this during the radio broadcast where the fans are always up. I mean they’re just really really into it. the the stands are close to the field, so it can be a really really daunting uh home environment. Uh Miles gets that 61, but on that play um with that kick return after Leaporter scored, Baddy and Felton, I mean, what wonderful meat and potatoes work they did to help free him. And then you get Eric Wilson. All right. The same Eric Wilson who’s tied for the team lead in sacks messing with a guy late where Miles Price that gave him a chance to get clear. I I was just so impressed by that. The meat and potatoes aspect of Batty and Felton, but then leading sacks guy out there trying to free him for a touchdown. Yeah. No, it was it was a huge play for Miles who’s a guy that we think every time he touches the ball has got a chance to do something with it, especially because of those guys he’s had on that unit in front of him. And really we’ve had some really really good execution specifically in the kick return phase and punt return phase. But uh many of those opportunities you’ve seen that yellow flag come flying on the field just as guys it’s a different play. Guys are a lot closer together. There’s a lot bigger bodies out there. Um the change of direction with all those bodies clumped together basically five yards apart. Uh you’ve got to know when as we learned on the touchdown later in the game, you got to go know when to let go. Uh, but you you win those one-on- ons in those in those blocking battles with guys like Baddy um you know, Felton and then obviously E will uh it will give you a chance to to at very at the very least flip the field at the very least give us a little shot of life there after they did score early. And then what I loved about that is the offense getting the ball in the end zone and then the defense going out and getting a stop and we go right back. And for the first time and and since I’ve been the head coach here, it really felt like we had total control the football game early. Obviously against a really good team like that, you can lose it in a heartbeat, but it just felt like our teams kept on stacking plays when we needed them to have them happen to maintain the momentum that we had in the game. And then that allowed us to play things like field position that still matters in 2025 in the NFL. I think a lot of people have lost sight of what it’s like to uh win that battle. Ryan, right? You know, keeping those guys inside the 10 and then obviously us being able to have short fields coming back for a variety of different reasons. Uh and and meat and potatoes than McCarthy, more meat and potatoes. The the Jones long one, the the the one that they took from a pass to a run. Um uh nice floater by McCarthy. You hit on that at your press conference yesterday. It was a really nice touch floater. Hawinson did enough with Branch. All right, so that was fine. Uh Jordan Addison, yeah, demolished Arthur Mallette, the quarterback, legally demolished him. And I think Terry and Arnold wanted to fight Jordan Addison during the play until he saw Jones whipping down the side up the sideline. They hey, I got to go get him. But you know it you you you know what I’m talking about here. Addison crushes Mallette and uh then like Terry and Arnold took umbrage to it right there and I thought he was going to go after Jordan. Yeah, it was uh it was a play we we we didn’t have a lot of plays up uh in the game with both Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones on the field. So, when I called that personnel grouping, everybody knew what play was coming, but it was the execution. We got the exact look we wanted. Jordan actually was being covered uh by Terion Arnold on the play. So he gets, you know, he trails Jordan down in there as he’s blocking Mallet and and when he makes that block and puts him on the ground, you’re right, Terion didn’t know whether to, you know, stick up for his guy or go try to run down the play. And I did think that was a big time throw by JJ. Not an easy one. Not for uh, you know, to get that up and over uh the defensive end right there and give Aaron a chance to be out the gate for what was a huge play in the moment. Thought it was pass yards. You know, JJ’s uh would have been in the 170s if that was pass yards, but uh would have helped the yards per attempt, the whole thing. I watched it. I watched it really close. I watched it really close. It is as as close as you can possibly be. So, whoever was scoring uh the play on the day. I I I think they were more of an Aaron Jones um or maybe not a JJ McCarthy fan. Who knows? Uh well, keeping momentum uh obviously is key. And uh we have a talk back each and every Tuesday for Vikings head coach Kevin Okonnell. And um here’s this week’s. Good morning, Noro and PA. It’s Mike from Tampa. This is for the head coach KOC. First and foremost, congrats on a great win. Uh great team effort from coaching on down. Uh firing on all cylinders. Couple things for improvement. What we can tighten up. I think the biggest question that fans and myself have is how do you keep the team on a high off a great win like that at Fort Field with a strong Baltimore team coming in and keep them focused so that they keep firing on all cylinders upcoming. Yeah, Mike. I think uh it’s a great question and you you think a lot about those things as many times as and minutes and hours you plan like I mentioned of having the team back after that long weekend where we had some time off. You spend a lot of time thinking about what is the direction that I need to make sure I present and then actively uh hold our guys to throughout the week. Uh after a win like that, you absolutely have to give it the same amount of care and concern. Uh but what I would say is the journey we’ve been on uh this year has been filled with many many moments where uh it’d be easy for these guys to you know just say you know maybe it’s not our year. There’s a lot of things going wrong. There’s a lot of things injury-wise where we just need that guy or this guy and we just don’t have them. Uh maybe ingame losing linemen, right tackle, left tack, whatever it is. Um we’ve kind of taken a journey up until this point that I think has um kind of calcified us as a team to know uh these guys are really it’s a different kind of it’s a different kind of vibe in a good way where hey we get off to a 5-0 start last year we lose two in a row and it’s hey let’s write this ship and get back to where we were. We really never felt um you know outside of you know beating Chicago in the opener and even then we didn’t play a good game in the first half specifically on offense we never have really felt like we’ve earned the right to feel like we’ve arrived and through that time we’ve had to really look inward and have a little grit and and and and a different kind of feel uh to how we go about our business and persevering through some adversity directly starting you know the season where it hasn’t really been like that always for for us. I know we started 0 and3 a couple years ago, but PA, what I mean by that is I think these guys are showing back up in the building uh with kind of a workmanlike approach now of understanding the margin of error is razor thin and we need to do everything in our power to prepare for every every game each week like it is the only thing that matters. Um and and do it with our same culture and guys having an absolute uh you know blast competing daily and getting better and all those things that we do around here. But in the end, uh there is a level of edge to this team now that I think uh Vikings fans, you know, hopefully can appreciate because of the journey we’ve been on that we have not been happy about, uh up until this point in the season. But nine games left and I feel like this team is now prepared uh to do a lot of the things required and have the personality of a football team that can go do those things. Well, I that that’s beautiful because like I I don’t know if what I’m about to say is exactly why Byron Murphy Jr. might have been having a rough time in the locker room after the game when everybody else was jumping around, but with all due respect, because I love him, uh he he had some rough moments in that game, specifically with open field tackling and the team won and everybody’s going nuts. He But I just got the feeling with him cuz I’ve gotten to know him pretty well since he got here that he’s like, I got one or two things I could do here. I ain’t gonna be jumping up and down and stuff like that because there are things on I I may have almost messed this thing up a couple of times. But he was just in his feelings is what the kids would say. He was just introspective about the game he played compared to how the whole thing worked out. That’s leadership in my opinion. Yeah. And I think it also goes to a lot of the things that the the leadership talked about throughout the week and and the night before the game were it was about doing your job every single play to the best of your ability and beyond from a standpoint of the expectation that we have for each guy on each call and there’s thousand layers to all that. Uh but the moral of all that and the message was do it for the guy next to you. do it so that somebody else uh if you’re not going to make the play, do your job so well that somebody else can. Jordan Addison didn’t, you know, necessarily have a big statistical game, but he was it wasn’t just that Aaron Jones throw. I mean, he was blocking all night long. He was first level, second level. Jaylen Naylor didn’t have a catch until the very end of the game, but you should see Jaylen Naylor throughout that film and and and tape, winning against one-on- ones, blocking in the run game. That is how our team has kind of continued to forge together. Um, and I think that’s what you probably felt from Byron. And it’s just a an eagerness to completely get another opportunity to even be better cuz he had some qual he had some really good plays as well. He had some competitive coverage reps, you know, tying that rushing coverage together. But that’s what these guys are striving for. They’re not striving for just being okay. We’re trying to take this um in in some times where not very many people maybe think we’re capable of it. Um, but we’re trying to get to what we believe the potential of this team can be and it’s kind of the days and and and times of talking about it PA, even though that’s my contractual responsibility with my good friend here this morning. Um, I’m kind of done talking about everything and I just really want our uh and I think our team is as well and it’s time to just go put plans into action and go play football with uh the type of urgency and focus that this talented team is capable of doing. Uh, and Jordan Addison is I mean that’s an entire 17minute segment talker if we had time. Yeah. Uh, you know, we talked about the the block on the corner uh on the Jones what ended up being a run. How about his run? I mean, it took an army to bring him down. It took Aiden Hutchinson, you know, Aiden, he’s so smart and and those three who got through and they’re like, “Hey, there’s nobody here. Probably a runner, a screener.” And so he sprinted down and ended up getting him. But Jordan would not go down. It’s as tenacious as I’ve seen Jordan Addison play. Yeah, that that, you know, Jordan is pretty dynamic with the football in his hands. When he can have that kind of space and that kind of running start and the move he made, uh, you know, it might have been Arnold chasing him across the field. Yeah. The move he made putting that foot down and really, you know, avoiding two lines, DBs and and almost, I mean, he was a shoestring or two or maybe an Aiden Hutchinson. Yeah. chasing the play down from walking that ball in the end zone and on what was uh you know a long yardage situation in a big moment in the game that allowed us to continue to most importantly eat clock in that moment and we didn’t ultimately punch it in for seven but you could feel that play was a huge momentum play where it could shift right back the other way you’re in a third and long maybe a longer field goal opportunity and those are the things that the Lions needed in that moment not to happen to kind of capitalize and be able to come back in the game but what and to me with with that first touchdown you scored. What makes Jefferson’s one-handed catch touchdown so not good, not very good, elite is McCarthy fired that sucker in there? I was just going to say, it’s probably the velocity of that football. Um, you know, it was on Justin pretty quick now and we, you know, we work on throwing, you know, a lot of those different types of throws, especially down in the red zone where our guys have an opportunity to make the play on the football. Justin got the one hand on it and I he was he spent some time with me yesterday uh just in my office and I was asking him did you did you even need the other hand because he he basically caught the ball clean with that kind of velocity on it and these guys have gotten used to the fact when number nine’s throwing the ball it’s probably going to have some revolutions and some and some juice on it. So, uh, he was ready for it and that was a huge play where, you know, anytime we can get a one-on-one, you know, no matter what the play is, what, you know, run, pass, uh, screen, whatever it may be, is we, we continue to try to find ways of making sure that he’s getting his one-on-one opportunities when they present themselves. Uh, well, so with McCarthy moving forward, is adding a change up to the fast ball part of the growing process? Oh, it has been. And and and the way I would look at it is not necessarily a change up, but um I look at look at it as the throw required uh to give our guys the best possible chance to not only make the catch by being accurate, but make yards after the catch. And and there was a few plays even some some of our better completions the other days the other day where our guys even JJ himself said it he felt like he was making the guys work a little bit too much um and maybe limited some of our chances for some big explosives with some run after catch or possibly touchdowns and and I think that’s all part of it but it’s he had some other moments that throw to Justin on the right sideline to the field um kind of a twoman show there and and from the left hash yeah from the left hash moving to his left, keeps his base as much as he can and and it almost forced him to have to layer that ball and tempo it because he just couldn’t step into it. But that’s why JJ McCarthy was a first round pick and national champion quarterback. I mean, he’s got those throws in his bag. It’s just a matter of how do we make the throw to Naylor, you know, at the end of the second quarter when Speedy’s got a step or two on that on that corner chasing him. think it’s not as much of a fast ball as let’s make sure we just throw it right down the middle and and and and make it make sure it’s a strike with some touch and we call it a runner’s ball whether it’s a shallow cross a high cross like Jaylen Naylor was on on that play or down the field how many times can you deliver long handoffs that are runner’s balls because Addison Jefferson Naylor Hawinson these guys can all be pretty elite with the ball in their hands after the catch a few to close here for Kevin Oonnell Alexis and O’s per nine don at Twin Cities orthopedics Performance Center. Good morning. Uh the uh the same five with the moving company played all 62 snaps. Darasaw with O’Neal. It just changes everything, doesn’t it? I mean, there’s these guy. It’s hard to put into words just what they mean to our offense and the combination of both those guys together. I thought um Christian had one of his, you know, one of his best games he’s had this season. and and just the fight. I mean, he’s he’s he’s still in a a position, PA, where um you know, the reps as they stack up and and and he gets into a game um where it is a mental test for him, you know, every single week, but he’s passing it and and he is continuing uh I love the way he handled himself in the football game. He he was one of the first on the field out in the huddle um setting the tone for those guys. And then I thought Brian O’Neal um you know had a really tough matchup. Ended up having Hutchinson on him quite a bit on that right side and and he fought a heck of a battle against what you know is now I I don’t know whether he is or not. I haven’t done the math on it but feels like they made him a pretty well compensated pass rusher last week. Uh but some how about the block on the early screen against the zero pressure where he gets out on the corner and and just the other just some of the other things he did. Uh those guys are so so important to what we do. Um and and also you know Donovan Jackson played a really great game having 71 in there right next to him and then Will Fry with Bo and and just how the Nick Vanettes blocking in the run game at stepping in for Josh Oliver and next to those tackles they have a lot to do with a lot of our success. All rights to close here uh with uh oh by the way did Christian Christian exit the game. Okay. Yes. Darasaw came out of it. Okay. Good. Um, uh, the Ravens. What does the number 552 mean to you? 552. Ravens. I don’t know. Uh, it’s the combined weight of Derrick Henry and Patrick Bard, which means that’s a twoman jumbo package running right at you. Right. Exactly. Right. Yeah, we’re going to see it. We’re going to see it. We’ve seen bigger groupings from people uh just about in every game we’ve played this year. you hear the uh the official uh announcing either somebody as an eligible, an extra lineman as an eligible, or you’ve got um you know, some of the big fullbacks and tight ends, you know, Washington from Pittsburgh who I think is, you know, if he’s not close to 300 lb. I’d like to see the scale, you know, and then just some of the people are choosing to try to get bigger with our defense and try to play that kind of game to avoid some of the risk factors that you know very well, PA, when you play against Brian Flores and you want to spread him out with a bunch of skilled people on the field. You know, you know, you’re signing up for some potential problems and so people are going the other way. They’re trying to get bigger. They’re trying to play physical. That’s why I love the fact that we had the type of knockback we had won the line of scrimmage in the interior of the Dline. The edges were set by Grenard and Turner and Van Ginkle. And then obviously Cashman and Eric were flying all over the place making a lot of tackles and many of them for loss. Oh, you mean Eric Wilson who has four sacks, one of your leading sackers who’s super important on kick return. That’s right. Oh, that 55. Cool. Uh Redford, Michigan, 20 minutes away from Detroit. Talked to his mom before every game I see her. Shannon’s her name, I believe. and um and they had about 25 people there and they were super excited. That was really cool. Um I don’t know who the best player in the Ravens defense is at this time of the week. Rocoani Smith, I’ve looked at that. Kyle Hamilton, just the Notre Dame safety. How does he play like like Kyle Hamilton, what do you think about him? Yeah, I think uh you know, they’ve kind of throughout the season um you know, he really was playing a lot more of the safety position um early on in the year. They make a trade for a third safety Gilman from the Chargers who is a very good player. Um, and that’s really allowed Kyle Hamilton almost Josh Matelis like to get down near the box a little bit more and be a major factor as a blitzer, major factor around the line of scrimmage. You know, they want to get him closer to the ball. Derwin James like uh that we saw a couple weeks ago cuz he’s that kind of impact. I think he’s one of the best defensive players in the National Football League right now. when you really think about his impact um at all levels of the defense, running pass, affecting the quarterback as a pressure player, but then matching up with uh the likes of, you know, Puka Nakua or Devonte Adams when they played the Rams and you look at him against the Bears receivers, and we know those guys well. Um you just see a guy that’s got a total complete skill set, football IQ off the charts, and a physicality to how he plays as a big old long, you know, strong player in the middle of the defense. now that we’ve got to know where he is at all times. Rocoan’s obviously a very very good player and I think they’ve got some really good corners. They’re very big and physical in the interior Dline. Um challenge for sure and and and I think they’re doing a really good job figuring out exactly who they want to be. They’ve been a lot better against the run the last two three weeks and they can always turn the ball over uh with the type of scheme they play uh if you’re not really tight with your operation and how you’re playing. And lastly, Lamar Jackson uh his rookie year. All right. He played 16 games his rookie year. Threw for just 1,200 yards, 58% on the completions. 6 years uh later last year, 4,172 yards, 66 a half. Where where has he grown as a passer over the half decade? Yeah, it’s been I was on the field when he worked out as a quarterback at the combine. Um I was on the field working out, you know, some of the other quarterbacks and then watching the workout up close. Um, and I remember that day vividly and and talking to him after that workout. Um, what you knew about Lamar Jackson has been proven uh to be correct, which is this guy is an ultimate competitor, one of the most gifted quarterbacks, you know, in our league right now, both as a a runner clearly and the way he dynamically changes the game, but he is making throw after throw from the pocket in rhythm. Uh, great fundamentals, seeing coverage, seeing the field. uh they do a really good job of of of marrying things all together with a pretty elite run game with him included in that that makes it very hard constantly putting defenders in pass run conflict and then they’ve got Flowers and and and obviously a whole cast of really really good skilled players. Uh it’s going to be a challenge. Uh, I know talking to Flo yesterday, you know, everything, you know, starts with obviously Lamar Jackson, but then Derrick Henry is a guy that at any point in time you give him any kind of space, he’s proven to be able to take it the distance. So, we’ve got to have our sharpest, most impactful defensive game of the season with them coming to US Bank Stadium on Sunday. Thank you for the time. Appreciate it. Appreciate it, ma’am. Kevin Oonnell, head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. And I’m Paul Allen. And that’s X is a nose back after

Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Kevin O’Connell talks with Voice of the Vikings and KFAN’s Paul Allen ahead of the Week 10 game vs. the Baltimore Ravens.

#MinnesotaVikings #Vikings #NFL #MN #Football #Skol

Subscribe to the Minnesota Vikings YT Channel: https://goo.gl/VTGqAS
For more Vikings videos: https://goo.gl/f9Ppj3

For more Vikings action: http://www.vikings.com/
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/minnesotavikings
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Vikings
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vikings/
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vikings
Get the App: https://apple.co/2uPFQkP
Subscribe to our podcasts: https://apple.co/36BX1on