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Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson answered a question on the team’s home crowd booing during their victory against the Miami Dolphins in Week 4.
The Minnesota Vikings improved to 4-0 after their 15-10 victory against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. But based on some of the reactions in the Minneapolis crowd, one might not ever know that.
On a couple occasions in the third quarter Sunday, there were boos at U.S. Bank Stadium loud enough to hear through the television. Vikings insider Judd Zulgad wrote there were Bronx cheers and chants for backup quarterback Carson Wentz to replace Kyler Murray.
The Vikings came alive a little in the fourth quarter. Really, Murray was able to find tight end T.J. Hockenson enough times to move the ball into field-goal range on five occasions to defeat the Dolphins with five field goals. But the Vikings will take that positive sign, especially as they continue to win.
After the game, Hockenson made clear to reporters he understands why the home crowd booed. But the tight end also stressed the offense shares in the frustration.
“We want to score points too. It is what it is,” Hockenson said to reporters. “We love our fans here; we love playing in front of them. We’re frustrated too sometimes.
“But we’re getting it rolling. It is what it is, and I understand it. We’ll keep moving forward.”
Vikings’ T.J. Hockenson Finds a Groove With QB Kyler MurrayGettyMinnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson answered a question on the team’s home crowd booing during their victory against the Miami Dolphins in Week 4.
Murray had just 112 passing yards after three quarters in Sunday’s game. In the third, the Dolphins scored 10 points to pull within two points.
But during the fourth quarter, Hockenson had more receiving yards than any other Vikings pass-catch had in the entire game. Hockenson caught 10 passes for 80 yards in the fourth alone.
In the game overall, Hockenson brought in all 13 of his targets for 119 yards.
The Vikings may have discovered some success on offense with Murray targeting Hockenson so often. That’s great news for the unit.
But to avoid future boo birds, other pass-catchers are likely going to have to be more involved. While things will obviously get better when Justin Jefferson returns, Minnesota has other capable receivers. Jordan Addison, who had four catches for 52 yards, needs to be more productive. So do both Tai Felton and Jauan Jennings.
Murray Speaks out on Hockenson
GettyMinnesota Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray may have something with tight end T.J. Hockenson going forward.
Murray certainly needs to find more chemistry with his other pass-catchers. But after the Week 4 victory, the quarterback sounded very grateful to have Hockenson.
“I know how great he wants to be and how confident he is in his ability and who he is, and it’s been frustrating for everybody as far as how we’ve been playing offensively the past couple of weeks,” Murray told reporters.
“We feel like we’re much better than what we’ve been putting out there on the film. So today happened to be his day, and I expect many more days for him because he’s a great player. I expect many more days for T.J.”
The Vikings could have scored a touchdown late versus the Dolphins in Week 4. Instead, Hockenson fell on the 1-yard line so they didn’t have to give the ball back to Miami.
But the Vikings are 4-0 without having scored offensive touchdowns in two of those four games.
Dave Holcomb is a sports reporter covering the NFL and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Pittsburgh Steelers and a variety of other NFL teams. Originally from Pittsburgh, Holcomb has covered college and professional sports for outlets including FanSided, Rotowire and Yardbarker. More about Dave Holcomb