“With what I’ve been through in my situation, it’s a blessing to still be playing ball, so I don’t take any of that for granted,” Akers said. “I’m thankful to K.O. and the offensive line for trusting me with the livelihood of my team, and that’s the ball.
“I have a lot of motivators,” Akers later added. “That’s priority, love of the game, and wanting to go out and do it for the man next to you. The feel you get after a win is unmatched. I just play because I love ball.”
Against Indianapolis, the Vikings finished with 133 rushing yards, and 54 of those were gained in the fourth quarter.
Jones said the Vikings evaluated the film to see what worked and why it did or didn’t, but he wants the team to “keep that mindset we had at the end of the game where they know we’re going to run it, and we know we need to get these yards to seal the game.”
Jacksonville’s defense ranks 16th in rush yards allowed at 125.0 per game, but the Jaguars have allowed 150 or more rushing yards in three of its past four games, including 237 last week against a prolific Eagles ground game.