{"id":77311,"date":"2024-01-04T03:24:40","date_gmt":"2024-01-04T03:24:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/?p=77311"},"modified":"2024-01-04T03:24:40","modified_gmt":"2024-01-04T03:24:40","slug":"kevin-oconnell-makes-final-call-on-vikings-starting-quarterback-for-week-18-kieu-linh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/kevin-oconnell-makes-final-call-on-vikings-starting-quarterback-for-week-18-kieu-linh\/","title":{"rendered":"Kevin O\u2019Connell Makes Final Call on Vikings\u2019 Starting Quarterback for Week 18"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The\u00a0Minnesota Vikings\u00a0are making another quarterback change.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/GettyImages-1898288750-1-e1704335587643.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"Kevin O'Connell, Minnesota Vikings\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re going to start\u00a0Nick Mullens,\u201d Head Coach\u00a0Kevin O\u2019Connell\u00a0said\u00a0via the team\u00a0on January 3. \u201cTo me, Nick has \u2013 like what went into the decision last week \u2013 Nick has been very effective moving the team. We\u2019ve been very explosive as an offense when he\u2019s been in there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mullens completed 69% of his passes for 714 yards and four touchdowns in his two starts. That is a 6,069-yard (a\u00a0would-be NFL record), 34-touchdown season pace across 17 games.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately for Mullens and the Vikings, he also has six interceptions<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNick knows that the one area that we must focus on is possession of the football and not giving the football away,\u201d O\u2019Connell said. \u201cReally, on some of those weighty-type downs \u2013 third-down, two-minute \u2013 where we\u2019re kind of in that throw mode, he\u2019s got to be a great decision-maker, trusting the other 10 guys to do their jobs at a really high level.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Four of Mullens\u2019 interceptions came in the loss to the\u00a0Detroit Lions\u00a0in Week 16, their Week 18 opponent.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not a matter of understanding the offense, though, as O\u2019Connell explained.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JMundt83?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@JMundt83<\/a> hauls in his first TD reception of the season. <\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udcfa: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SNFonNBC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@SNFonNBC<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/EDJD9tV7NH\" target=\"_blank\">pic.twitter.com\/EDJD9tV7NH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Vikings\/status\/1741665986292453507?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">January 1, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think he\u2019s got a good feel for the principles of the offense,\u201d O\u2019Connell said. \u201cHe\u2019s got a lot of reps logged you know as our backup over the last two years and as close as he is with Kirk. And their preparation together, whether Nick was playing or not, always was pretty top-shelf.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe knew we could rely on him to go in the game [in Week 17 versus the\u00a0Green Bay Packers] and move the team. \u2026 Really every game he\u2019s started, we\u2019re very competitive all the way down to the end. And you look back on those two or three, four plays here and there, that if we can just maintain possession of the football, what would that mean for our team on that drive?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mullens came in in relief of fifth-round rookie\u00a0Jaren Hall\u00a0who looked tentative most of the night, completing 65% of passes for 160 yards, zero touchdowns, and one interception.<\/p>\n<p>He also absorbed four sacks, an issue that has plagued Mullens and\u00a0Joshua Dobbs\u00a0in their respective starts as well.<\/p>\n<p>O\u2019Connell isn\u2019t the only one to make note of how debilitating the turnovers have been.<\/p>\n<h2>Justin Jefferson Cites Turnovers by Vikings Quarterbacks in \u2018Complicated\u2019 Season<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_4654565\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-4654565 visible\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/GettyImages-1898297218-e1704335507746.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings\" width=\"780\" height=\"438\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4654565\" data-lazy-load=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/GettyImages-1898297218-e1704335507746.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-4654565\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u201cThis has been a complicated year, just with the injuries that has been occurring, the turnover battle that we face every single week, just dealing with a whole bunch of stuff throughout the season,\u201d Justin Jefferson said during his availability. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely one of the seasons that I can definitely say has been the most difficult that I\u2019ve experienced just all around in general.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Vikings lead the league with 18.5% of their drives ending in a turnover,\u00a0per Pro Football Reference.<\/p>\n<p>That wasn\u2019t Jefferson\u2019s only reference to the Vikings turnover issue either.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t like the outcome of the games, we don\u2019t want to go out there having\u00a0three-plus turnovers, we don\u2019t want to be that type of team. And we know that we have the talent on this team. It\u2019s just not our time, and it\u2019s just things that\u2019s occurring that we cannot control.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jefferson again called this season \u201ctough\u201d. But he also acknowledged how close the team is.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI love being around these guys,\u201d Jefferson said. \u201cI appreciate the relationship that I have been building with these guys in this locker room.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Vikings must keep Jefferson feeling that way as\u00a0his contract\u00a0\u2013 set to expire after next season \u2013 looms large, right along with\u00a0Kirk Cousins\u2019 future and that of top pass rushers\u00a0Danielle Hunter\u00a0and\u00a0DJ Wonnum.<\/p>\n<div id=\"AdThrive_Content_7_desktop\" class=\"adthrive-ad adthrive-content adthrive-content-7 adthrive-ad-cls\" data-google-query-id=\"CIP9mvfjwoMDFZVRwgUd4scEoA\"><\/div>\n<h2>Kevin O\u2019Connell Updates DJ Wonnum<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_4654554\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-4654554 visible\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/GettyImages-1880594351-1-e1704335376428.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"DJ Wonnum, Minnesota Vikings\" width=\"780\" height=\"438\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4654554\" data-lazy-load=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/GettyImages-1880594351-1-e1704335376428.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-4654554\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Hawks lost Wonnum to a torn quad\u00a0amid a breakout season. He is second on the team with 8.0 sacks, and his\u00a0looming free agency further complicates his future. First, though, he has to get healthy, and O\u2019Connell said Wonnum is well on his way.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cDJ Wonnum \u2026 did have a successful surgery to repair his quad injury,\u201d O\u2019Connell said. \u201cHe\u2019s doing very well and already on the road to a full recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wonnum\u2019s injury could affect the offers he gets, potentially helping the chances he returns.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The\u00a0Minnesota Vikings\u00a0are making another quarterback change. \u201cWe\u2019re going to start\u00a0Nick Mullens,\u201d Head Coach\u00a0Kevin O\u2019Connell\u00a0said\u00a0via the team\u00a0on January 3. \u201cTo me, Nick has \u2013 like what went into&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nfl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77311\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}