Nine Unsung Heroes From the Vikings' Victory Over the Jaguars

These players made major contributions to the Vikings' dramatic win in Week 13.

Many of the Vikings' well-known players came up big in the team's season-saving victory over the Jaguars on Sunday. Justin Jefferson had another star performance, Adam Thielen and Dalvin Cook did what they always do, and Kirk Cousins continued a run of strong performances, pick-six aside. Defensively, Harrison Smith sealed the deal with a clutch interception and rookie Cameron Dantzler has earned plenty of recognition for his incredible performance.

But it took far more than just those six players for the Vikings to pull off the escape in OT. Here are some of the unsung heroes from a dramatic win against a feisty Jacksonville team.

Ifeadi Odenigbo and Jordan Brailford

With rookie D.J. Wonnum missing this game, there was plenty of reason to be concerned about the Vikings' already weak pass rush and its ability to get to Mike Glennon. Getting Odenigbo's best performance of the season went a long way in that department. Coming into this week, the season-high in pressures for any Vikings player was five (done a bunch of times). Odenigbo shattered that with eight on Sunday, including a sack on the crucial safety early in the fourth quarter. The fourth-year Northwestern product made life difficult for Jaguars left tackle Cam Robinson all game long.

Brailford deserves some love as well. Even though he only played 11 snaps, he recorded two pressures and was right there with Odenigbo to help finish off the safety. The 2019 seventh-round pick, who the Vikings poached off of Washington's practice squad in October, also forced and recovered a key fumble. He showed off some serious upside in a small sample, earning an almost unfathomable 98.6 PFF grade in those 11 snaps.

🎶 I been gettin dirty money, Jordan Brailford 🎶

Here's how the former Oklahoma State DE earned a ridiculous 98.6 PFF grade on limited snaps in Sunday's #Vikings win: pic.twitter.com/ddp3fS0qbz

— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) December 8, 2020

Anthony Harris

It's been an interesting season for Harris, who was franchise-tagged in March. After racking up ten interceptions (including playoffs) over the past two seasons, he doesn't have a single pick this year. While Harris has been solid in coverage and outstanding as a tackler, he hasn't been quite the elite playmaker that he was in 2018 and 2019. The three touchdowns receptions he's been charged with allowing this year are the first three of his career. It's possible that some of his regression has come with having to compensate for the struggles of young cornerbacks who are still learning the ins and outs of Mike Zimmer's defensive scheme. 

Regardless of what the first 11 games looked like, Harris was fantastic on Sunday. He had a big pass breakup and was constantly around the ball. Harris joined Dantzler and Odenigbo in being named to PFF's team of the week for Week 13. Smith had the interception, but the Vikings' other safety had an equally impactful overall outing.

Todd Davis

Just minutes before the game began, Davis was thrust into a very difficult spot. Eric Kendricks, the Vikings' best defensive player and one of the best linebackers in the NFL, was scratched after aggravating a calf injury during warmups. That meant Davis had to step in and play an every-down role in a must-win game for a team that he just joined earlier this season.

The veteran was up to the challenge. Davis played every single defensive snap, finished tied with Eric Wilson for the team lead with 11 tackles, and was solid in coverage. He did miss a few tackles and didn't remind anyone of Kendricks, but Davis performed admirably given the circumstances.

Riley Reiff, Ezra Cleveland, and Garrett Bradbury

It wasn't a great overall game from the Vikings' offensive line, which allowed 17 pressures and four sacks and didn't open up many big holes for Cook in the running game. However, most of the struggles in pass protection can be blamed on two players: left guard Dakota Dozier and right tackle Brian O'Neill. Dozier was awful, allowing six pressures and two sacks, while O'Neill had an uncharacteristically rough outing as a pass blocker.

The other three members of the O-line were excellent, for the most part. Reiff continued his solid season on the left side, Bradbury didn't allow a single pressure, and Cleveland played very well in his return from missing two games with an ankle injury.

“Coach [Rick] Dennison did a good job of preparing us for what they were going to do," Cleveland said. "They had a few more line movements than we anticipated, but after the first half we ended up settling down and hunkering in and turning back to our technique. I think that really helped us throughout the game. We definitely got better as the game progressed.”

The offensive linemen simply deserve respect for playing 94 (!) snaps against the Jaguars in a game that went deep into overtime.

Dan Chisena and Britton Colquitt

The Vikings' special teams woes didn't exactly end in Sunday's game, with Dan Bailey missing three kicks and the return game failing to produce any splash plays for the 12th straight contest. However, two players deserve credit for their contributions in that phase.

Colquitt punted a season-high seven times, averaging over 47 yards per punt and helping the Vikings greatly in the field position battle. He saved his best for last, booming one 52 yards from his own 20 after the opening possession of overtime. Chisena, who has showed off his elite speed as a gunner this year but struggled to actually make the tackle when he gets there, made the best play of his career by holding Keelan Cole to a one-yard return.

A penalty moved the Jaguars back even further, and Smith's interception happened three plays later. Switching the field position there was huge.

A few weeks back @LukeBraunNFL talked about Dan Chisena and how he needed to settle down on Punt Returns as a gunner.

Yesterday we saw a glimpse of him learning to do that, at maybe one of the more pivotal spots in the game. #Skol #Vikings pic.twitter.com/JBKzDALzrH

— Matt Anderson (@MattAnderson_8) December 7, 2020

“It was big," Zimmer said. "I thought it was a great punt by Colquitt, and then Chisena, he made a great play. He actually got pushed in the back and made the tackle, and they lost another 10 yards there. It flipped the field for us, and gave us an opportunity."

Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Vikings news and analysis. Also, click the follow button in the upper right-hand corner of this page (mobile users, tap the bell icon – you may have to click ‘News’ first), leave comments below, and follow me on Twitter.