DAILY CLIPS

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2018 LOCAL NEWS: Wednesday, October 10, 2018

Pioneer Press

Vikings can’t (or won’t) run the ball, but that hasn’t slowed their offense By Jace Frederick https://www.twincities.com/2018/10/09/vikings-cant-or-wont-run-the-ball-but-that-hasnt-slowed-their-offense/

Star Tribune

NFL pass completion percentages soar to historic levels By Mark Craig http://www.startribune.com/nfl-pass-completion-percentages-soar-to-historic-levels/496301291/

Kirk Cousins has more than lived up to expectations so far By Michael Rand http://www.startribune.com/kirk-cousins-has-more-than-lived-up-to-expectations-so-far/496244001/

Film review: Top weapons, scheme mean Vikings can, again, outlast O-line woes By Andrew Krammer http://www.startribune.com/film-review-scheme-top-weapons-mean-vikings-can-again-outlast-o-line-woes/496216091/

Vikings.com

Vikings, ACS Team Up for 8th Annual Crucial Catch Luncheon By Lindsey Young https://www.vikings.com/news/vikings-acs-team-up-for-8th-annual-crucial-catch-luncheon

10 Vikings-Cardinals Numbers of Note: Thielen, Diggs Have Combined for 84 Catches By Eric Smith https://www.vikings.com/news/10-vikings-cardinals-numbers-of-note-thielen-diggs-have-combined-for-84-catches

Game Preview: Cardinals at Vikings By Craig Peters https://www.vikings.com/news/game-preview-cardinals-at-vikings

NFL Power Rankings: Experts Rank Vikings After Defeating Eagles By Chris Corso https://www.vikings.com/news/nfl-power-rankings-experts-rank-vikings-after-defeating-eagles

‘Vikings LIVE’ Offers Unique Fan Experience for Vikings Rewards Members By Lindsey Young https://www.vikings.com/news/vikings-live-offers-unique-fan-experience-for-vikings-rewards-members

Lunchbreak: DeFilippo’s Creativity Helped Vikings in Philadelphia By Eric Smith https://www.vikings.com/news/lunchbreak-defilippo-s-creativity-helped-vikings-in-philadelphia

VIKING Update

Cousins pressured most, handles it best By Tim Yotter https://247sports.com/nfl/minnesota-vikings/Article/Kirk-Cousins-pressured-most-among-NFL-quarterbacks-handles-it-best- 123101137/

1500 ESPN

Should the Vikings stop trying to run the ball? By Matthew Coller http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2018/10/vikings-stop-trying-run-ball/

NATIONAL NEWS: Wednesday, October 10, 2018

ESPN

Creative playcalling allows Vikings to show pulse in run game By Courtney Cronin http://www.espn.com/blog/minnesota-vikings/post/_/id/27324/creative-playcalling-allows-vikings-to-show-pulse-in-run-game

CBS Sports

NFL Week 5 Celebration Grades: A big weekend for karate, but Linval Joseph takes top honors By Pete Blackburn https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-week-5-celebration-grades-a-big-weekend-for-karate-but-linval-joseph-takes-top- honors/

Golf Digest

2018 RANKING: TOP ATHLETE GOLFERS By Cliff Schrock https://www.golfdigest.com/story/2015-top-100-ranking-of-pro-athletes

PUBLICATION: Pioneer Press DATE: 10/10/18

Vikings can’t (or won’t) run the ball, but that hasn’t slowed their offense

By Jace Frederick

No one in the Vikings organization wants to run the ball more than offensive coordinator John DeFilippo. Or so he says.

His play calling suggests quite the opposite. Through five weeks, the Vikings have run the ball on 29.8 percent of their offensive plays. That would shatter the lowest run-ratio of the - era, which came in 2014 when the Vikings ran the ball 44.8 percent of the time.

The Vikings averaged 31.3 rushes a game last season, the second-highest number in the league. That number is down to 19.2 this season, the lowest number in the NFL.

DeFilippo said running the ball takes pressure off him. When he calls a run, he doesn’t have to guess the opposing defense’s coverage and dial up the correct routes and pass protection scheme. Running the ball makes life easier on him, his quarterback and the offensive line. But it doesn’t necessarily make the Vikings’ offense better. Not this year.

The idea of “balance” has been plastered all over football game plans and quote sheets for the past three decades, but an offense doesn’t have to be anywhere close to 50-50 run-pass — where the Vikings have hovered in recent years — to be successful. For example, Minnesota ran the ball just 17 times for 54 yards in a loss to the Rams less than two weeks ago, and still put up 31 points and 446 yards, the most Los Angeles’ vaunted defense has surrendered all season.

“Do we want to run the football with more efficiency? One-hundred percent. And we are grinding our butts off to make that happen,” DeFilippo said. “But at the same time, the Rams game, () Aqib Talib is out, (cornerback) Marcus Peters is on one leg. I like our matchups on the outside more than trying to bang our heads against ( defensive tackles) Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh.

“There’s no one that wants to run the ball more than me, and we’re going to try to establish that and continue to grind away on that. But at the same time, there’s a fine line between doing something just to do something and maybe taking some success away from your team.”

Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins has praised DeFilippo for his intent on calling the best play for that specific moment.

“He’s not going to think about outside influences,” Cousins said. “He’s going to think about, ‘How can we score points on this drive? What gives us the best chance to win this game right now?’ ”

And, for the Vikings, that’s passing. Whether it’s because of Dalvin Cook’s injury issues or less- than-stellar offensive line play, Minnesota hasn’t been able to move the ball effectively on the ground. The Vikings are averaging just 3.4 yards a carry, 29th best in a 32-team league. Minnesota’s 65.8 rushing yards a game rank 31st. Minnesota ran the ball 23 times in Sunday’s 23-21 victory at Philadelphia for a whopping 77 yards.

It’s hard to turn to that ineffective option when Cousins is completing 71 percent of his passes while throwing for 337 yards a game, Adam Thielen is off to a historic start, and fellow receiver Stefon Diggs is playing at a high level.

“I think you run the ball more typically when you have a lead. You run the ball typically when you feel good about your matchups there. You run the ball when guys are healthy,” Cousins said. “You also run the ball when you feel like maybe the pass game isn’t your best opportunity to move the football.”

The Vikings aren’t the only team to move away from a more balanced offensive approach. Two teams — Detroit and Miami — averaged 23 or fewer carries a game in 2017. That number is up to 11 this season. In many cases, the short passing game essentially has replaced the rushing attack.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said so many teams are playing single-high defense with just one safety up top in the secondary designed to stop the running game, that it’s difficult to get anything going on the ground.

“So these teams are checking the ball and throwing it,” Zimmer said. “They’re taking a 5-yard throw as opposed to a 2-yard run. I think that’s kind of how it is.”

The strategy makes sense — analytics have always favored throwing the ball more — particularly as the rules, and the way referees are enforcing them, have moved to favor the passing game, both with protecting the quarterback and limiting what defensive backs can do to defend in the secondary.

Still, Zimmer does think offenses will get more balanced as the season wears on. That remains to be seen. For now, many offenses, including the Vikings, will continue to rely heavily on their quarterbacks.

“Running the football in this league is tough. Nobody is gashing people,” Cousins said Sunday after the win over the Eagles. “(We) felt our best chance to win this game right now is to drop back and throw it. You can’t do it all. You do what you think is best and hope that it will turn into a win.”

JUST THROW, BABY > Vikings percentage of running plays during the Mike Zimmer era:

2014: 44.8

2015: 51.1

2016: 47.9

2017: 48.7

2018: 29.8

PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 10/10/18

NFL pass completion percentages soar to historic levels

By Mark Craig

From 1945 until 1981, Sammy Baugh was the only NFL quarterback to complete 70 percent of his passes in a season.

In one of the more out-of-place early NFL seasons, Baugh completed 70.3 percent (128 of 182) in eight games for the Redskins in 1945. The league average that year: 45.6.

Finally, in 1982, four years after sweeping rule changes liberated the passing game, Cincinnati’s Ken Anderson completed 70.6 percent of his passes.

That stood firm until Drew Brees tied Anderson in 2008 and then surpassed him at 71.2 percent in 2011. Sam Bradford took it to 71.6 as a Viking in 2016 before Brees went to 72.0 last year.

Five games into the 2018 season, Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins sits at 71.2 percent. He’s on pace for third place all-time! And yet, among 2018 passers, he ranks … fifth?

“Who’s ahead of him?” asked his backup, Trevor Siemian.

This conversation took place before Brees and the Saints played the Redskins Monday night. So the first name and number given to Siemian was, “Brees, 75.8.”

“Wow,” Siemian said.

Hours later, Brees raised his bid to 77.9 percent by completing 26 of 29 passes while breaking Peyton Manning’s career record for passing yards.

Double wow.

Jared Goff (72.3), Derek Carr (71.3) and (71.7) also are ahead of Cousins. Seven passers are 70 percent or better, including Chicago pup Mitchell Trubisky (70.0).

About a decade ago, then-Vikings coach Brad Childress was talking completion percentages. He said the ideal target was 65 percent. The league average this year: 65 percent.

Monday, current Vikings coach Mike Zimmer was asked if he ever imagined a time when anything shy of 70 percent would be considered lacking.

“No, probably not,” he said. “I remember when I was in Dallas and I believe we set a record [for opponent completion percentage] of 50 percent, or less than that. It’s kind of uncharted territory now.”

As are increases in penalties for roughing the passer, defensive holding and pass interference.

“Last year was the lowest scoring in the league in a long, long time,” Zimmer said. “They wanted to fix that, and they obviously have.

“They’re allowing things to happen — they’re allowing receivers not to get touched, they’re allowing quarterbacks not to get hit, they’re allowing people to hold. There’s a lot of things that when the league wants something, they’re going to get it. I think they’re getting it. That’s not negative on the league, that’s just the way life is.”

There have been nine 5,000-yard passing seasons in NFL history. Seven have come since 2011.

This year, eight players — Goff, Cousins, Ben Roethlisberger, Brees, Carr, Deshaun Watson, Matt Ryan and — are on pace for 5,000 yards. Goff is on pace to break Peyton Manning’s record of 5,477.

Brees is going for his sixth 5,000-yard season. He also owns six of the top eight spots for most completions in a season. He has the top three, including the record of 471, which Goff, Cousins and Brees himself are on pace to break this year. Cousins heads into Week 6 riding the first four- game streak of at least 30 completions in NFL history.

When told that seven passers had completion percents above 70, Vikings safety George Iloka smiled and said, “And that number is going to keep going up.

“You watch,” he added. “It’s just how the league is designed. It’s an offensive league. They want to protect those guys at all cost.”

Siemian offered a rebuttal for his fellow offensive players.

“I know there’s a lot of discussion about the rule changes, but I think it’s a testament to some really good quarterbacks,” he said.

“We’re kind of fortunate to be seeing some of these guys play.

“There are so many things Kirk’s doing so well. And he’s making contested throws, too. A lot of his throws aren’t just gimme throws. They’re tight-window throws while he’s operating from not the cleanest pocket. Talk about the rules, but we also have to realize that he’s been super- impressive.”

Mark Craig is an NFL and Vikings Insider. Twitter: @markcraigNFL. E-mail: [email protected]

PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 10/10/18

Kirk Cousins has more than lived up to expectations so far

By Michael Rand

Welcome to the Tuesday edition of The Cooler, where sometimes you have to say things more than once before someone believes you. Let’s get to it:

*Right before Vikings training camp started, I noted that a ranking of NFL QBs had placed the newly acquired Kirk Cousins at No. 15 in the league — not bad, but hardly the place you would expect for someone who signed an $84 million guaranteed contract.

That list of QBs was also broken into “tiers,” and Cousins was placed in the top of Tier 3. My thought then was that if Cousins played like a Tier 3 quarterback, the Vikings would be fine but wouldn’t be anything special. If he played more like a Tier 2 quarterback — someone who can elevate his team and make special plays but is also admittedly below the very best of the best — the Vikings would have a chance to be Super Bowl contenders.

Five games into the season is not the biggest sample size, but so far it is clear the Cousins is at least meeting — and perhaps exceeding — expectations as a Tier 2 quarterback. His have been a source of concern, but everything else about his game has been on point.

Pro Football Focus has him as a top-10 quarterback overall, with sterling numbers on deep ball accuracy and passing under pressure — two things that were combined in one critical play Sunday when Cousins found Adam Thielen on a 68-yard connection. Cousins also ranks No. 7 in ESPN’s Total QBR metric.

Aside from numbers, Cousins has made a handful of seemingly impossible throws every game.

It’s unfair to say exactly what the Vikings would look like had they stayed with Case Keenum or another in-house option at quarterback since that decision would have left them with more cap space to potentially sign other players, but I think this is fair to say: Substitute any other available quarterback in a 1-for-1 swap with Cousins, and the Vikings — given how the defense struggled early this season — would not even be 2-2-1 at this point.

*The Wolves are eight days from the start of the regular season, and things are as confusing as ever with the Jimmy Butler situation. Chip Scoggins correctly asserts that this whole thing is not only a big mess but a marketing nightmare.

As my friend and former colleague Jeff Shelman tweeted this morning: “I’ve stuck with the #Wolves for too long. Been part of a season tix group for yrs. Believed Kahn when he took JFlynn. Thought Rambis was a great hire. Really thought Adelman was a home run. Yet a week out from the opener, I basically don’t care. I’ve hit my breaking point.”

That sense of apathy from a big hoops fan should be even more alarming than anger.

* was off to a hot start this season, but he dislocated his shoulder in Washington’s loss to New Orleans on Monday.

PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 10/10/18

Film review: Top weapons, scheme mean Vikings can, again, outlast O-line woes

By Andrew Krammer

The Vikings offense has a lot going for itself. Quarterback Kirk Cousins is playing the best football of his career. Receivers Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs are torching defensive backs put in their paths. They’ve got a stable of running backs that, when healthy, can break tackles to make plays.

And coordinator John DeFilippo showed he can, again, orchestrate a game plan that produces on the road against some of the NFL’s best defensive lines. The results — 821 combined yards in back-to-back weeks at the Rams and Eagles — are evidence enough.

Meanwhile, Cousins is overcoming the biggest question mark he faced when coming to Minnesota — playing under pressure. The Vikings’ top-5 passing attack has thrived in spite of the quarterback feeling heat on more than 42 percent of his throws, according to Pro Football Focus. That pressure rate trails only Houston’s Deshaun Watson (45.7 percent) through five weeks of the NFL season.

Cousins impressed again in Philadelphia, completing a remarkable 81 percent of his passes while getting hit (not hurried, actually hit) on 10 of 37 throws. His few “unbelievable” throws, as head coach Mike Zimmer described them, came with multiple Eagles in his face.

“One sack, but he got hit a bunch of times,” right guard Mike Remmers said. “We’re just trying to eliminate that as much as we possibly can.”

It’s not all on the line; tight ends and running backs also surrender hurries, hits and sacks. Against the Bills, Cousins held onto the ball too long at times. But no matter the culprit, sustainability is the question. Cousins has proven to be durable entering his 55th consecutive NFL start on Sunday against the Cardinals.

The Vikings are testing that trend as he’s now been hit 36 times in five games.

The Vikings survived this once already.

Case Keenum led the offense to an NFC Championship Game appearance despite feeling pressure on nearly 40 percent of his throws last season, the third-highest rate of any quarterback and the most for any offense that made the 2017 playoffs.

One difference is Cousins’ immense production so far this season is likely coming at a higher cost. He’s taking two more hits per game (averaging 7.2 hits) than Keenum (5.3) did last season.

1. Pressure report: Cousins carried out with precision a quick-pass game plan that opened with 3- step drops, receiver screens and sideways passes doubling as a faux run game against the NFL’s No. 1 run stoppers in Philadelphia. DeFilippo peppered in aggressive shots, which Cousins made no matter the amount of green jerseys in his face. He took just one sack, when Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham beat right tackle Rashod Hill with a speed move. When left tackle Riley Reiff exited in the second quarter due to a lingering foot injury, rookie Brian O’Neill stepped in and fared decently in 41 snaps. The bigger issues were Graham vs. Hill and defensive tackle Fletcher Cox’s four hits on Cousins: two through Remmers and one apiece against left guard Tom Compton and center Pat Elflein.

When deeper attempts were dialed up, Cousins was as impressive as he’s been in a Vikings uniform. Perhaps the best play that went unnoticed was his pump fake to get Eagles veteran Chris Long in the air, then sidestepping Long to find his target for the third-and-1 conversion.

On defense, the Vikings hit Eagles quarterback about just as much. Seven defenders accounted for eight hits on Wentz that turned into three sacks. Defensive tackle noted ‘more freedom’ in the game plan that allowed defensive linemen to make big plays. Stephen Weatherly had an up-and-down game filling in for Everson Griffen. Weatherly flashed as a pass rusher, hitting Wentz for the forced on Linval Joseph’s 64- yard return for a . But he was also forced out of position in the run game a couple times and was flagged twice.

2. John DeFilippo cracked open the playbook in his return to Philadelphia. The Eagles’ former quarterbacks coach showed off his ingenuity with a 20-yard jet sweep by Diggs that had both tight ends Kyle Rudolph and David Morgan pulling to block smaller defensive backs and leading to the big gain. Rudolph’s 8-yard catch that ultimately set up Thielen’s 3-yard touchdown was a great man-coverage beating concept. Thielen and ran curl routes, setting picks for Rudolph to run free underneath of Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins for the big red-zone gain.

Without Dalvin Cook, the Vikings’ run game needed to get creative. They attacked the perimeter with sweeps and pitches, trying to catch the Eagles defense off guard by running to the boundary side (short side of the field) on two 6-yard gains by Roc Thomas to the outside. Diggs looks fully healthy, showing off his shiftiness when he made two Eagles miss on a 7-yard screen.

3. Anatomy of a play: This Vikings defense needed to stop the bleeding. Back-to-back throws by Wentz netted 51 yards as the Eagles’ comeback attempt hit full swing in the third quarter.

On this 1st-and-10 in the red zone, Eagles receiver Nelson Agholor motioned around the backfield — with cornerback Xavier Rhodes following and signaling to Carson Wentz he had the Vikings in man-to-man coverage. That tip seemingly made his first reads to the left, where tight end Zach Ertz (#86) and running back Wendell Smallwood (#28) were sent on out routes with a full head of steam into open turf, vacated by Rhodes.

Linebacker Anthony Barr (#55) and safety Harrison Smith (#22) navigate this one to perfection, slipping past each other to cover Smallwood and Ertz despite a route combination designed to entangle the two for a split second.

Hunter sacks Wentz after the Eagles quarterback is forced away from his initial read.

(Credit to NFL Game Pass and FOX Sports)

4. The Vikings took advantage of matchups with the backups. Two Eagles — guard Isaac Seumalo and safety Avonte Maddox — were making their first career NFL starts and the Vikings took notice. Thielen worked Eagles cornerback Jalen Mills and froze Maddox with a double move on the third play of the game, which netted a 24-yard completion. Richardson sped past Seumalo to hit Wentz on the Eagles’ first snap on offense. Two plays later, Joseph benched Seumalo into the backfield for a third-down sack.

It didn’t really matter which Eagles defensive backs were covering Thielen or Diggs. All three Eagles corners — , Mills and Sidney Jones — were unable to cover either Vikings receiver with any consistency.

5. ’s playing time is being minimized. The Vikings’ third-year cornerback entered this season expecting to take a big step, but he’s yet to do so. Now his playing time is dwindling. Alexander played 70 percent of the snaps in his season debut in Week 2. His snaps have since dropped to 58 percent the following week; 53 percent in Week 4 and that was further down to 47 percent against the Eagles.

Zimmer is getting creative with playing time there, deploying an extra safety — using both Jayron Kearse (36 percent) and George Iloka (12 percent) — as additional slot defenders instead of Alexander. The Vikings began Sunday’s game immediately rotating the three while rookie Mike Hughes started at left corner for the injured .

Kearse “did a nice job there,” Zimmer said, and it appears he’ll continue to eat into Alexander’s snaps at the position aside from the proven veteran in Iloka, who should be ready to contribute whenever he’s called upon. Alexander didn’t help himself Sunday. He was flagged once, a declined holding penalty committed on Alshon Jeffery as Ertz ran free for a 16-yard gain. Alexander and Xavier Rhodes, who sparingly shadowed Jeffery, both followed Eagles receiver Nelson Agholor on the vertical route that left Jeffery uncovered for his 31-yard gain.

Safety Harrison Smith made the play of the secondary when he drove onto the deep seam route by Jeffery, delivering the blow that knocked out the ball on third-and-20 in the fourth quarter. Smith’s hit ended the Eagles’ chances of scoring off of the fumble caused by running back Roc Thomas. PUBLICATION: Vikings.com DATE: 10/10/18

Vikings, ACS Team Up for 8th Annual Crucial Catch Luncheon

By Lindsey Young

PRIOR LAKE, Minn. – Six Vikings players – and two Legends – were in the banquet room Tuesday, but they weren’t the guests of honor.

Rather, the attention was centered around 12 individuals who have beaten or are currently battling cancer.

The Vikings and American Cancer Society teamed up to host the eighth annual ACS “Crucial Catch – Intercept Cancer” luncheon at Mystic Lake. Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph, an annual attendee of the event, appreciates the NFL using its platform to tackle multiple types of cancer.

“You get to kind of take that initiative that they do and bring it down into a little more intimate setting,” Kyle Rudolph said. “The NFL did a great job for so long with breast cancer [awareness and] early detection and screening, and now they’ve … expanded it throughout all types of cancer.

“People that know [our family] well know that cancer is something that we’ve battled head-on, and we’re obviously very passionate about it,” added Rudolph, whose younger brother survived pediatric cancer. “It’s fun to be here, get to spend time with the survivors and hear their stories.”

Vikings Crucial Catch Luncheon The Vikings and American Cancer Society teamed up to host the eighth annual Crucial Catch Luncheon.

1 / 53 Rudolph was joined by five teammates: WR Brandon Zylstra, P Matt Wile, T Aviante Collins, WR Chad Beebe and CB Marcus Sherels, who has attended the Crucial Catch luncheon every year since joining the Vikings as undrafted free agent in 2010.

Vikings Legends Rickey Young and Hall of Fame safety Paul Krause also were in attendance. Viktor the Viking provided plenty of entertainment for the guests, and the SKOL Line and Cheerleaders helped welcome the guests as they arrived.

Vikings Chief Operating Officer Kevin Warren addressed the room prior to lunch.

“It truly is a pleasure to be here today in a very intimate setting. Today is a day that, any time you get an opportunity to discuss the importance of coming together as a community and the importance of coming together to save lives, the importance of coming together to really deal with issues that [people don’t deserve to face],” Warren said. “So on behalf of the Minnesota Vikings, our wonderful ownership group, the Wilf Family, all the people who work at the Vikings on a daily basis, our players, our coaches, our staff, our fans around the world, we’d just like to welcome you.”

KFAN personality Carly Zucker served as the afternoon’s emcee and introduced ACS North Region Executive Vice President Dave Benson.

“We have cancer survivors here who have had a variety of different types of cancer,” Benson said. “Different cancer journeys, different cancer treatments and different walks of life. You represent why the American Cancer Society is so proud to be able to serve cancer patients, no matter where they come from, no matter what kind of cancer they have – we’re there for them 24 hours a day.”

Benson went on to talk about ACS’s focus on cancer research and shared the results of that research. According to Benson, the number of people in 2014 who were living beyond a cancer diagnosis in the U.S. was nearly 14.5 million. By 2024, the expectation is that the number will increase to almost 19 million.

“That’s incredible progress,” Benson said.

Benson made a commitment to continue striving for more progress and thanked the Vikings for their longstanding partnership with ACS to help make that a reality.

During the luncheon, guests were joined at their respective tables by one current or former Vikings player, and the cancer survivors and patients were presented with a football that they could get autographed.

The event concluded with a Q&A with Rudolph and Zylstra, during which Zucker asked a series of questions and then opened it up for inquiries from the audience. In his first year with the Vikings, Zylstra was grateful that he chose to attend the luncheon and meet so many strong individuals.

“I thought it was super cool to hear everybody’s stories and their background,” said Zylstra, a native of Spicer, Minnesota. “This is the community I grew up in, and I didn’t make it here alone. It’s just good to show your support and try to give back. Like these cancer survivors were telling us, you never know who you can inspire or touch just based on your influence.

“I think it’s huge,” Zylstra added of the NFL’s Crucial Catch campaign. “Any kind of awareness you can bring is positive.”

Carolyn Hardy-Best, who battled colon cancer in 1996 and more recently cervical cancer, described the afternoon as “awesome.”

“I didn’t know what to expect,” Hardy-Best said. “It’s just been a great journey, and I’m going to [continue to tell my story].”

Tuesday marked the two-year anniversary of a prostate cancer diagnosis for Kelton Kent, who is now cancer free.

Kelton said he was overwhelmed by the support from the Vikings and ACS and felt encouraged to be even more open with his story. He especially enjoyed getting to visit with Collins and the other Vikings.

“It allowed me to get to know them better than one normally would, and it was a much more personal interaction,” Kent said.

At Rudolph’s table, the tight end connected with Grant Haar, the only one of the survivors to have battled pediatric cancer.

“Like my brother, he was born with cancer and was something that he fought at a very early age. Thankfully Grant is now 13 years old, an eighth grader,” Rudolph said. “He plays the trumpet, loves music and is doing things that any normal 13-year-old kid is doing. That’s why we do what we do, and those are the stories that we like to hear.

“Unfortunately, that’s not everyone’s story,” Rudolph added. “And that’s why we’re here; that’s why we’re bringing more awareness to cancer. Any voice or any little effort that we can make will help us have one more Grant story.” PUBLICATION: Vikings.com DATE: 10/10/18

10 Vikings-Cardinals Numbers of Note: Thielen, Diggs Have Combined for 84 Catches

By Eric Smith

EAGAN, Minn. — The Vikings are on the hunt for their first winning streak in 2018.

Minnesota, which earned a 23-21 win in Philadelphia in Week 5, will now return home to U.S. Bank Stadium for a matchup with Arizona.

Kickoff against the Cardinals is noon (CT) Sunday.

The Vikings are 2-2-1 entering Week 6, and Arizona is 1-4.

The Cardinals got a 28-18 win over the 49ers on Sunday, Arizona’s first victory of the season.

Here’s a look at 10 numbers of note heading into Sunday’s matchup:

100 — The last time the Vikings played the Cardinals, cornerback Xavier Rhodes had a 100-yard return for a touchdown. He also recorded his only career multi-interception performance in the same game.

4 — The Vikings have won the four of the past five matchups against the Cardinals, with each victory coming in Minnesota.

5 — Vikings defensive end Danielle Hunter leads Minnesota with 5.0 sacks, and he has one sack in each game this season, which is the longest streak of his career.

3 — Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins ranks in the top 10 in three different categories — completion percentage (71.2 percent), passing yards (1,688) and touchdown passes (11). Drew Brees, Jared Goff and Matt Ryan are also in that group.

84 — Vikings wide receivers Adam Thielen (47) and Stefon Diggs (37) have 84 combined catches in 2018. They join Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown (35) and JuJu Smith-Schuster (35) as the only duo in the league to each rank in the top 10 in receptions.

1 — Vikings safety Harrison Smith’s first career interception came in 2012 against Arizona. He returned the pick 31 yards for a touchdown.

37 — Cardinals running back David Johnson has 37 career combined (rushing and receiving) with 3,608 total yards in just 38 career games.

29.6 — Minnesota’s defense ranks third in the NFL with a third-down percentage of 29.6. The Vikings set an NFL record in 2017 with a percentage of 25.2.

2 — The Vikings have two defensive touchdowns in 2018 [a 64-yard fumble return by defensive tackle Linval Joseph and a 28-yard interception return by cornerback Mike Hughes]. That total is tied for second in the NFL behind three scores by the Bengals.

31 and 32 — The Vikings rank 31st in the NFL in rushing yards per game (65.8), and the Cardinals rank 32nd (64.6). Minnesota is allowing 99.4 rushing yards per game (13th in the NFL), and Arizona is allowing 142.4 per outing (31st in the NFL). PUBLICATION: Vikings.com DATE: 10/10/18

Game Preview: Cardinals at Vikings

By Craig Peters

The Minnesota Vikings (2-2-1) return home after two consecutive road games for a matchup with the Arizona Cardinals (1-4) at U.S Bank Stadium. The game, scheduled to kick off at noon (CT) Sunday, will be the 28th contest between the two franchises and the 15th played in Minnesota.

The Cardinals are coming off a 28-18 road win at San Francisco, the first victory of Cardinals Head Coach Steve Wilks’ career. The Vikings captured their first road victory of the season in a 23-21 win at Philadelphia, a rematch of the 2017 NFC Championship Game.

Minnesota enters Week 6 ranking third in the NFL in passing yards per game with a 321.4 mark through five games. Vikings QB Kirk Cousins has thrown for 1,688 yards, the second-highest total in the NFL. Cousins is one of four QBs (along with Drew Brees, Jared Goff and Matt Ryan) to rank in the top 10 in each of the following categories - completion percentage, passing yards and passing touchdowns in 2018.

WR Adam Thielen is off to a record-breaking start, recording 47 receptions (first in the NFL) for 589 yards (second in the NFL) and setting new franchise marks for the most through the first five weeks of a season. Thielen and Stefon Diggs join Steelers WRs Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith- Schuster as the only WR duos in the league to each rank in the top 10 in receptions.

The Vikings defense, which ranks 21st in yards allowed (378.0 per game) in 2018, has held opponents to a third-down conversion rate of 29.6 percent, the third lowest in the NFL, and is one of four units in the NFL to have multiple defensive touchdowns (two), trailing only the Bengals (three).

TELEVISION:

FOX (KMSP in Minneapolis/St. Paul)

Play-by-Play: Sam Rosen

Analyst: Ronde Barber

Sideline: Shane Bacon

LOCAL RADIO:

KFAN-FM 100.3/KTLK-AM 1130

Play-by-Play: Paul Allen

Analyst: Pete Bercich

Sideline Reporters: Greg Coleman and Ben Leber

Pre-Game Show: Mike Mussman – 10 a.m. (CT)

KFAN and KTLK serve as the flagship stations for the 72-station, five-state Vikings Radio Network.

SATELLITE RADIO

Sirius: 106 or Streaming 800 (AZ); 113 or Streaming 819 (MIN)

XM: Streaming 800 (AZ); 231 or Streaming 819 (MIN)

NORSE NOTES

WR Adam Thielen’s 47 receptions are the most in NFL history through the first five weeks of a season. Michael Thomas (NO) ranks second with 46 catches in 2018. Wes Welker (45 in 2011) held the previous mark.

Thielen is the only player in the Super Bowl era to start the season with five consecutive games with 100 or more receiving yards.

Vikings DE Danielle Hunter is the only player in the NFL to record a sack in each of the first five weeks. Hunter's five-game streak is a career high for consecutive games with a sack.

In Week 3 vs. Buffalo, TE Kyle Rudolph caught his 17th touchdown pass dating back to the start of the 2016 season, tied with Packers TE Jimmy Graham for the most in the NFL by a tight end.

Since the start of the 2017 season, safety Harrison Smith has six and 3.5 sacks; he is the only player in the NFL to have at least four interceptions and at least 3.0 sacks in that span.

QB Kirk Cousins’ 1,688 passing yards are the second-most passing yards through five games to start a season, trailing who threw for 1,766 yards in 2004. Cousins’ 11 touchdown passes are tied for the second-most in team history through five games, also trailing Culpepper (18 in 2004).

Cousins, who completed 35 passes in Week 2, 40 passes in Week 3, 36 passes in Week 4, and 30 in Week 5, is the first player in NFL history to complete at least 30 passes in four consecutive games.

WR Stefon Diggs’ 37 receptions are tied for seventh in the NFL, and his 402 receiving yards rank 19th.

Rudolph (345 receptions) ranks eighth all-time in team history, Diggs (237 receptions) ranks 16th all-time in team history, and Thielen (227 receptions) ranks 17th all-time in Vikings history.

Rudolph has started a league-leading (among TEs) 54 consecutive games, which is the longest streak for any TE all-time in Vikings team history.

STAT OF THE WEEK

Vikings DE Danielle Hunter has 30.5 career sacks, which is tied for the fifth-highest total for any player prior to turning 24. Hunter turns 24 on Oct. 29.

1. Shawne Merriman, 39.5 with Chargers

2. Aldon Smith, 38 with 49ers

3. Robert Quinn, 34.5 with Rams

4. Terrell Suggs, 33.5 with Ravens

5t. Danielle Hunter, 30.5 with Vikings

5t. Mario Williams, 30.5 with Texans

7t. Von Miller, 30 with Broncos

7t. Derrick Thomas, 30 with Chiefs

VIKINGS-CARDINALS CONNECTIONS

Cardinals QB Sam Bradford played for the Vikings from 2016-17, starting 17 games for the team, posting a 9-8 record and totaling 23 touchdowns, five interceptions and a 101.1 passer rating while with Minnesota.

Terry Allen, who enters his second season with the Cardinals as the Bill Bidwill Fellowship/RBs coach after joining Arizona’s staff in May 2017, was a ninth-round pick by the Vikings in 1990 and played for Minnesota until 1994. Allen had 641 carries for 2,795 yards and 23 touchdowns and 72 receptions for 675 yards and 3 scores in his 47 career games (38 starts) as a Viking.

Cardinals Offensive Assistant Cam Turner served as the Vikings Assistant to the Head Coach from 2011-12.

Cardinals RBs Coach Kirby Wilson held the same post for the Vikings from 2014-15.

Cardinals Director of College Scouting Dru Grigson signed as a rookie free agent with the Vikings in 2003.

Cardinals WR Kendall Wright spent the 2018 offseason with the Vikings.

Cardinals FB Derrick Coleman signed with the Vikings as a rookie free agent in 2012 and spent the entire offseason with the team before being cut in late August.

Cardinals DE Ifeadi Odenigbo was a seventh-round selection for the Vikings in the 2017 NFL Draft and spent the entire 2017 season on Minnesota’s practice squad. Odenigbo was released by the Vikings on Sept. 1, 2018.

Cardinals T Andre Smith spent the 2016 season with the Minnesota Vikings where he started the first four games of the season at RT before being placed on IR with a season-ending injury.

Cardinals DE Zach Moore spent 2015 with the Vikings and was with the team throughout the 2016 offseason before being released during final cuts.

Cardinals LB was selected in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft by Minnesota. Hodges spent 2013-15 with the Vikings.

Local Connections

Vikings COO Kevin Warren is a Tempe, Arizona, native and attended Grand Canyon University where he played basketball. Warren earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Grand Canyon University before earning his MBA from Arizona State. Warren was inducted into the Grand Canyon University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012.

Arizona Cardinals Executive VP/COO Ron Minegar earned his master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota. Minegar also worked as the Director of Corporate Sales for the Minnesota Timberwolves from 1991-95.

Vikings Executive Director of Player Development/Legal Les Pico is a native of Mesa, Arizona, and attended Scottsdale Community College where he was decorated QB and team MVP. Pico later attended Arizona State where he received his bachelor’s in criminal justice.

Cardinals Assistant OL Coach Steve Heiden is from Rushford, Minnesota. He attended college at South Dakota State University. Heiden began his coaching career at Concordia University in St. Paul in 2012 after an 11-year career in the NFL.

Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald was a two-time All-State and prep All-America WR at Academy of the Holy Angels High School in his hometown of Minneapolis. Fitzgerald also served as a ball boy at Vikings games during his youth.

Vikings assistant special teams coordinator Ryan Ficken played WR at Arizona State University from 1998-99.

VIKINGS TOP PERFORMERS VS. CARDINALS

Defense

Danielle Hunter: 2 games, 5 tackles, 3.0 sacks, 4 QB hits, 3 TFL

Xavier Rhodes: 2 games, 8 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 INTs, 5 PD, 100-yard INT return TD

Harrison Smith: 2 games, 12 tackles, 1.0 sack, 1 QB hit, 1 INT, 31-yard INT return TD

VIKINGS BIG DAYS VS. CARDINALS

WR Aldrick Robinson caught five passes for 70 yards in two games vs. the Cardinals in 2017 including a three-catch 52-yard game in which all three receptions converted a first down.

CB Xavier Rhodes had a career day vs. Arizona (Nov. 20, 2016) recording his lone career game with multiple interceptions and returning one 100 yards for a touchdown, the longest interception return for a touchdown in team history.

Last season as a member of the Redskins, QB Kirk Cousins led his team to a win vs. Arizona (Dec. 17), completing 18 of 26 attempts for 196 yards and two touchdowns, totaling a 116.8 passer rating.

DE Danielle Hunter corralled his fourth career sack at Arizona (Dec. 10, 2015) and his 11th and 12th career sacks vs. Arizona (Nov. 20, 2016), totaling 3.0 sacks in two career games against the Cardinals.

As a rookie in 2012, S Harrison Smith recorded his first career interception and his first career touchdown vs. Arizona (Oct. 21, 2012) after picking off a pass and returning it 31 yards for a score.

VIKINGS-CARDINALS SERIES NOTES

Minnesota has won 16 of 27 games in the series, including 10 of 14 at home.

The Vikings and Cardinals have played in two overtime games with Minnesota winning both.

The Vikings and Cardinals have met two times in the playoffs with both matchups coming in the Divisional Round. Minnesota is 2-0 in playoff games vs. Arizona.

Entering Sunday's game, the Vikings have won nine straight home games against the Cardinals. PUBLICATION: Vikings.com DATE: 10/10/18

NFL Power Rankings: Experts Rank Vikings After Defeating Eagles

By Chris Corso

The Vikings are now 2-2-1 and getting set to return to U.S. Bank Stadium in Week 6 against the Arizona Cardinals.

Minnesota defeated the defending Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles 23-21 on Sunday.

Experts from across the internet updated their power rankings, heading into the Vikings Week 6 matchup.

Rank: 9 Last Week’s Rank: 13 – NFL.com, Elliot Harrison Kirk Cousins is playing out of his freakin' mind, man. No matter the pressure — including a whole bunch right in his grill — Cousins (30 for 37, 301 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT) delivered the ball on time and on point Sunday in Philadelphia. Along with the Vikings' pass rush, he was the difference between Minnesota falling into season-on-the-brink territory and getting right back in the mix at 2- 2-1. The Vikes are now a game-and-a-half behind Chicago in the NFC North, with a Cardinals home game followed by a roadie against the Jets. Both winnable games. Then again, so was Buffalo. Too soon?

Rank: 11 Last Week’s Rank: 13 – ESPN.com Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 26th. The Vikings will travel to New England in Week 13 for their toughest remaining game, in which they have a 30 percent chance to win, according to FPI. This is part of a four-game stretch in which the Vikings face their toughest tests of the season. Minnesota has a 45 percent chance to beat Chicago in Week 11, a 57 percent chance to win against Green Bay in Week 12 and a 41 percent chance to beat Seattle in Week 14. – Matt Williams

Rank: 6 Last Week’s Rank: 13 – YAHOO! Sports, Frank Schwab Kirk Cousins’ numbers through five games: 1,688 yards, 11 touchdowns, two interceptions, a 71.2 completion percentage and a 105.1 rating. He’s off to a heck of a good start and looks like a fantastic free-agent signing.

Rank: 11 Last Week’s Rank: 17 – Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk How far can a team with no running game go?

Rank: 8 Last Week’s Rank: 8 - Bleacher Report Staff After falling on the road to the Los Angeles Rams a week ago, the Minnesota Vikings entered Week 5 facing a tall task: travel to Philly for a rematch of last year's NFC Championship beatdown staring at the possibility of a 1-3-1 start.

It was gut-check time. And when the bell rang, Minnesota answered. Despite having no ground game to speak of, the Vikings rode Kirk Cousins' right arm and a record-setting performance from Adam Thielen to one of Week 5's most important victories.

It wasn't flawless by any stretch. The Vikings led 20-6 late but had to hold on to get the W. Though it was tough, the important thing is that the Vikings did hold on, and after a brutal stretch to open the season, they get a couple of tomato cans before hosting the Saints in a few weeks.

Of course, the last time the Vikings played a tomato can, the Bills beat the snot out of them.

But for now at least, Minnesota appears to be back on track.

"We may have declared them dead too early," Brad Gagnon wrote. "They hung with the NFL's best team on the road in Week 4 before dominating the defending champions on the road in Week 5. Kirk Cousins has been somewhat quietly fantastic, and the Vikings are on track to make another run."

Rank: 9 Last Week’s Rank: 13 – Sporting News, Vinnie Iyer The Vikings defense needed that get-well game in Philadelphia, and embracing their identity with Kirk Cousins as a quick, high-volume passing game is smart.

Rank: 12

Last Week’s Rank: 17 – Nate Davis, USA TODAY Sports Clear solution to trigger league's second-worst run game is giving 329-pound Linval Joseph, who averages 64 yards per "carry," some work.

Rank: 7 Last Week’s Rank: 10 – Sports Illustrated, MMQB Staff It didn’t exactly avenge the NFC Championship Game loss, but the win in Philly did halt a two- game skid and keep the Vikings firmly in the thick of the NFC’s crowded playoff picture. PUBLICATION: Vikings.com DATE: 8/28/18

‘Vikings LIVE’ Offers Unique Fan Experience for Vikings Rewards Members

By Lindsey Young

EAGAN, Minn. – An addition to Vikings Entertainment Network programming this season is giving fans a unique, behind-the-scenes experience.

VEN launched a new show, Vikings LIVE, presented by Miller Lite and Mall of America, with a special one-hour episode that aired on FOX 9 before the Vikings-Rams game on Thursday Night Football.

From that point through the rest of the season, Vikings LIVE will feature 30-minute shows that air at 6 p.m. Thursday nights.

The program is an offshoot of Vikings GameDay Live with FOX 9’s Hobie Artigue and Ron Johnson. On Vikings LIVE, Artigue and Johnson will be joined by former Vikings center Matt Birk; the trio will break down the week’s upcoming game and discuss questions and current topics surrounding the team. Dawn Mitchell will also provide a live report covering the top Viking stories of the week.

Vikings Entertainment Network Launches ‘Vikings LIVE’ Vikings LIVE is the first VEN show to be filmed in front of a live studio audience. It airs at 6 p.m. CT on Thursday nights. You can find Vikings LIVE on FOX 9-KMS and streamed live on Vikings.com and the Vikings mobile app.

1 / 38 Vikings LIVE is the first VEN show to be filmed in front of a live studio audience, which is made possible by the state-of-the-art TCO Studios at Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center.

Vikings Director of Broadcasting Skip Krueger explained that VEN collaborates with the Vikings TV partner, FOX 9-KMSP, to co-produce the show.

“Each side provides valuable resources necessary to pull off the production,” Krueger said. “The live studio audience aspect is unique for us, and fortunately FOX 9 has plenty of experience with that.

“From our side, we are able to provide a lot of the football portion of the show including a current Vikings player interviewed live each week by ‘Voice of the Vikings’ Paul Allen, whom we feel is one of the best in the business,” Krueger added. “Plus, TCO Studios also serves as a perfect setting for a show like this to allow the studio audience access to watch the production as it happens.”

Vikings Rewards members can redeem their points for tickets to a Vikings LIVE show at TCO Studios.

Throughout the 30-minute time period, breaks between segments allow audience members to interact with Allen and emcee Brian Lansing, as well as the opportunity win Vikings-related prizes and memorabilia.

“One of the benefits of opening a new home like TCO Performance Center is building TCO Studios, which enables us to host a live show in front of our fans in a prime time slot like it is on Thursday nights. Those are doors that have never been open before,” said Vikings Vice President of Content & Production Bryan Harper. “So it’s a great opportunity to engage with our fans, engage with our Vikings Rewards members and potentially bring in some youth football teams to see how the bread is made behind the scenes. To have an audience in your home facility is a really unique thing that’s not common in the NFL.”

PUBLICATION: Vikings.com DATE: 8/28/18

Lunchbreak: DeFilippo’s Creativity Helped Vikings in Philadelphia

By Eric Smith

A look at the stat sheet shows the Vikings offense preferred to pass in Sunday’s win against the Eagles.

Minnesota threw the ball 37 times in comparison to just 23 rushing plays, but the numbers aren’t as lopsided as one would think.

ESPN Vikings beat writer Courtney Cronin recently wrote that although the Vikings had quarterback Kirk Cousins drop back to pass more often than not, creative play calling from Vikings Offensive Coordinator John DeFilippo helped keep Philadelphia’s defense off balance.

Cronin wrote:

DeFilippo decided that the best way to mitigate the Eagles' pass rush was by getting around it, forcing runs outside designed to attack the perimeter and utilizing quick screens to generate early production.

Stefon Diggs picked up 18 yards off three short passes from Cousins on the Vikings' opening drive, a concept the receiver said “kept them on their toes.” The receiver also accounted for the longest run of the day, taking a 20-yard handoff from Cousins parallel to the Vikings' sideline.

Philadelphia entered the game with the NFL’s top rushing defense at 63.8 yards per game.

And while the 77 rushing yards posted by the Vikings were the most allowed by the Eagles this season, quick passes that attacked the perimeter of the field were almost used as running plays by DeFilippo.

DeFilippo’s intentions in Philly were clear: The Vikings are going to continue to rely on Cousins heavily and support him with the run when they can. Minnesota is still towards the bottom in rushing, up one spot to 31st, but showed it can better achieve that balance and take pressure off Cousins.

That philosophy is rooted in DeFilippo’s approach to continually get the ball to his best players. Cousins was 17-of-21 passing for 207 yards and a touchdown targeting both Diggs and Thielen on Sunday. He has completed 70 percent of his passes to that duo this season for 991 yards, six touchdowns and zero interceptions, per ESPN Stats and Information.

DeFilippo is in his first season in Minnesota after being the Eagles quarterbacks coach for the past two seasons. He received a game ball from Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer after Sunday’s win.

Rand: Zimmer had right message after 1st quarter of season

With the Vikings reaching the quarter pole of the season last week, Zimmer put out a word of caution to those who wanted to write off the Vikings.

Although his team then stood at 1-2-1, Zimmer said that both hot and mild starts in the first four games of the season in recent years haven’t led to seasonal success.

Michael Rand of the Star-Tribune said that Minnesota’s win in Philadelphia helps back up Zimmer’s notion that the Vikings were buried after four games.

Rand wrote:

Zimmer’s quote had all the facts right about what happened the previous three seasons. The Vikings were sputtering in 2015 through four games, then took off with a five-game win streak starting in Game 5. They were an early Super Bowl favorite in 2016 after starting 4-0 (and eventually 5-0) before offensive line woes contributed mightily to a 3-8 stretch to end the year. And last year, the Vikings were again 2-2 and looked headed for a dead-end year with Sam Bradford injured and Dalvin Cook out for the year. Then Case Keenum took them on an improbable journey to 13-3.

This year, of course, the Vikings had big issues in all three phases of the game — with defensive woes being the most surprising and troubling. They got much of it sorted out Sunday and got a wonderful performance under pressure from Kirk Cousins. Now their record is all square after playing three of their first five on the road against presumed NFC contenders.

The bizarre 27-6 loss to Buffalo still feels like it could negatively impact the season, but turning a potential “L” into a “W” in Philly helps square that. At the very least, it added credence to what Zimmer said last week about judging his teams after four games.

The Vikings, who are now 2-2-1, will host Arizona (1-4) on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium. PUBLICATION: VIKING Update DATE: 8/28/18

Cousins pressured most, handles it best

By Tim Yotter

Once again, we revisit a Mike Tice saying – “live by the dog, die by the dog” – and how Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins is thriving by “the dog,” an NFL colloquialism used describe a blitz.

Cousins continued to be blitzed and pressured, and he continues to stand tall and deliver under those circumstances.

Cousins has the second-most passing yards (1,688) and eight-best passer rating (105.1) in the NFL, but he’s doing with it with an inordinate amount of pressure in his face. His passer rating is four points higher when blitzed and the Philadelphia Eagles tested that on Sunday.

“He’s unbelievable. We just got done watching the film from the game. It seemed like every one of the big plays, he was getting smacked while he was throwing the ball,” said receiver Adam Thielen. “The touchdown, he just threw us out there and trusted that I was going to get open. The deep ball as well, he was getting hit right while he was throwing it. Literally couldn’t have had a better throw. It’s pretty special to see a guy like that make the plays he’s making.”

While the NFL boasts seven quarterbacks that have a completion percentage of 70 or higher with more than 50 attempts, Cousins’ completion percentage is even better when blitzed. Overall, Cousins is fifth with a 71.2 completion percentage, but he is at 73.6 when blitzed.

“He’s had experience, and seeing a lot of these things is part of it,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said of Cousins’ success when blitzed. “I would say that’s the biggest thing, experience, and then having the ability to get into different protections.”

Against Philadelphia, Cousins completed 81 percent of his passes, 30-for-37, including 3-for-4 on passes 20 yards or more downfield for 117 yards. He was pressured 14 times but sacked only once (that came on a four-man rush when Brandon Graham beat Rashod Hill).

One of Cousins’ best throws was a 3-yard toss to the back corner of the end zone with defensive end Michael Bennett in his face. While backpedaling and jumping with Bennett closing in, Cousins put the ball just over the outstretched hand of cornerback Ronald Darby and where only Thielen could haul it in for a toe-tapping touchdown.

“It’s funny, sometimes when you’re running a route and you break and you look back for the ball, you kind of see him getting hit. And it’s like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe he made that throw,’” Thielen said. “It just kind of goes back to him trusting us getting open because a lot of times he can’t see us getting open, he doesn’t have time to see us getting open. He’s just going to trust us getting open and throw the ball to the spot, which is what you want in a quarterback.”

In the third quarter, the Eagles blitzed Cousins when he was backed up at his own 6-yard line. Defensive tackle Fletcher Cox got through Mike Remmers and hit Cousins as he released a bomb for Thielen down the right sideline. Thielen was putting a double move on cornerback Jalen Mills and by the time he looked up for the ball it was already in the air, about 30 yards downfield. From there, Thielen turned it into a 68- yard reception after weaving through traffic.

“I just go where my reads take me. It comes back again to [offensive coordinator John DeFilippo] being aggressive and giving us opportunities. He called a double move the very first play of the drive backed up. That is an aggressive play-caller,” Cousins said. “You trust the receiver to win and trust the team to execute the play and then Adam flips the field for us and puts us down in the strike zone. As long as Coach Flip keeps giving us opportunities and the coverage dictates that I go to Adam, he is going to get the football. I think our offense is at its best when [Stefon Diggs] and [Thielen] are catching the ball and being able to make explosive plays for us.”

On the very next play, Cousins pumped to Thielen’s side of the field and came back to the left side to hit Stefon Diggs for a 25-yard gain to the 2-yard line.

SIGN UP FOR FREE VIKINGS NEWSLETTER ASK THE REPORTER ON THE SCENE FOLLOW VIKING UPDATE/247 ON FACEBOOK “I think he does such a good job of just making it easy on us. We just worry about getting open, and he’s almost catching the ball for us,” Thielen said. “I think for us, we just have to continue to make sure that we’re doing the little things to be at the right depth and the right timing of things. Because it’s so important when you have a guy that’s as talented as him to be in the right spot at the right time.”

With an offensive line that is still trying to find its stride, Cousins is tied with Deshaun Watson for the most dropbacks (107) under pressure and everyone else is 25 or more pressures behind, according to PFF’s data. But Cousins leads the NFL in completing 67 percent of his passes when pressured.

“I’m assuming he’s reading the coverage pre-snap and then post-snap figuring out where maybe his best leverage is and things like that, his best matchup,” Thielen said. “And then he’s trusting us to get open because a lot of times he doesn’t even have time or he can’t see us getting open. He’s just trusting us that he’s going to get open and he’s just throwing it to a spot and let us go get it.” PUBLICATION: ESPN DATE: 8/28/18

Creative playcalling allows Vikings to show pulse in run game

By Courtney Cronin

EAGAN, Minn. – The idea of offensive balance was never lost on Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator John DeFilippo. After the run game fell stagnant from Weeks 2-4, DeFilippo had to change up his approach to establishing a ground attack against his former team without Dalvin Cook (hamstring) and with an offensive line that has struggled to run block.

“There is no one in this building that wants to run the ball more than I do,” DeFilippo said last week. “Because it takes a lot of pressure off of me to not have to have the perfect protection, to not have to call the perfect route against the coverage that you deem you think you are going to get. The quarterback is in duress at times where if you run the football with efficiency, obviously it is a lot easier on the playcaller, it’s easier on some of the players.”

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DeFilippo got to scratch that itch against the Philadelphia Eagles, who came into Week 5 as the league’s No. 1 rushing defense by holding teams to 63.8 yards per game.

His plan for Philly held similarities to the one he had for the Rams: Favoring outside matchups more than having his personnel try to bang their heads against a stout front-four featuring the likes of Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, Michael Bennett (in for Derek Barnett) and Destiny Vaeao (in for Haloti Ngata).

At the end of the first half, the Vikings had their highest rushing total (58 yards) since Week 2. Philadelphia allowed a season-high 77 yards rushing to a team still trying to find its footing in the ground game.

That rushing total won't cause many heads to turn, but given that Minnesota's running backs gained a league-low 182 yards from scrimmage in the first four weeks, including just 14 rushing yards against Buffalo, the type of performance the run game turned in against Philadelphia is noteworthy, not for its immense production but the strategy behind it.

“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy to just come in here and run the football,” quarterback Kirk Cousins said. “In some cases you have to be smart and not play into their hand by running the ball. I do think when we picked our spots, we were pretty efficient and had the runs when we needed them.”

DeFilippo decided that the best way to mitigate the Eagles' pass rush was by getting around it, forcing runs outside designed to attack the perimeter and utilizing quick screens to generate early production.

Stefon Diggs picked up 18 yards off three short passes from Cousins on the Vikings' opening drive, a concept the receiver said “kept them on their toes.” The receiver also accounted for the longest run of the day, taking a 20-yard handoff from Cousins parallel to the Vikings' sideline.

Latavius Murray had 11 carries for 42 yards against the NFL's No. 1 rush defense on Sunday. James Lang/USA TODAY Sports Without Cook, Latavius Murray stepped into a headlining role. His biggest impact was felt when the Vikings aimed to hold off a late Eagles push in the fourth quarter. Once Minnesota got the ball with 9:17 to play up 20-14, Murray accounted for 27 of the drive’s 55 yards, helping burn off nearly seven minutes of game clock in the process. Cousins also went back to the short passes that sparked the offense early on, targeting Diggs, Adam Thielen and Kyle Rudolph on gains that set up Dan Bailey’s game-sealing 52-yard field goal.

Cousins once again posted terrific numbers in the face of constant pressure, completing 30 of 37 passes for 301 yards and a touchdown. The high-octane performances Cousins has strung together in his first five games has him ranked second in Vikings history, just shy of the 1,766 passing yards Daunte Culpepper posted in Minnesota first five games in 2004.

DeFilippo’s intentions in Philly were clear: The Vikings are going to continue to rely on Cousins heavily and support him with the run when they can. Minnesota is still towards the bottom in rushing, up one spot to 31st, but showed it can better achieve that balance and take pressure off Cousins.

That philosophy is rooted in DeFilippo’s approach to continually get the ball to his best players. Cousins was 17-of-21 for 207 yards and a touchdown targeting both Diggs and Thielen on Sunday. He has completed 70 percent of his passes to that duo this season for 991 yards, six touchdowns and zero interceptions, per ESPN Stats and Information.

Thielen registered his fifth straight game of 100 yards receiving, becoming the first player in the Super Bowl era to achieve that feat. The play that made him cross over that threshold was a mark of the Vikings' offensive coordinator playing to the strengths of his offense, a notion that earned him one of two game balls from coach Mike Zimmer (the other went to nose tackle Linval Joseph).

With Minnesota pinned at its own 5-yard line in the third quarter, DeFilippo called a play that allowed Thielen to display his incredible understanding of leverage and how to get open while flipping field position in the process.

“It comes back again to Coach Flip,” Cousins said. “He called a double-move the very first play of the drive backed up. That is an aggressive playcaller. You trust the receiver to win and trust the team to execute the play, and Adam flips the field for us and puts us down in the strike zone. As long as Coach Flip keeps giving us opportunities and the coverage dictates that I go to Adam, he’s going to get the football. I think our offense is at its best when (Diggs) and (Thielen) are catching the ball.”

PUBLICATION: CBS Sports DATE: 8/28/18

NFL Week 5 Celebration Grades: A big weekend for karate, but Linval Joseph takes top honors

By Pete Blackburn

Style points may not show up on the box score, but they do in our weekly NFL celebration grades. Showmanship is as much an art as football itself, so it's important to appreciate the celebratory displays that we'll see every weekend during the NFL season. It's also important to roast the players who clearly need to work on their celly game.

It was a solid Week 5 in the style department. Here's what we've got:

Chiefs' tip drill A lot of people seemed to enjoy this joint effort from the Chiefs, but I gotta tell you ... it didn't really do much for me. It took them a bit too long to get it going, then the execution was rather sloppy. Plus, this is NOTHING like the Nelly music video. But I will say I did enjoy the catch/spike combo to finish it off. Grade: C

CHIEFS WITH THAT TIP DRILL pic.twitter.com/5EKskIXjS1

— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) October 7, 2018 David Moore dance team I honestly have no idea what this celebration was, and it took a while for it to really get anywhere. I wasn't very impressed by the whole dancing circle situation going on, but at least David Moore and Ricardo Lockette had a decently strong finish with whatever they were doing in there. Seriously, I have no idea what this was. Grade: C

"First NFL touchdown for David Moore... and he can do that dance" // @Seahawks pic.twitter.com/hLTZJfaIms

— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) October 7, 2018 Cassius Marsh karate This is a big week for fighting-inspired celebrations (more on that later). Cassius Marsh's karate-inspired sack celebration wasn't the biggest one of the day, but it was still pretty well-executed. It's important to keep yourself in check and not get too ambitious with most sack dances, and Marsh managed to be quick and creative with this one. Points! Grade: B

Someone tell the 3 Ninjas that Cassius Marsh (@KingCash_7191) wants to join them pic.twitter.com/U9iTaxua0i

— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) October 7, 2018 The miracle of life We already know JuJu Smith-Schuster loves the celebration game and he brings his best whenever he can, so we've come to expect good things from him in the end zone. He caught us a bit off-guard on Sunday when he dropped to the turf and pretended to give birth to a football, though. Really can't say I saw that one coming, but it was pretty funny nonethleless. He may be interpreting "ball is life" a bit too literally though. Grade: B

Congratulations to @TeamJuJu on his newborn football pic.twitter.com/ndwezJOjp2

— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) October 7, 2018 Patrick Chung goes full 'Mortal Kombat' While Cassius Marsh's karate display was good, Patrick Chung's "Mortal Kombat" showcase was great. Sure, he had pretty excellent form on the "Karate Kid" crane kick, but the celebration was really put over the top by the participation from Duron Harmon, who executed the "Mortal Kombat" wobble to perfection before pretending to get finished by Chung's kick. A teammate who is willing to sacrifice himself and get KO'd for the sake of a great celebration is a true sign of the "one for all" mentality you need to be a champion. Grade: A

This is the new gold standard of NFL celebrations pic.twitter.com/lax4LImOh8

— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) October 5, 2018 Linval Joseph gets his oxygen The only thing better than the pure joy that a Big Man Touchdown brings is a Big Man Touchdown being followed by an outstanding Big Man Celebration. After Linval Joseph's 64-yard pick-six on Sunday, he went to the sidelines and became a legend by doing this:

Big men typically don’t have to run as far as Linval Joseph did on that touchdown pic.twitter.com/LeykWgpasw

— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) October 7, 2018 Sure, it's not an elaborate or choreographed celebration. Some might say it's barely a celebration at all. But show me a 325-pound man who just ran 64 yards and immediately headed to the sidelines to get his gas station sunglasses and a heaping serving of oxygen and I will show you a hero. Grade: A+

Sorry to interrupt your reading, but just a quick PSA here. We have a pretty amazing daily NFL podcast you may not be aware of. It's hosted by Will Brinson and it's all the things you're looking for: news, fantasy, picks, really, just football stuff for football people. Subscribe: via iTunes | via Stitcher | via TuneIn | via Google Play. PUBLICATION: Golf Digest DATE: 8/28/18

2018 RANKING: TOP ATHLETE GOLFERS

By Cliff Schrock

There are more than 4,000 athletes in the NFL, MLB, NBA, MLS and NHL alone. Add all the other sports leagues, and there are thousands of athletes who are eligible for Golf Digest's Best Athlete Ranking, which we last compiled in December 2015. We expanded that list of 100 by contacting each team's communications staff in the four major sports leagues, along with the overall communications leader in other sports leagues. To fill in gaps, we worked with sports agents, sports agencies such as Octagon, Wasserman, Newport Sports Management, Excel, CAA, and Tandem Sports and Entertainment, as well as online search engines and research services of journalistic periodicals. We supplemented that with in-house research and GHIN.com. Some handicaps are estimates from players or representatives. — Cliff Schrock

FOOTBALL

RYAN SUCCOP +2.2 | Titans kicker was a scratch in our 2015 ranking.

MATT RYAN +1.2 | The 2016 NFL MVP for the Falcons holds his Celebrity-Am Classic at TPC Sugarloaf to support the Matt Ryan Foundation and Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.

BRETT KERN +0.8 | Titans Pro Bowl punter is a member at Nashville G. & Athletic Club.

TONY ROMO +0.4 | Former Cowboys QB retired to the TV booth and dabbles in pro golf. In March, he shot 77-82 during his PGA Tour debut at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship. In August, he got to the first stage of Web.com Tour qualifying. He won twice in the summer, including the American Century Championship. Plays at Dallas National G.C., Trinity Forest G.C. and the Four Seasons G. & Sports Club. Was a 3-handicap in our 2015 ranking. KYLE WILLIAMS 0 | Bills six-time Pro Bowl DT is 6-1 and 300 pounds with an excellent short game. Once shot 75 at Oak Hill.

JERRY RICE 0.3 | Hall of Fame wide receiver has competed in Nationwide Tour events. Home course: Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club in California.

SAM BRADFORD 0-1 | Arizona QB has no formal handicap. Has raised more than $1 million for St. Jude Hospital through the Sam Bradford Golf Classic.

BRANDON WEEDEN 1 | Texans QB walked on to the Oklahoma State golf team while leading the football team.

DEREK ANDERSON 1.2 | QB was a +0.6 in 2015; played seven seasons as Cam Newton's backup in Carolina before becoming a free agent.

DICK ANDERSON 2 | Former Dolphins safety plays at Riviera C.C. in Florida. He serves as a board member for The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis and The Buoniconti Fund.

JAKE ELLIOTT 2 | Eagles kicker's home course is The Ace Club, north of Philadelphia.

RASHEAN MATHIS 2 | Retired Jaguars cornerback is a member at Glen Kernan G. & C.C. in Jacksonville. Favorite course is Tobacco Road G.C. in North Carolina because of its elevation changes. "And Oakland Hills speaks for itself."

ADAM THIELEN 2 | Vikings WR was part of this summer's State Farm Showdown at Mohegan Sun G.C. Plays StoneRidge G.C. in Minnesota most often. CHANDLER CATANZARO 2.3 | Bucs kicker is from Greenville, S.C., site of his home course, Thornblade Club.

BEN ROETHLISBERGER 2.3 | Steelers QB was as low as 0.4. Often-played courses: Allegheny C.C. in Pennsylvania and Reynolds Lake Oconee in Georgia.

MASON CROSBY 2.8 | Packers kicker has been a co-chair for the annual Vince Lombardi charity golf event in June.

DAN MARINO 3 | Hall of Fame QB started the Dan Marino Foundation to improve the lives of those with autism and other developmental disabilities. His home course is Adios G.C. in Florida.

NICK O'LEARY 3 | Grandson to Jack Nicklaus—Nick's mom is Jack and Barbara's daughter Nan— had his best career year last season with Buffalo.

PEYTON MANNING 3.5 | "Every day I go out thinking, This might be the day I'm gonna shoot a great score," Manning says. Peyton and his wife, Ashley, began the PeyBack Foundation in 1999 to promote the future success of disadvantaged youth by assisting programs that provide leadership and growth opportunities for children at risk. Read more about Peyton Manning→

PHILLIP SUPERNAW 3.5 | Free-agent TE played for his home-state Titans. Top layouts played in recent years: Torrey Pines, Erin Hills and Kapalua.

ROBBIE GOULD 3.9 | 49ers kicker plays Medinah C.C. every week in the offseason and each summer hosts the Robbie Gould Celebrity Golf Invitational, which has raised more than $2.6 million for Lurie Children's Hospital. He has been an eight-time participant in the American Century Championship and played in pro-am events on the PGA, Champions and LPGA tours.

PATRICK DIMARCO 4 | Nephew of Chris DiMarco is in his second season as a Bills FB.

ERIC WEDDLE 4.2 | One of the Ravens safety's favorite courses is Ko'olau Golf Club on Oahu.

AARON RODGERS 4.3 | Packers QB has competed in the AT&T National Pro-Am and attended the Masters and the PGA Championship.

STEVEN HAUSCHKA 5 | Bills kicker was hooked on the game from the first moment he went to a golf camp in Brookline, Mass., before eighth grade.

PATRICK PETERSON 5.1 | Cardinals seven-time Pro Bowl cornerback's love for golf began during the 2011 NFL lockout. Hosts the Patrick Peterson Celebrity Golf charity event.

BRYAN BULAGA 5.5 | Packers OT smashes the ball from a 6-5, 314-pound frame.

LARRY FITZGERALD 5.7 | Cardinals WR has been playing for seven years. In February, he teamed with Kevin Streelman to win the AT&T National Pro-Am by seven shots. Read more about Larry Fitzgerald →

COLT MCCOY 6.0 | Redskins QB joined fellow Texas alum Jhonattan Vegas this past spring to hit trick shots at his college field in Austin.

JOHNNY MANZIEL 6 | "Johnny Football" from Texas A&M didn't make it in Cleveland, but the quarterback is starting over with Montreal of the CFL. His golf handicap has improved by two strokes since 2015.

NAT MOORE 6 | Dolphins great at WR plays his home golf at Melreese Country Club/Miami International Links. His charity focus has been education, with the Nat Moore Scholarship Fund within the Miami Dolphins Foundation.

ALEX SMITH 6.8 | Veteran QB, now with Washington, partnered with Mackenzie Hughes at this year's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

KAI FORBATH 7 | Free-agent kicker can most often be seen playing at Los Angeles C.C.

ADAM HUMPHRIES 7 | Bucs WR went to Clemson at the same time as teammate and fellow golf nut Chandler Catanzaro. Plays at Carolina C.C.

AJ MCCARRON 7 | Raiders QB led Alabama to the 2012 and 2013 national championship and has taken part in charity golf events.

STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI 7 | "In golf and in field-goal kicking, most of the times I screw up is when I try to hit the ball too hard," says the Patriots kicker, who holds the NFL record for extra points made.

A.Q. SHIPLEY 7.2 | Arizona C goes on an annual off-season golf trip with his father, Allan. A.Q.'s home course is Seville G. & C.C. in Arizona.

GOLDEN TATE 7.6 | Lions WR tells Golf Digest: "No matter how bad I play, I try to have fun. What do they say? 'A bad day on the course is still better than a good day at the office.' " SHANE LECHLER 7.8 | Free-agent punter was a four-sport athlete at East Bernard (Texas) High School, including golf.

TOM BRADY 8 | Five-time Super Bowl champion Pats QB could be a plus-handicap with a focus on just golf. Member at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. Pebble Beach is a favorite course, and its CEO, Bill Perocchi, is a favorite playing companion.

TERENCE NEWMAN 8 | Minnesota DB founded the 's Rising Stars Foundation in 2007. He most often plays at Stonebriar C.C. in Texas.

MATTHEW STAFFORD 8 | Lions QB and his father have done a Father's Day golf trip seven years in a row; this year they played at Whistling Straits.

TRESS WAY 8.5 | Washington punter says nothing compares with how nervous he felt teeing off No. 1 at the 2017 Quicken Loans National Pro-Am at TPC Potomac.

KYLE FULLER 8.8 | Bears CB has a favorite course near camp in Lake Forest, Ill. (Conway Farms), and another in Scottsdale (Whisper Rock).

FRANK ZOMBO 8-9 | Chiefs LB once met Alice Cooper while playing in an outing. Calls Twin Lakes G.C. in Michigan his home base.

JAKE RYAN 9.0 | Packers linebacker takes part in the Lombardi Golf Classic.

DREW BREES 9 | Saints QB and the Brees Dream Foundation have collaborated in recent years with Topgolf to hold the Brees Topgolf Challenge. ELI MANNING 9.3 | Among the courses the Giants QB frequents are Garden City G.C., Sebonack and the National G. Links of America.

MARK INGRAM JR. 10 | Saints RB and 2009 Heisman Trophy winner at Alabama is just as competitive on the golf course as he is playing football, according to Nick Saban.

KYLE RUDOLPH 10 | Vikings TE is co-host of the Champions for Children Celebrity Golf Classic. His favorite course is Spring Hill G.C. in Minnesota.

JOSH ALLEN 11 | Bills rookie QB played at the University of Wyoming and was drafted in the first round. "The type of throws where I struggle are kind of the underneath patterns where I've got to tone down my arm a little bit. . . . It's like I'm 100 yards out, and I have a 4-iron."

CHAD HENNE 11 | Chiefs QB once played a round at Pine Valley with 2015 U.S. Senior Amateur champion Chip Lutz.

MAXX WILLIAMS 11 | Favorite for Ravens tight end is Waverly Woods G. Cse. in Maryland.

JAMES WINCHESTER 11.0 | Chiefs long snapper broke his driver in half attempting a "Happy Gilmore" swing.

KIRK COUSINS 11.8 | Vikings QB worked at a driving range for minimum wage as a college student. He plays charity golf when he's not at Clearbrook G.C. in Michigan or his favorite layouts on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. MORGAN COX 12.0 | Ravens long snapper says one of his favorite courses to play is Spring Creek Ranch in Collierville, Tenn., which happens to be his hometown.

BRICE BUTLER 12.5 | Cardinals WR says being with Arizona excites him because of the plentiful course options and year-round playing weather.

MARCUS MARIOTA 13 | Fourth-year Titans QB and 2014 Heisman Trophy winner improved 17 shots from his 2015 ranking. Once got golf clubs from his parents as a graduation present. He utilizes golf events to promote the Motiv8foundation, which he co-founded.

PATRICK MAHOMES II 14 | Chiefs QB diverted his mind on draft day in 2017 by playing a round with his dad and friends. Plays out of Hollytree C.C. in Texas, where his mom works.

TY MONTGOMERY 14.2 | Former Stanford WR is the Packers' big hope as a converted running back.

TRAVIS KELCE 15-20 | As a youth, Chiefs TE received a glove from Shigeki Maruyama during the Bridge-stone Invitational at Firestone.

GEHRIG DIETER 17 | Chiefs WR has a cousin who is the head golf pro at Desert Mountain in Scottsdale. Dieter's home course is South Bend (Ind.) C.C.

KEENAN ALLEN 20 | Chargers Pro Bowl WR favors California layouts: Monarch Beach G. Links; most often plays at Strawberry Farms G.C.

ALEX LEWIS 20 | Ravens OT loves playing in his home state of Arizona at Whirlwind Golf Club at Wild Horse Pass. 30 | Former USC quarterback, selected by the Jets as the No. 3 overall pick in the NFL draft, says he has just started to pick up the game. He attended the U.S. Open this year at Shinnecock Hills.

MITCHELL SCHWARTZ 35 | During his first trip to a range, at about 11, he swung his father's driver and snapped the clubhead off, sending it about 75 yards. That was before the Chiefs OT grew to 6-5, 317.