For all the mistakes the Minnesota Vikings made to waste a significant amount of their good work in the season opener, the feeling was strong on their sideline — and throughout the stadium, for that matter — that they would ultimately extract a victory from a tight game. The Vikings turned that into an art form last year, after all, setting an NFL record with 11 wins in 11 decisions by eight points or fewer. The defense allowed a fourth-down conversion to extend Tampa Bay's drive for the tiebreaking field goal and later let the Buccaneers drain the final 3:52 off the clock Sunday with a 15-yard facemask penalty and two third-down conversions for a 20-17 victory.
Hockenson was the eighth overall pick by Detroit in the 2019 draft out of Iowa. The two-time Pro Bowl pick was acquired in a deadline-day trade last year by the Vikings and had 60 catches for 519 yards in 10 games. Hockenson was only a limited participant for most of training camp, first citing an ear infection that caused equilibrium trouble and later attributing his absence to lower back stiffness.
The Minnesota Vikings were in the process of signing former Miami Dolphins running back Myles Gaskin, his agent Drew Rosenhaus confirmed Wednesday. After releasing four-time Pro Bowl pick Dalvin Cook for salary cap relief, the Vikings made Alexander Mattison their featured ball carrier.