1-4 wasn’t the way the Minnesota Vikings wanted to start the 2023 season, but that’s where they sit after a 27-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Injuries played a factor towards the end, as Justin Jefferson injured his hamstring and did not return. It certainly didn’t help the Vikings when they were trying to drive down the field losing by seven points in the final minute of the game.
Buy Vikings TicketsWhen we look at the snap counts from Sunday’s game, it tells us a story of what the Vikings had to do during the game. With a multitude of injuries, the Vikings had a decent shift in who played on Sunday.
Offensive snap counts
- 72: Christian Darrisaw, Ed Ingram, Ezra Cleveland, Brian O’Neill, Kirk Cousins
- 71: Garrett Bradbury
- 64: K.J. Osborn
- 57: T.J. Hockenson
- 54: Jordan Addison
- 51: Justin Jefferson
- 37: Alexander Mattison
- 25: Josh Oliver
- 22: Brandon Powell
- 21: Cam Akers
- 18: C.J. Ham
- 10: Johnny Mundt
- 1: N’Keal Harry, Austin Schlottmann
Offensive snap count breakdwon
When looking at the snap counts, there wasn’t a ton of surprise. Jefferson missing 29% of plays due to injury allowed Jordan Addison to play his biggest snap share of the season at 75%.
Brandon Powell also got in for 22 offensive snaps (31%) and looked more than capable as a receiver.
One of the biggest talking points here is Dalton Risner not playing a single offensive snap. He wasn’t needed due to the success of Ed Ingram and Ezra Cleveland.
Defensive snap counts
- 66: Byron Murphy Jr., Camryn Bynum, Jordan Hicks, Harrison Smith
- 56: Josh Metellus
- 52: Marcus Davenport
- 51: Danielle Hunter
- 46: Harrison Phillips, Mekhi Blackmon
- 40: Jonathan Bullard
- 38: Ivan Pace Jr.
- 37: D.J. Wonnum
- 33: Akayleb Evans
- 30: Patrick Jones II
- 22: Dean Lowry
- 4: Andrew Booth Jr., Jaquelin Roy
- 2: Troy Dye
- 1: Theo Jackson
Defensive snap count breakdwon
It continues to be both a surprise and completely sensical that Jordan Hicks is playing such a high snap share. He is playing really good football but is 31 years old. Ivan Pace Jr. is down to nearly 50% of snaps at 58%.
Andrew Booth Jr. got his first defensive snaps (four) of the season with the injury to Akayleb Evans. It also was a big game for Mekhi Blackmon who played well in his 46 snaps (70
