Danielle Hunter's return features his group's success first, then his own

Defensive end Danielle Hunter's return during the Vikings' overtime loss in Cincinnati on Sunday was quiet until the third quarter, and that left coach Mike Zimmer knowing he can get even more out of his star and a pass rush that sacked Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow five times.

Hunter wasn't credited with his first tackle since the 2019 season until after halftime against a Bengals offense that often ran away from him and threw quickly. He got his first sack of the year in the fourth quarter, when corner Mackensie Alexander took away Burrow's underneath option, giving Hunter the extra second he needed.

"They game-planned to keep Burrow safe from being injured and all that stuff," Hunter said Monday.

"He sat shallow [in the pocket]. He was throwing the pass out quick. As soon as we got to our guys, the ball was out."

Hunter said he was "surprisingly" well-conditioned to return to a full-time role right away. He played 60 of 69 snaps, leading the Vikings defensive line. He's fully recovered from neck surgery in the middle of last season, although Zimmer did see some rust in Hunter against Bengals tackles Riley Reiff and Jonah Williams.

"He got into the flow better in the second quarter," Zimmer said. "Sometimes it takes awhile. He hadn't played in a while. But Mike Pierce, he didn't play last year, and I thought he played well.

"Maybe a couple times he tried to make his move a little bit too soon."

Zimmer cranked up the heat with blitzes that offered mixed results, including Burrow's 50-yard touchdown to receiver Ja'Marr Chase, and sacks from linebacker Nick Vigil and safety Harrison Smith. When the Bengals responded with additional protection, Hunter was often double-teamed as he was during nose tackle Michael Pierce's sack.

"It'll be like that," Hunter said.

'A bad call'

Zimmer began his 22nd season as an NFL defensive play caller questioning some decisions he made against the Bengals, which he said was no different than any other game. Bengals running back Joe Mixon ran for 127 yards, in part because Vikings coaches were preparing and calling more coverage than run support on second downs, when the Bengals were a frequent passing team last year. Mixon had runs of 10 and 12 yards on second downs after halftime.

He also second-guessed his blitz call on the 50-yard touchdown, which had corner Bashaud Breeland eyeing Burrow and keying on a quicker throw as Chase went deep.

"A bad call," Zimmer said. "I tried to blitz them in the two-minute drill, and he stared at the quarterback too long. But other than that, he did some really good things. And once he settled down, I thought he made some really good plays in the running game."

Looking for contact

Receiver K.J. Osborn credited his 25-yard catch-and-run, converting an improbable third-and-24 against the Bengals, to the way they practiced at the University of Miami where running out of bounds to avoid getting hit was discouraged. Osborn, who caught his first NFL pass on Sunday, slipped one tackler and tried to hurdle another while moving the chains.

"We call it a 'poodle' if you run out of bounds," Osborn said. "We always stay in bounds or just take the hit or be the hammer. Just practicing good habits, being able to break a tackle and get a first down."

Opening-day jitters?

A day after the Vikings committed 15 penalties (three declined), Zimmer said he spoke with the three players who committed four false-start penalties in the first half on Sunday in fullback C.J. Ham, tight end Tyler Conklin and Osborn. There were no snap or communication errors, rather just opening-day jitters.

"They said it was just on them," Zimmer said. "You would never guess C.J. Ham would ever jump on the first play of the game. He would be the last guy I would think about."