Souhan: Give Kevin O’Connell (or just call him KO) credit for that knockout

Clearly, Kevin O’Connell did not properly prepare his players.

One of the hallmarks of the modern NFL is the choreographed end zone celebration, but when Jordan Addison caught his third touchdown pass in the Vikings’ 42-21 romp over Atlanta, he looked stumped.

Addison stood in the corner of the end zone as U.S. Bank Stadium erupted, and merely shrugged, proving that O’Connell neglected to script enough touchdown celebrations. What, did he take Friday off?

Impromptu Broadway productions aside, KO the choreographer may never have had a better day as a head coach.

His offense scored six touchdowns against a playoff contender, produced 40 points for the first time since 2019, and had kicker Will Reichard not missed a field goal, the Vikings would have scored 45 or more for the first time since 2015.

O’Connell used his temporary quarterback, Sam Darnold, to embarrass his former quarterback, Kirk Cousins, further justifying the Vikings’ willingness to let Cousins leave. Darnold threw five touchdowns and zero interceptions. Cousins threw two interceptions and no touchdowns, and has thrown eight interceptions with no touchdowns over his past four games.

KO’s KO began with an effective running game, as Aaron Jones returned to his reliable form and Cam Akers powered forward at 7.4 yards per carry, and in between O’Connell’s two wideouts torched a confused secondary.

I asked O’Connell if that was the product of his scheme or his receivers’ moves.

O’Connell grinned, which is what he does when he knows he outmaneuvered an opponent but won’t say so publicly.

“There were a few plays there where, you know, how they handled the motions kind of gave us some information that we were able to maybe make some adjustments on some things,” O’Connell said.

He noted that putting Jefferson in motion left him matched up with a “nickel” — or lesser — cornerback, which is the first step in a play on which a professional defensive back winds up looking like he needs an on-field sobriety test.

The Vikings are 11-2 with a journeyman quarterback. The Falcons are 6-7 with a $180 million quarterback they need to bench quickly.

But there is no reason to wait to give O’Connell a contract extension. He’s 31-16 as an NFL head coach, and he got the best out of Cousins, and now is getting the best out of Darnold, and he even won three games with Josh Dobbs as his starter.

This is some form of wizardry.

By the end of the game, fans who began the game booing Cousins were chanting “M-V-P” to Darnold, who, in a rare show of emotion, grabbed a towel and waved it while storming around the sideline, as his team improved to 11-2.

Imagine someone describing that scene to you last spring, without laughing.

What this season’s success means is that the Vikings are one of the rare NFL teams that don’t require a savior under center, because they have a quarterback-saver on the sideline.

O’Connell didn’t take any victory laps Sunday afternoon, but he rarely hides his emotions. His expressions tell the story even when his words obfuscate.

At the end of his news conference, he was asked if Sunday’s result was a validation of the Vikings’ quarterback decisions.

O’Connell smiled and said, “No.”