Struggling Vikings offense now must deal with injuries to Aaron Jones, Ryan Kelly

The struggling Vikings offense has three new injuries following Sunday night’s 22-6 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

Center Ryan Kelly exited in the first half because of a concussion. Left tackle Justin Skule, making his second start for the recovering Christian Darrisaw, was also placed in the concussion protocol, in the third quarter. Running back Aaron Jones strained a hamstring and left the game in the fourth quarter.

The result was a rotating cast of blockers in front of quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who seemed to share blame for the Vikings allowing as many sacks (six) as they scored points.

“There was definitely sometimes where some guys got beat in some one-on-one situations,” coach Kevin O’Connell said. “Got some guys stepping in and you’re trying to help as much as you possibly can from a schematic standpoint.

“Obviously when you’ve got your backup center and your third tackle coming into the game, it’s going to be hard. But, I mean, there’s probably 10 teams that went through similar things around the NFL.”

The Vikings’ two offensive line replacements — center Michael Jurgens and tackle Walter Rouse — took their first NFL offensive snaps Sunday night. Jurgens, a 2024 seventh-round pick, said he benefitted from two practices last week with the first-team offense. Kelly, a 32-year-old veteran center, was already dealing with a toe injury.

“It feels good to finally get that action,” Jurgens said. “It wasn’t perfect. Obviously, you’re judged by the end result, which wasn’t good enough. But I thought it went well overall. I can’t have the late snap on the one.”

Rouse was flagged for holding, negating an 18-yard run by running back Jordan Mason. O’Connell said those kinds of effort penalties are excusable. More troubling was O’Neill’s apparent gaffe at the top of the fourth quarter, when he seemingly left a free runner off the right side to sack McCarthy and force a critical fumble.

The Vikings defense was already down three starters — safety Harrison Smith, outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel and linebacker Blake Cashman — before kickoff. Smith was ruled out because of his ongoing conditioning stemming from a roughly three-week absence for a personal health matter.

Outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard was evaluated for a strained oblique but returned to the game. Outside linebacker Gabe Murphy suffered a left knee injury that will require further evaluation, O’Connell said.

Linebacker Eric Wilson, starting for Cashman, forced a first-quarter takeaway when he punched the ball out of Falcons receiver Drake London’s hands.

“That was a good one,” Wilson said. “We talk about punchouts all the time. I’m glad we got one.”

“I just know we had way too many yards, way too many big plays,” Wilson said. “We got some guys who take this personally, so we’re going to do our best to clean this up.”

The Vikings celebrated Adam Thielen‘s return to U.S. Bank Stadium.

Fans greeted Thielen with a standing ovation during his first Vikings home game in over 2½ years. The team made Thielen the first member of the offense announced out of the tunnel during pregame festivities.

Thielen, a 13th-year veteran, soaked in the scene in warmups, tossing a football with purple-clad fans in Section 119, right behind the the end zone of the Vikings’ half of the field. One fan in the stands held up a sign that read, “Hooked On A Thielen.” Fans watched a video montage of Thielen’s Vikings highlights and interviews shown on the videoboards before kickoff.

“You definitely heard the energy,” receiver Justin Jefferson said. “I’m glad 19 got to feel that.”

Both Jefferson and Fitzgerald were 26 years and 90 days old when they recorded their 500th career receptions. Jefferson is the 13th player in NFL history to reach that mark within his first six seasons.

Jefferson finished with three catches for 81 yards against the Falcons.