A month ahead of schedule, Vikings’ Christian Darrisaw returns in rout of the Bengals

When Vikings left tackle Christian Darrisaw tore two ligaments in his left knee last October, he said he was told he faced a 12-month recovery.

Darrisaw made his season debut in Sunday’s 48-10 rout of the Cincinnati Bengals, which came roughly 11 months after his injury. He started and played almost every meaningful snap, missing only the end of the blowout victory and a four-play sequence before halftime when he went to the locker room to get taped up.

Darrisaw said a lot people didn’t know about his 12-month timeline.

“Kind of antsy hearing all the noise, ‘When is he going to play? When is he going to play?’ ” he added. “I’m ahead of schedule. No one thought I’d be here right now playing at the level I’m playing at. It’s a testament to the hard work.”

Darrisaw was medically cleared by at least last week, saying it was his decision on whether he was going to play Sunday. Coach Kevin O’Connell said he figured Darrisaw would be ready after seeing him at Wednesday’s practice.

“He was the first guy at every drill,” said O’Connell, who gave Darrisaw a game ball after the game. “Just a juice that, quite honestly, elevated our entire team. I told him on the field if there’s ever a question of what a franchise left tackle means to an organization, I think we felt it today.”

Darrisaw made an immediate impact on the Bengals’ top defender, edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, who finished the game with one tackle.

Safety Harrison Smith and outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel also returned to action. Neither defender started as both were on plans to limit their playing time.

Smith, 36, had not played this season while working his way back from a personal health issue that had affected him since at least early August. Van Ginkel missed one game due to a concussion suffered in the Sept. 8 season opener at Chicago.

Both appeared to be held out of early, usually run-centric downs, playing more in obvious passing situations. Safety Theo Jackson logged his third consecutive start in Smith’s spot.

“We kind of had a plan for me individually as far as a rep count,” Smith said. “It worked out well. I felt like I moved around well. I felt like myself. It’s quite a luxury to have a safety room like we do, where Theo is a starter and Jay Ward is a really, really good player.”

On Smith’s third snap, he tipped a pass from Bengals quarterback Jake Browning to receiver Ja’Marr Chase, leading to cornerback Isaiah Rodgers’ 87-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Cornerback Jeff Okudah, who returned from a one-game absence due to a concussion suffered at Chicago, was evaluated for another concussion in the first quarter, but he was cleared to return. He recovered a fumble late in the second quarter.

Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave suffered a rib contusion and did not return. “He could’ve came back if required,” O’Connell said, “but we wanted to be smart with him.”

The Bengals lost three players on offense due to injury during the game: running back Samaje Perine (thumb), guard Dalton Risner (calf) and tight end Noah Fant (concussion).

One area to clean up are the penalties on offense.

The Vikings were penalized 13 times for 105 yards, including eight flags on offense. Five players were called for false starts. Right guard Will Fries got popped for an illegal block above the waist. Blake Brandel, who filled in at both left tackle for Darrisaw and left guard for Donovan Jackson when the rookie was briefly evaluated for injury, got called for lining up too far off the line on his first snap.

“I should’ve just waited for him to do it,” Jurgens said.

Receiver Justin Jefferson heard loud and clear how coaches wanted to see more yards after the catch. Jefferson broke a couple tacklers on his way to five catches for 75 yards. He took an 8-yard screen in the second quarter that required some physicality. Four defenders got a hand on Jefferson before he was finally brought down on a 36-yard catch and run that set up a Jordan Mason touchdown before halftime.

“I feel like when people look at me, they don’t expect me to be as physical as I am,” Jefferson said. “But that’s the type of game I like playing. ... I might look this way, but I’m bigger than what I look. It’s about setting that tone.”

The Vikings hosted nearly 90 former coaches and players at U.S. Bank Stadium, where before kickoff the team honored Jim Marshall, the defensive stalwart of the Purple People Eaters who died in June, and former defensive tackle Esera Tuaolo sang the national anthem. Throughout the season, coaches and staff are wearing “70″ pins, representing Marshall’s number, and players have worn helmet decals.