‘He Was Injured’ Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell Defends His Call Of Asking T.J. Hockenson To Go Down Amidst Severe Criticism

It is not very often that you see a head coach getting accused of faking an injury. Yet, Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell did. When the ESPN cameras focused on him yelling at one of the best players on the Vikings’ defense line to ‘go down’, many fans raised their eyebrows. Questioning the ethics of O’Connell, football fans were not having any of it, as they soon started pouring heaps of criticism on the Vikings’ head coach.

The real question here is, was it really a fake injury? Well, in the heat of the moment, as recorded in the viral clip, it might seem so. Yet, the reality of it might be something different. Vikings’ head coach talked with Fox9 post-49ers win to take a stand for his action.

Kevin O’Connell on TJ Hockenson’s ‘injury’

Even though some fans might argue against it, Hockenson was not instructed to fake an injury to get the Vikings some time to sort things out, as per the coach. O’Connell emphasized that the tight end was already dealing with a calf injury before his clash with the Niners. “He was injured,” asserted the Vikings’ head coach. “I credit all of our guys’ toughness but sometimes depending on the time of the game and the situation of the game or the clock, when there is not an issue, he was able to come back in the game from that which is impressive.”

Furthermore, he clarified about the Vikings’ game plan against the Niners as well, how he did not want to take any chances. “We were pretty meticulous about what person was on-field, what we were gonna call with those guys in the game. So it just allows us all a chance.” However, the tight end, honoring ‘National Tight Ends Day’, came back in the game to score 11 catches for 86 yards on 12 targets.

The WR on the ‘National Tight Ends Day’ this season

Even though it was the tight ends’ day, the Vikings WR stole the show. Moreover, the 3-4 Vikings dominated the 22-17 clash against the 5-2 Niners. The rookie wide receiver was intercepted by 49ers CB Charvarius Ward, just 3 snaps into that game in the third play. Towards the end of the second quarter, Jordan Addison got back at Ward by grabbing the ball, running 35 yards, and scoring a touchdown with only 7 seconds left.

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Addison scored a total of 123 yards with 2 touchdowns and seven catches for his debut game with 100-plus receiving yards. What a debut! The Vikings deserved to shine with this rookie player on their team, which they surely did by beating the once-season-dominating 49ers.

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