History Made, Records Set In Minnesota Vikings 3-0 Win Over Raiders
Sunday afternoon's game between the Minnesota Vikings and Las Vegas Raiders was pretty ugly. While a win is a win for Minnesota, ugly or not, there were a number of historical NFL and team milestones that were achieved during this defensive duel.
While this isn't directly part of the string of historical notes and records set, the Vikings defense has allowed only one touchdown in their last three games. After allowing the game-winning touchdown (only one of the game) for Broncos, the Vikings defense kept the Bears and Raiders out of the endzone. More on the defense in a bit.
Here's a look at the team and NFL records and historical milestones met in this painfully low-scoring game:
Justin Jefferson reaches new milestone, breaking NFL record
After being sidelined by an injury for a sizable chunk of the season, Justin Jefferson returned to action for the first time in a number of games only to set a new NFL record.
JJ recorded 2 catches for 27 yards in the game before being taken to the hospital after a chest injury. Those two catches and 27 yards, however, were good enough to give Jefferson the title of most receiving yards by a player under 25 years old. Previously held by Vikings legend Randy Moss, Jefferson grabs another title previously held by #84.
Lack of scoring NFL records and milestones
There are a bunch of quirky NFL records and notes out of today's low-scoring affair. Here's a rundown of some of the highlights:
Halftime score
The Vikings-Raiders game going to halftime with a score of 0-0, combined with the Jets vs. Texans game earlier in the day also going to halftime with a 0-0 score marks the first time in the NFL since October of 1988 two different games went to halftime with nobody scoring.
Deepest no-score game in a long time
The Minnesota-Las Vegas game going scoreless all the way to the 2-minute warning in the 4th quarter is the first time since 2007. That 2007 game was a bad weather game between the Steelers and Dolphins, where the Steelers scored a 24-yard field goal in the final seconds of the game.
Lowest-scoring game in 16 years
The Minnesota-Las Vegas game goes down as the lowest-scoring game (final score) since that aforementioned Dolphins-Steelers game on November 26 or 2007. If not for the field goal scored by the Vikings, the game could have ended in a scoreless tie at the end of regulation, which hasn't happened since November of 1943 when the Giants and Lions played to a 0-0 tie.
Lowest-scoring indoor game
Usually, when a score is this low, it is attributed to bad weather, like the Steelers-Dolphins game I mentioned above. This game goes down as the lowest-scoring indoor game ever in the NFL.
TJ Hockenson sets new team record
While not an NFL record, TJ Hockenson did set a new single-season team record during the game between Minnesota and Las Vegas. The Vikings tight end has now logged 84 receptions this season, which eclipses the previous single-season reception record. The previous record was held by Kyle Rudolph.
Rudolph held the record since 2016, when he logged 83 catches during that season.
Vikings defense pitches their first shutout in several years
It's been almost exactly 6 years since the Minnesota Vikings last kept a team from scoring any points in a game. Before the 3-0 win over Las Vegas, Minnesota's last shutout was in December of 2017, when they beat the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field 16-0.
Kevin O'Connell sets franchise coaching wins milestone
With the 3-0 win over the Raiders, Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell became the fastest coach of the Vikings to win 20 games in his career. Dennis Green had previously held the title, earning 20 wins over the course of his first 32 games. Green achieved this during the 1992-1993 season.
O'Connell just barely beat Green, reaching 20 wins in 30 games coaching the team.