Kevin O'Connell: Failed fourth-down play call wasn't intended for T.J. Hockenson

Facing the final fourth down in the Vikings season, the safest bet in the world seemed to be throwing the ball to superstar receiver Justin Jefferson.

But Kirk Cousins threw short of the first-down marker to tight end T.J. Hockenson, who was abruptly brought down along with the 2022 season in the Vikings' 31-24 NFC wild-card playoff loss to the Giants on Sunday afternoon.

All three Vikings wide receivers — Jefferson, Adam Thielen and K.J. Osborn — ran routes past the markers, but Cousins faced interior pressure and checked down to Hockenson, who caught the pass needing about 6 more yards to convert.

Was Hockenson even expecting the pass?

"I'm not going to speak on any of that," he said. "But in my head I need to break that and get us that first."

O'Connell said the fourth-down call was not intended for Hockenson, who finished with 10 catches and 129 yards. The coach added that he could've directed Cousins more on pushing the ball downfield but that he wants Cousins to "play free."

"You're not going to call a primary concept where somebody's short of the sticks to gain, especially on fourth down," O'Connell said.

The Vikings' two-minute offense has helped them win many games, including the Dec. 24 win over the Giants in which two Jefferson catches set up kicker Greg Joseph's game-winning, 61-yard field goal.

But Jefferson's first NFL playoff game ended with seven catches for 47 yards, nearly all of it coming in the first half. He had four catches for 30 yards on the Vikings' opening drive. He had one catch on three targets for 4 yards in the entire second half.

The NFL's receptions and receiving yards leader also saw the most targets (184) in the league during the regular season. But Sunday, Cousins and Jefferson couldn't connect when needed most. Cousins said he really lamented the snap before the final play: a third-down incompletion to Osborn in which Cousins said the ball needed to be placed farther in front of Osborn.

On both plays — the Vikings' last third and fourth downs — the Giants defense ran a bracket-type coverage on Jefferson. New York effectively double teamed him with cornerback Adoree' Jackson pressing at the line of scrimmage and bailing to cover one side of Jefferson while a safety dropped in to cover the other side.

It was a similar style of physical man-to-man coverage Jefferson has faced in his quietest outings, including the one-catch, 15-yard day at Lambeau Field on Jan. 1.

"They did what everybody else does," Jefferson said. "It's not a shocker."

Jefferson, the first-team All-Pro pick who finished the regular season with a league-leading 128 catches for 1,809 yards, said the defensive attention in his third season reached new heights.

"I got to learn that's my life now," Jefferson said. "I got to worry about those doubles and triple teams from now on, but I feel like [my teammates] did a tremendous job doing what they needed to do when the ball was thrown to them."

Jefferson kept a positive outlook after the loss when asked about O'Connell's first year.

"Coming from that Rams type of offense with Coop[er Kupp], and him transferring that to us is definitely the reason I've had so many yards, catches," Jefferson said. "But it's more than just him: The O-line has been doing a great job all year, Kirk has been doing a great job looking for me, especially in those 50/50 moments."

The Vikings offense will likely look different next year with players like center Garrett Bradbury and running back Alexander Mattison headed for free agency.

"Adds to the frustration, adds to the disappointment because we did feel we had a team that could go a long ways," Thielen said. "Obviously, you can think what you want, but you got to go prove it on Sundays. We didn't do that."