Vikings take control of NFC North by beating Dolphins without dominating them

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The only NFL team with a two-game division lead flew home to the Twin Cities on Sunday night, having secured another victory in a manner that won't meet anyone's definition of dominance.

But the more often Kevin O'Connell stands in the locker room awarding game balls — as he did to every Vikings defender after a 24-16 victory over the Dolphins on Sunday — the more difficult it becomes to dismiss what the coach's first Vikings team is doing.

An 86-degree afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium, with triple-digit temperatures on the visiting sideline, became the latest crucible to test these Vikings. By some metrics — the fact they produced only 234 yards while attempting more punts (10) than any team in the league this season — they again showed how much they still have to improve. Their pass rush, though, knocked Miami quarterback Skylar Thompson from the game, harassed Teddy Bridgewater for three turnovers and posted more pressures (25, per NFL Next Gen Stats) than in any Vikings game since a victory over the Cardinals on Nov. 20, 2016.

Their victory, combined with the Packers' perplexing 27-10 loss to the Jets at home, gave the Vikings a two-game lead in the NFC North heading into their bye week. They are in their strongest position in the division since 2017, the last time they won it.

"We talked last night about, any way it would take, get to 5-1 going into this bye," O'Connell said. "We've learned a lot about our football team. We also have learned, coaches included, we've got a long way to go and a lot of room to improve, which I'm really, really excited about. But they've earned the right to get some time off. They've battled for us. They've done everything we asked."

The Dolphins offense posted 184 yards in the first half, and held the ball for 19:02. But they scored only three points after a bizarre half that included 36 yards' worth of Miami penalties on one drive, a missed Jason Sanders field goal, a thumb injury for Thompson and a Bridgewater interception that bounced off the hands of one current teammate (Jaylen Waddle) and the helmet of a former teammate (Eric Kendricks) before landing in Harrison Smith's arms.

The play led to a Greg Joseph field goal that put the Vikings up 10-3 at halftime, despite the fact they had punted on five of their seven drives and gained just 12 yards on six rushing attempts.

Miami scored first, on a Sanders field goal that wrapped up Bridgewater's first drive in the second quarter. The Vikings countered with a scoring drive that leaned on heavy personnel; fullback C.J. Ham was on the field for five of their seven plays, and Cousins floated a 1-yard pass to Irv Smith Jr. in the back of the end zone out of a two-back, two-tight end set for a touchdown.

In the second half, the Vikings' first three drives started from the Dolphins 33-yard line (after Josh Metellus stopped Clayton Fejedelem on a fake punt), the Minnesota 41 and the Miami 49. None of them produced points.

Under the glare of the South Florida sun, the Vikings' sideline became the stage for a couple of animated exchanges between O'Connell and Cousins, particularly after the quarterback was forced to throw the ball away from an empty backfield on a third-and-22 play from the Dolphins' 46.

"We're going to have intense conversations," Cousins said. "I'm going to try to give him my feedback, and he's going to give me his. I love when he coaches me hard, and holds me to a high standard. I think it's important, too, that we have these great conversations on Monday, after the game. It's one thing to have a conversation coming off the field when I haven't seen the tape yet, I don't really know what I'm saying. But now, with time to process it, I think those conversations are really valuable. The playcaller-quarterback dynamic, you're trying to get in each other's head more and more and more, the longer you work together."

After he called the final play of the third quarter, though, O'Connell walked down the sideline stifling a smile.

The Vikings lined up with three receivers to Cousins' right and the Dolphins in man coverage; the quarterback checked to a pass at the line of scrimmage, hitting Justin Jefferson for 47 yards on a wheel route after he made an inside move to occupy Xavien Howard and slipped behind a moving pick from Adam Thielen. It was their longest play of the game to that point by 22 yards.

"We were kind of in the midst of hunting that look, with how they were playing him," O'Connell said of Jefferson. "What we were able to do there was all on Kirk. He had some options at the line of scrimmage, and the second I saw him get to that play, I figured we had a pretty good chance to pitch and catch that one. Those two guys, when they get a look like that, are going to hit that 100 out of 100."

It put the Vikings at the Dolphins' 8, and Cousins drifted to his left, hoping something would open up after his initial options — a crossing route to K.J. Osborn, then to Irv Smith — were covered. Thielen shook Howard in the back of the end zone.

"At that point, you're saying, 'Please show up, Adam, because I'm running out of options here,'" Cousins said. "I didn't feel anybody around me, so I felt like the protection was holding up enough to get through that progression. It was huge that Adam came open."

Greg Joseph missed the extra point, but the Vikings led 16-3, and their pass rush was affecting Bridgewater. It appeared a 13-point lead might be enough.

Their former quarterback wasn't quite done; Bridgewater orchestrated a touchdown drive with a 28-yard completion to Hill and a 10-yard scramble, before hitting Mike Gesicki for a touchdown that pulled the Dolphins within six.

But the Vikings' two most decorated defensive veterans produced two plays to end any Dolphins chance of a comeback.

After Bridgewater hit Waddle in Vikings territory, Smith got one hand on the ball, stripping Waddle in the middle of the field. The ball bounced right to Camryn Bynum, and two plays later, Dalvin Cook — the Miami native who had just nine carries to that point — broke loose for a 53-yard touchdown run where four Dolphins missed tackles.

With the Vikings up 24-10 and about three minutes left, Patrick Peterson, who'd been reading Bridgewater for much of the game and had come close to an interception on the previous series, poached a Bridgewater throw for his second pick in his two years with the Vikings.

Bridgewater's final touchdown throw to Gesicki wasn't enough to bring the Dolphins back; Peterson broke up the two-point conversion attempt, blowing kisses to the Miami fans shouting at him from the stands.

The Vikings had only 11 first downs; they went three-and-out 10 times. Hill finished with 177 yards; Waddle had 129.

Say what you'd like about the manner the Vikings got here. They are the only ones in the NFL who can say they are up two games in their division through six weeks.

"I feel like this team has great leadership," O'Connell said. "I feel like this team is tough. I feel like this team has the ability to win football games a lot of different ways, and we're probably going to need to with the type of schedule we have the rest of the way. But I'm really excited about our group."