Minnesota
Most Valuable Minnesota Vikings Players So Far (Week 5)
The Minnesota Vikings have raced out to a 4-0 start under Kevin O’Connell in 2024. Any talk of early season MVPs must mention both the head coach and the yin to his yang, defensive coordinator Brian Flores, who has every offense in the NFL sweating the moment they have to lineup opposite of the Vikings.
KOC is the odds-on favorite to win coach of the year, everywhere you look, and for good reason. One could argue Flores should be right up there with him. But this is about the guys in between the white lines. There have been several key contributors on the field as well, some more obvious than others.
Of course, certain positions will always generate prominent consideration for individual awards. Given what the Vikings have done this season, and where they came from just a year ago, there should be a level of nuance to this discussion as well. There are a few different players that stand out.
Sam Darnold is obvious choice for Minnesota Vikings MVP through 4 weeks
When the Minnesota Vikings allowed Kirk Cousins to chase the money in Atlanta, they pivoted to a bridge quarterback. Sam Darnold was a guy that O’Connell thought he could make something out of, and it has turned out to be incredibly fruitful.
Three touchdown passes for Sam Darnold 🔥
📺: #HOUvsMIN on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/BMIjnHKWOp— NFL (@NFL) September 22, 2024
Not only has Sam Darnold mostly avoided terminal mistakes, he’s been exceptional. We wanted a guy who wasn’t going to throw away too many games. Instead, we got a guy who’s been throwing the Minnesota Vikings to weekly victories. This is a supporting cast he has never previously worked with before, yet everything has clicked.
- Sam Darnold 2024 Stats: 73-of-106 | 68.9 % | 932 Yds | 11 TD | 10.4 TD% | 3 Int
Darnold’s 11 passing touchdowns lead the league, and he has thrown just three interceptions. His 68.9% completion rate is nearly 10% better than his career average, and he has developed immediate chemistry with his teammates. Darnold is the favorite for Minnesota’s MVP right now, and he’s among the leading candidates across the entire league.
Aaron Jones is so much better than Alexander Mattison
It’s weird to consider a running back as a catalyst for a team in this day and age. That said, Aaron Jones has revitalized a position that was awful for the team just a year ago. After Alexander Mattison went belly-up, Minnesota had few answers. Jones has come over from Green Bay and has been better than expected for a 29-year-old back.
Jones finds himself eighth among leading rushers this season, with 321 yards on the ground. He’s one spot (eight yards) behind Josh Jacobs, who took over for him in Green Bay. Beyond what he provides in the run game, Aaron gives so much everywhere else. He has 143 receiving yards this year, less than 50 yards shy of what Mattison put up all of last season.
He’s also a leader and great human being, just ask his old QB, Aaron Rodgers, or his new head coach (below). The Vikings locker room has loved having Jones, and he has loved being here. It’s been a perfect fit, and his place in the offense has helped Darnold open up options at multiple levels.
Aaron Jones is Awesome and Everyone Knows It
Coach O’Connell talks about the value that Aaron Jones brings to the team pic.twitter.com/o1pfawA2OG
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) October 2, 2024
Don’t forget about Stephon Gilmore
Coming into the season, there were serious questions about the Minnesota Vikings’ secondary. Depth was going to be an issue, and the veteran presence of Byron Murphy Jr. and Shaq Griffin wasn’t necessarily seen as enough. Stephon Gilmore’s acquisition added to the top and made everyone else better.
Opposing quarterbacks have consistently shied away from him thus far this season. Gilmore has just a single pass deflection, and it’s a byproduct of signal callers not even wanting to mess with him. That’s why the 34-year-old veteran has become the forgotten hero of a shockingly undefeated Minnesota Vikings.
Even in the latter stages of his career, Gilmore has proven to be every bit the shutdown cornerback he promised to be. With or without training camp. The defense is rolling. Much of that is due to Brian Flores and the Vikings’ incredible pass rush. But the secondary has been the most pleasant surprise of this hot start, and that is in large part thanks to Stephon Gilmore.
The biggest difference between the Vikings defense this season versus last season is the CB play.
This season – Stephon Gilmore, Byron Murphy Jr, Shaquil Griffin
Last season – Byron Murphy Jr, Akayleb Evans, Mekhi Blackmon
The veteran presence in the DB room has made a huge…
— Joel Moran (@joelvmoran) September 30, 2024
The Minnesota Vikings MVP Nobody is Talking About
Much of that success can be attributed to the addition of Stephon Gilmore. This is a guy who landed with the Vikings, just before the start of the regular season, because he wanted to play for a winning team where he could make a difference. So far, so good.
Without the breakout performances of the three players above, all of which were free agent additions this offseason, the Minnesota Vikings would not be 4-0. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah deserves credit for an incredible run in free agency, over the spring/summer. He worked with his two superstar coaches for what currently looks like one of the best offseasons in team history.
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Anthony Edwards scored 31 points, Donte DiVincenzo added 18 and the surging Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Clippers 94-88 on Thursday night.
Jaden McDaniels and Ayo Dosunmu each scored 12 points and Rudy Gobert had 13 rebounds to help the Timberwolves improve to 5-1 since Feb. 9 and 3-1 since the All-Star break.
Edwards, returning to the site of the All-Star Game, where he was the MVP, was 12 for 24 from the floor and sealed the victory with a step-back three-pointer over two defenders for a 92-88 lead with 42.9 seconds left.
Minnesota improved to 2-0 on a three-game trip.
Derrick Jones Jr. scored 18 points and Bennedict Mathurin added 14 for the Clippers, who struggled from the outset with a season-low 38 points in the first half. Kris Dunn had 11 points for the Clippers (27-31), who have lost three consecutive games for the first time since December.
The Clippers struggled on offense without star Kawhi Leonard, out because of ankle soreness. The Clippers shot 40.5% from the floor, including 18.2% (four for 22) in the second quarter. Minnesota shot 43.4% in the game.
The Timberwolves (37-23) scored just 15 points in the second quarter and still topped the Clippers, who had 11. Minnesota led 44-38 at halftime behind 12 points from DiVincenzo and 11 from Edwards.
The Clippers led by six in the third quarter and were up 68-63 heading into the fourth. Edwards’ drive and reverse layup put the Timberwolves up for good at 76-74 with 7:40 remaining.
The Clippers pulled within one three times in the last 2½ minutes, but Edwards answered each time. He scored the Timberwolves’ last nine points.
Up next for Clippers: vs. New Orleans on Sunday night.
A St. Paul church member has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that a group of individuals, including journalist Don Lemon and activist Nekima Levy Armstrong, unlawfully disrupted service last month as part of a coordinated political demonstration.
The complaint, filed by Ann Doucette in the U.S. District Court of Minnesota, alleges that a Jan. 18 demonstration at Cities Church interfered with her ability to worship and caused her to suffer damages, including emotional distress and trauma.
In addition to the former CNN anchor and Armstrong, the complaint names journalist Georgia Fort and activists Will Kelly, Jerome Richardson, Trahern Crews and Jamael Lundy. It also names St. Paul school board member Chauntyll Allen.
Doucette and seven of the defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Doucette filed the complaint without the representation of an attorney. In an emailed statement to NBC News, Crews denied the lawsuit’s allegations “with empathy and compassion.”
The lawsuit accuses the group of civil conspiracy, aiding and abetting, intentional infliction of emotional distress, interference with religious exercise and trespassing.
“As a result of Defendants’ actions, the worship service was disrupted, congregants experienced fear and distress, and Plaintiff’s ability to freely exercise her religion in a private place of worship was unlawfully interfered with,” the lawsuit states.
All eight defendants are also facing federal charges for conspiracy against the rights of religious freedom at a place of worship and for interfering with the exercise of the right of religious freedom. Lemon has pleaded not guilty to all charges, saying outside the court, “I wanted to say this isn’t just about me, this is about all journalists, especially in the United States.”
Fort, Crews and Lundy were released on bond and entered not guilty pleas, according to The Associated Press.
This is the latest legal action tied to protests in the Twin Cities, where tensions remain over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
According to the lawsuit, the demonstrators engaged in “coordinated conduct” by organizing meetings ahead of the “Operation Pullup” protest and promoting it on social media.
The lawsuit alleges that on the morning of Jan. 18, a coordinated group of individuals entered Cities Church, halting the worship service, and chanting “‘ICE Out!’ and ‘Hands Up, Don’t Shoot!’” while obstructing aisles. Protesters could allegedly be seen “confronting the pastor and congregants in a menacing manner,” the lawsuit says, noting that their chanting and “aggressive gestures” caused “severe emotional distress, fear, anxiety, and trauma” and caused children “terror.”
Demonstrators gathered at the church because they said its pastor, David Easterwood, was the acting director of an ICE field office in the city, the lawsuit says.
Lemon was arrested in January in California and accused of violating federal civil rights law after covering the protest on Jan. 18. He was released on a personal recognizance bond before a federal grand jury in Minnesota returned the indictment against Lemon and eight co-defendants, all of whom are also named in Doucette’s lawsuit.
In the lawsuit, Doucette alleges that Lemon specifically livestreamed the protest, “noting congregants’ fear and distress, and appeared to take satisfaction in the disruption.”
Levy Armstrong, a Minneapolis-based civil rights attorney and activist, was also arrested for her participation in the St. Paul protest. Her arrest drew national attention after the White House shared on social media doctored photos where she appeared to be crying.
A Hubbard County man was arrested and charged after threatening to kill a Minnesota state senator on Facebook.
Court documents filed on Wednesday state the Minnesota State Patrol were investigating a threat posted by John Tobias saying that he would “kill every one of you treasonous [expletive] immediately” if he did not get money back that he claims he lost during the 2020 COVID shutdown.
Court documents go on to say that Tobias then called the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office asking for something to be done about “Minnesota Governor Tim Walz ‘unconstitutionally’ shutting down the state due to COVID-19.
The Minnesota State Patrol contacted Hubbard County deputies regarding Tobias. Court documents state Hubbard County investigators were already familiar with Tobais after speaking with him regarding similar threats he made in Jan.
The charging documents state that investigators searched Tobias’ residence on Tuesday and found an arsenal of guns and 45 boxes of ammunition.
Tobias was taken into custody. During an interview with law enforcement, Tobias admitted to making the threat on Facebook. He also told investigators that “he did not have any intention of killing anyone, but admitted he was trying to get people’s attention,” according to court records.
In late 2025, Lt. Col. Jeremy Geiger of the Minnesota State Patrol, who oversees Capitol security, told a panel of lawmakers that threats to lawmakers had doubled between 2024 and 2025.
Tobias made his first court appearance Wednesday morning and is expected back in court early next month.
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