Minnesota Vikings Week 1 Superlatives

The Minnesota Vikings kicked off the 2023 season in horrible fashion. They handed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a 20-17 win. The Vikings couldn’t get out of their own way. In an effort to pull some good out of this terrible game, here are some of the players that managed to shine. 

Offensive Player of the Game

Justin Jefferson, WR

This one is easy. Justin Jefferson was unstoppable in the first half. Seven catches for 138 yards. Perhaps a reason for the loss, he had only two catches for 12 yards in the second half. The best cure for a sputtering offense is more Justin Jefferson. 

Rookie receiver Jordan Addison had a nice debut. Four catches, 61 yards, and a 39-yard touchdown. 

This Vikings offense should never be held to 17 points. 

Defensive Player of the Game

Danielle Hunter, OLB

The defense played well. They were suffocating for much of the first half. It would’ve been a great game if they’d made a couple of stops in the second half. It was a solid team effort. Danielle Hunter was a big reason for that. Seven tackles, a sack, and a couple tackles for loss. 

Special Teams Player of the Game

Ryan Wright, P

Greg Joseph was perfect on his three kicks but I’m going with the punter. Ryan Wright punted five times for 257 yards. A 51.4 average per punt. The Buccaneers returned four of them for only 29 yards.