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Kevin O’Connell Addresses Aaron Jones’ Knee Before Lions Game
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- Kevin O’Connell Addresses Aaron Jones’ Knee Before Lions Game
Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell said Monday that he does not expect to go looking for running back help before his team visits the Detroit Lions, even after Aaron Jones left Sunday's win over the Indianapolis Colts with a knee injury.
"With where Aaron's at and where we feel coming out of the game, don't necessarily see it as a depth issue at all," O'Connell said, per ESPN's Kevin Seifert . "But obviously things could change as we go day-to-day here."
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Jones avoided a serious knee injury and is considered day-to-day, which keeps him in play for Sunday. He opened the game with Minnesota's first four carries and finished with 26 yards on eight, then exited with 12:22 left in the fourth quarter after taking a hit on the left leg from Colts safety A.J. Haulcy at the end of a 17-yard run. Jones has played most of this season with a sprained MCL in that knee.
The Vikings arrive at Ford Field at 6-0. Detroit is 4-2 after Sunday's 20-17 win over the Green Bay Packers, and kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 1.
Jordan Mason Is Ready if Aaron Jones Cannot Go
The reason O'Connell is comfortable is that Jordan Mason was back on the field Sunday for the first time since a fractured thumb cost him a month. Mason took a team-high 15 carries for 68 yards, an average of 4.5 per attempt, without a touchdown. It was only his second game this season with rushing yards in the box score, and Jones handled the primary job for the four games Mason missed.
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For the year, Mason has 127 rushing yards and one touchdown on 30 carries, averaging 4.2 per carry. That is a small sample for a back the Vikings expect to lean on, which is part of why Detroit's defensive staff has two very different runners to prepare for this week.
The Vikings' Depth Question Does Not Disappear
Jones is 31 and has carried 105 times for 436 yards and two touchdowns this season, averaging 4.2 yards per carry. Behind him and Mason, Minnesota planned on rookie Demond Claiborne and veteran DeeJay Dallas, who have combined for nine carries. O'Connell said he will meet with general manager Nolan Teasley this week, as he does every week, and the NFL trade deadline arrives Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 4 p.m. ET.
The Detroit Lions Run Defense Aaron Jones Would Face
Whoever starts in the Minnesota backfield, the Lions have held up against the run. Detroit has allowed 99.2 rushing yards per game through six games, 595 yards in total on 145 carries at 4.1 per attempt, with six rushing touchdowns given up.
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That unit has strung together two encouraging weeks, and safety Brian Branch has already made clear how much the Lions are treating division games as the season . Jones or Mason, stopping the run is where Detroit's afternoon starts.
