EAGAN, Minn. – Fans who watched last week's Vikings game in Las Vegas may have noticed that Minnesota had kicker Greg Joseph pop up three of his five kickoffs and land them short of the end zone to prompt returns by the Raiders. Joseph recorded touchbacks on the other two kickoffs.

The first pop-up traveled 59 yards and was returned 14 yards to the 20, but a holding penalty during the return marked the ball at the 10. Advantage Vikings. The ensuing drive ended with a punt with less than 30 seconds left in the first half.

The second pop-up traveled 60 yards and was returned 16 yards to the 21. Again, advantage Vikings by four yards over taking a touchback. That drive, however, ended with a touchdown but only after Minnesota committed an illegal substitution penalty by the punt return team.

The third pop-up traveled 52 yards and was returned 27 yards to the 40. Advantage Raiders. The ensuing possession ended with a Las Vegas touchdown.

Vikings Special Teams Coordinator Matt Daniels was asked about his philosophy toward kickoffs during his media session Thursday. Daniels explained he believes in putting the ball in play in most situations and how data shows it's more than just a roll of the dice by the kicking team.

He considers four outcomes from a kickoff return, with three being positives for the kicking team.

Possible positive outcomes:

· Tackle the returner inside the 25 (spot that would result if a touchback)

· Return team commits a penalty

· Return team fumbles

Possible negative outcome:

· Returner advances the ball past the 25 (this can go from a fairly harmless few yards to a touchdown)

"I did some data research in 2020, as well as in 2019, and it was basically like a 60-percent chance that you tackle them within the 25," Daniels said. "There was a 10-percent chance that there was a penalty on the play, and then there was like a 30-percent chance, 26-, 27-percent chance that they actually returned the football past the 25-yard line, or even get to the 25-yard line.

"So obviously you've got to consider the injury risk factor that comes in that too of trying to protect players, or is it a blowout game? Are we up by 20, 30? So again there's a lot of situational ball that takes place there," Daniels added.

The threat posed by the kickoff returner — like former Viking Cordarrelle Patterson or second-year kickoff returner/running back Kene Nwangwu — also could play a factor.

There's no time like the preseason to let it ride.

Here are all the ways to catch the action.

SIMULCAST TV AND RADIO

KMSP FOX 9 in the Twin Cities

KFAN (100.3-FM), KTLK 1130-AM and the five-state Vikings Radio Network

Kickoff: 6 p.m. (CT)

Play-by-Play: Paul Allen

Analyst: Pete Bercich

Sideline reporter: Ben Leber

Pre-Game radio show: Hosted by Mike Mussman; starts at 4 p.m.

New this year: Minnesotans will be able to listen to the Vikings Radio Network broadcast through the iHeartRadio app on their smart devices.

TV/RADIO NEAR THE BAY AREA

Fans in the San Francisco Bay Area can watch the game on KPIX 5/CW Bay Area or listen to it on KGO 810-AM or KSAN 107.7-FM.

ADDITIONAL OPTIONS

Click here for the full bevy of options that include over-the-air, cable, satellite, over-the-top and streaming methods.

NFL+ AND NFL+ PREMIUM

Start your free trial of NFL+ today to watch Vikings preseason games live or on-demand.

NFL+ and NFL+ Premium provide all the action when you are on the go. It is available in the NFL app and at NFL.com/plus.

NFL+ is available for $4.99/month or $39.99/year and offers the following:

· Live out-of-market preseason games across devices

· Live local and prime-time regular-season and postseason games on your phone or tablet

· Live game audio (home, away & national calls) for every game of the season

· NFL library programming on-demand, ad-free

NFL+ Premium is available for $9.99/month or $79.99/year and offers all of the NFL+ features and the following:

· Full-game replays across devices (ad-free)

· Condensed game replays across devices (ad-free)

· Coaches film (ad-free)