EAGAN, Minn. — The Vikings ground game will try to keep landing 1-2 punches as Minnesota (6-2) heads down the back half of its 2024 schedule.
The first of three consecutive road games begins Sunday at Jacksonville (2-7) and follows a win against Indianapolis in which Minnesota gained a season-high 10 first downs on runs to help yield other season highs in total first downs (29), time of possession (36:54) and total net yards (415).
For context, that was just the fourth time in the Kevin O'Connell era in which the Vikings have had 10 or more first downs by rushing in a game. Minnesota did so three times in 2022 (twice in division matchups against Chicago and once against Arizona).
Aaron Jones, Sr., rushed 21 times for 64 yards with a long of 13, and Cam Akers handled his first carries of 2024 as a Viking by popping for 46 yards on six rushes. Akers' impact was made a year after he suffered the second Achilles injury of his career and followed a short stint in Houston to start this season. Akers played for the Texans against the Jaguars in Week 4, totaling 53 yards on 13 rushes.
"With what I've been through in my situation, it's a blessing to still be playing ball, so I don't take any of that for granted," Akers said. "I'm thankful to K.O. and the offensive line for trusting me with the livelihood of my team, and that's the ball.
"I have a lot of motivators," Akers later added. "That's priority, love of the game, and wanting to go out and do it for the man next to you. The feel you get after a win is unmatched. I just play because I love ball."
Against Indianapolis, the Vikings finished with 133 rushing yards, and 54 of those were gained in the fourth quarter.
Jones said the Vikings evaluated the film to see what worked and why it did or didn't, but he wants the team to "keep that mindset we had at the end of the game where they know we're going to run it, and we know we need to get these yards to seal the game."
Jacksonville's defense ranks 16th in rush yards allowed at 125.0 per game, but the Jaguars have allowed 150 or more rushing yards in three of its past four games, including 237 last week against a prolific Eagles ground game.
Here are all the ways to catch the action.
BROADCAST TV
FOX (KMSP FOX 9 in the Twin Cities)
Kickoff: Noon (CT)
Play-by-Play: Adam Amin
Analyst: Mark Sanchez
Sideline reporter: Kristina Pink
Fans who live in the yellow areas shown on the map from 506sports.com will be able to watch the game on broadcast TV.
LOCAL/REGIONAL RADIO
KFAN (100.3-FM), KTLK 1130-AM and the five-state Vikings Radio Network
Play-by-Play: Paul Allen
Analyst: Pete Bercich
Sideline reporter: Ben Leber
Note: The pregame radio show on the Vikings Radio Network will begin at 10 a.m. (CT).
Audio Streaming Option: Catch the audio broadcast on your smart devices through the KFAN channel on the iHeart app.
SPANISH RADIO
Catch the Vikings on Tico Sports at WREY "El Rey" 94.9 FM and 630 AM in the Twin Cities and on Tico-Sports.com, elrey949fm.com and Vikings.com.
Play-by-Play: Gabriel Rios
Analyst: Isaias Zendejas
SATELLITE RADIO
Minnesota: SiriusXM 211 or 383/Vikings Team Page
Jacksonville: SiriusXM 83 or 229/Jaguars Team Page
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
Watch out-of-market Vikings preseason games live or on-demand with NFL+ or NFL+ Premium. It is available in the NFL app and at NFL.com/plus.
NFL+ is available for $6.99/month or $49.99/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 Films on-demand content, ad-free
- Ad-free highlights from every NFL game
- Fantasy+
- NFL Network
NFL+ Premium is available for $14.99/month or $99.99/year and offers all NFL+ features and the following:
- Full-game replays across devices
- Condensed game replays across devices
- Coaches film
- RedZone from NFL Network
