This is what it was supposed to look like for the Vikings: the offense functioning in a way where the ball came out on time and the unit as a whole avoided monumental mistakes, the defense pressuring the opposing quarterback with reckless abandon and forcing multiple turnovers.

Virtually all of that had been missing over the past couple of weeks. The Vikings looked a little bit off in all phases, whether it was in their Monday night victory at Chicago or in last week’s loss to Atlanta at home. But everything clicked for the Vikings in Sunday’s 48-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals victory at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Though the defensive touchdowns from cornerback Isaiah Rodgers were the story of the game, maybe more important was the fact that the Vikings as a whole got back on track, playing a brand of football conducive to long-term success.

Here are some takeaway from Sundays game:

Isaiah Rodgers was the star of the show

The conversation has to start with Rodgers. He basically won the game for the Vikings by himself, returning an interception for a touchdown, forcing and returning a fumble for a touchdown, and forcing a second fumble for good measure. It was the first time in NFL history that a player had recorded a pair of defensive touchdowns and a pair of forced fumbles in a game, and he did it all in one half. The next step for Rodgers is making sure this wasn’t a flash in the pan. This has to be the start of something more for him.

Carson Wentz proved to be a pro

Though the stat line for veteran quarterback Carson Wentz wasn’t spectacular — he completed 14 of 20 passes for 173 yards and a pair of touchdowns — he did everything the Vikings need him to do. He threw the ball on time. He made a few plays downfield. He did not turn the ball over. That’s going to be a recipe for success for Wentz moving forward. It’s not hard to envision him replicating that type of game against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns the next two weeks. He seems to understand that he doesn’t need to be Superman, just a professional in the pocket. What does this all mean for young quarterback J.J. McCarthy (ankle) when he’s healthy? That remains to be seen.

Jordan Mason is a beast

The presence that running back Jordan Mason brings to the backfield can’t be overstated. Not only does he run with power at the point of attack, he has the shiftiness to make defenders miss — and has more speed than he gets credit for. All of that was plain to see against the Bengals as Mason finished with 16 carries for 116 yards and a pair of touchdowns, shouldering the load for the Vikings as they literally ran away with the game. It’s pretty clear that Mason should be the No. 1 backfield option for the Vikings ieven when veteran running back Aaron Jones returns from injured reserve.

T.J. Hockenson can be still an effective

After watching him make a minimal impact over the first two weeks, there were some people that seemed to think tight end T.J. Hockenson was past his prime. Maybe he simply needed more opportunities underneath. The production that Hockenson had against the Bengals — five catches for 49 yards and a touchdown — proved he’s still a matchup nightmare, too fast to be covered by linebackers and too big to be covered by safeties. That’s something the Vikings need to lean into because Hockenson can make life easier for whoever is throwing him the ball.

Will Reichard has insane range

If there were any doubts about kicker Will Reichard and his leg strength, he emphatically put that to rest by nailing a 62-yard field goal before halftime. It was a franchise record, and easily cleared the crossbar. It actually hit halfway up the netting behind the uprights, which suggests it would have been good from much longer. The Vikings can now operate like they’re approaching scoring position virtually whenever they cross the 50-yard line. That’s the luxury of having somebody like Reichard on the roster.

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Some players would turn off their phone for a few hours when out to dinner for a special occasion. But when a ring from his agent interrupted Jack Johnson and his wife Kelly’s evening celebrating their 10th anniversary in early July, it turned out to be a call worth taking.

The news was that after 19 NHL seasons, Minnesota general manager Bill Guerin was wondering if the veteran defenseman was interested in a chance to try out with the Wild.

“My agent called to say ‘great conversation with Billy.’ I’ve known (Guerin) since my days in Pittsburgh, and he said he was interested,” Johnson said, after his second day of Wild training camp. “Then it just kind of came to fruition later on in the summer, and I was excited to have a great conversation with him. I know coach (John) Hynes and Billy really well, and I was really comfortable with them and excited about it, and appreciated the opportunity.”

At age 38, with more than 1,200 NHL games on his resume, Johnson has seen and done it all during stops with the Los Angeles Kings, Columbus Blue Jackets (twice), Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, Colorado Avalanche (twice), Chicago Blackhawks and now the Wild.

Johnson was one of the veterans on the ice Sunday afternoon in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where the Wild opened the preseason with a 3-2 overtime win over the Jets.

Minnesota trailed 2-0 early but got two goals from Yakov Trenin — including the winner after the Wild killed an overtime penalty — and another from Hunter Haight. Jesper Wallstedt had 21 saves for the Wild, who travel to Dallas for their second preseason game on Tuesday.

“I thought (Trenin) really skated well. I think he has had a good camp,” Hynes said after the game. “He has come back in phenomenal shape. He looks more comfortable with the puck this year, and the way he scored the two goals, he was right in around the net front. He has got a very good release, and he snapped those two home.”

Johnson logged more than 17 minutes of ice time and showed Hynes both offense and defense. He zipped a pass to the net front that led to the Wild’s second period goal, and delivered a noisy rub-out check on Jets forward Brad Lambert in the third period.

“I thought Jack was solid tonight. He moved the puck well under pressure on our breakouts, and he moved it simple and effective, which is what we want,” Hynes said. “From a defensive standpoint, he was physical when he needed to be, so another good start for him.”

While he came to Minnesota with no promises or guarantees in hand, having agreed only to a professional tryout contract, the Wild have dealt with myriad injuries in the past two seasons.

With veteran Jonas Brodin working to return from offseason surgery, and rookie Zeev Buium missing early training camp practices due to injury, the window of opportunity for Johnson to earn an opening night roster spot seemed to open just a bit.

“Obviously he has great experience, so you can tell as a player that he’s attentive,” Hynes said early in training camp. “I think his details are good, because he’s coming in learning on the fly, and it’s a tryout situation. So I thought his effort in practices has been good, and I think he’s gathering the information that we’re giving these guys, and he’s able to execute it right away.”

Born in Indianapolis and raised in suburban Detroit, Johnson’s journey to elite-level hockey began in Minnesota.

He spent three seasons – eighth, ninth and 10th grades – at Shattuck-St. Mary’s in Faribault, skating with teammates such as Zach Parise and Sidney Crosby, before moving to USA Hockey’s National Team Development program, then playing two seasons of college hockey at Michigan.

Johnson was the third overall pick in the 2005 NHL draft, and was a member of Colorado’s Stanley Cup-winning squad in 2022.

If things work out with the Wild, Johnson admitted he’s hoping to take an off day visit to Shattuck and reconnect with coach Troy Ward.

The tryout in Minnesota is not new territory for Johnson, who made the Colorado roster in a similar situation four years ago, and ended up with his name on the game’s most coveted trophy. He sees some parallels with the Wild, early in training camp.

“I think this team’s looking to get over a hump and contend for the Stanley Cup, and I’ve been fortunate to be on a couple of teams that go in with the expectations of going for the Stanley Cup,” he said. “I’m just looking to be a piece and help out in any way I can, whether it’s on the ice or in the locker room, off the ice, away from the rink, kind of helping with what I know that it takes to get to that place that you want to be.”

Although he was not aware of it until a reporter pointed it out, Johnson needs to play in 29 more regular season games to move ahead of former Minnesota North Stars mainstay Craig Ludwig into fifth place on the NHL’s list of career games played by an American defenseman.

The preseason games don’t count, but as Hynes and Guerin look to assemble the right mix of experience and youth on their blue line, it’s clear that Johnson has a shot to be in the mix. And for that, he is thankful.

“At the end of the day, it’s hockey. And I love to play. I’m excited, I love to compete,” Johnson said. “I’m just appreciative of the opportunity. And you know, I still feel like I’ve got some left in the tank, and I’m just excited to be out there.”

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Resiliency has been a theme all season for the Minnesota Lynx.

Minnesota Lynx guard Courtney Williams, right, passes the ball around Phoenix Mercury forward Kathryn Westbeld, center, to forward Jessica Shepard (15) during the second half of Game 1 of a WNBA basketball playoff semifinals series Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Craig Lassig)

It might be an understatement to say that was needed Sunday.

After setting a dubious league record in the first half, the Lynx defense did a dynamic U-turn in the second half to beat Phoenix 82-69 in Game 1 of the best-of-five WNBA semifinals.

“We’ll go look at some things, and (Tuesday’s) Game 2 will be just as hard,” said coach Cheryl Reeve.

Before then a long look will be given to the first half, one in which the Mercury scored 42 of their 47 points in the paint. And, yes, that is a WNBA playoff record for points in the paint in a half.

Reeve had no special message for her team at the break, nor was one needed.

“We’ve been through a lot of adverse situations in the last two years together, so we always know it’s a team effort. In those moments we need to brainstorm or whatever. We’re not on islands; we’re doing it together. There was just another example of that in our halftime conversation,” said guard Kayla McBride.

Added Reeve: “You didn’t go back to the locker room with people blaming, they went right into listening and like what can we do together, who needs to do what. It’s a mature group, emotionally mature. I didn’t do anything to bring that along. That’s just who they’ve always been.”

Phoenix, which scored 24 first-quarter points and 23 in the second, scored just 22 in the second half, of which 12 were in the paint. The Mercury made just nine of 36 shots in the final two quarters, including 2 of 15 from outside the arc.

Napheesa Collier #24 celebrates with Natisha Hiedeman #2 of the Minnesota Lynx after scoring against the Phoenix Mercury in the third quarter during Game One of the second round of the WNBA Playoffs at Target Center on Sept. 21, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

Kahleah Copper led Phoenix with 23 points, and Alyssa Thomas had 18 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Many of Thomas’ 16 first-half points came when the Mercury used a small player to set a ball screen leading to easy looks on drives inside for the forward.

“Once we solved that they went to other areas in their offense, and we were mostly prepared for some of that,” Reeve said. “We knew it might take a little bit. It’s the first time we’ve seen this group as a Phoenix team whole.”

Minnesota won three of four regular-season meetings, all before the all-star break, when both teams were missing players.

Courtney Williams led Minnesota with 23 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and a career-high five steals.

McBride had 21 points and six rebounds, and Napheesa Collier, who finished second in the league MVP voting that was announced Sunday, added 18 points and nine rebounds in front of 10,121 boisterous “Claws Out” towel-waving fans in Target Center.

Yet, Minnesota’s potential player of the game saw just under eight minutes on the court, all but 26 seconds of that in the fourth quarter.

“She really gave us a jolt towards the end,” McBride said of Maria Kliundikova, whose stat line includes four points, four rebounds and two steals.

With the game tied at 59, Kliundikova opened the quarter with a steal and grabbed an offensive rebound 65 seconds later that led to a McBride triple.

With just under four minutes to go, and after sitting out for about 2 1/2 minutes, another offensive rebound by the 6-foot-4 forward resulted in another McBride 3-pointer for a 73-67 lead. A Kliundikova steal began a play where she scored on a layup from Williams with 90 seconds left to make it 80-67.

“Maash rose to the occasion for us,” Reeve said. “Her minutes were the best eight minutes of the game. Credit to Maash for being ready and being big. She did what she needed to do, getting a jump ball when we needed it, boards, the loose defensive rebounds.”

“She was definitely a game-changer for us,” Williams said. “When you’re sitting most of the game and have to come in and make that instant impact, you just got to be mentally strong, and that’s exactly what she did. Eight minutes (she was a) plus-14.”

The Lynx played without DiJonai Carrington, named to the league’s 2024 All-Defensive first team, who will miss the rest of the season with a left foot injury.

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An announced crowd of 22,526 fans ventured to Target Field for one final time this year on Sunday afternoon, watching the Twins deal a blow to the Cleveland Guardians’ playoff chances.

On a day when the Vikings kicked off at noon a mile away, and the Lynx were host to WNBA playoff game that started at 4 p.m. across the street at the Target Center, the stadium was half full — much like it has been all season.

It was a season-wide trend for the Twins, who drew the fewest fans in any season — excluding the pandemic-affected 2020 and 2021 seasons — since 2000 in the Metrodome. The announced-attendance total of 1,768,728 fans is down from 1,951,616 a season ago. The Twins averaged 21,836 fans a game, 24th out of 30 Major League Baseball teams, though two of those teams behind them are playing in smaller-capacity, minor league stadiums.

In a season in which the Twins are tracking towards finishing with the second-worst record in the American League, and fan discontent seems to have reached a peak, attendance took a hit. One fan in the stands on Sunday voiced his displeasure by sporting a Twins jersey that said “Fire Sale,” with No. 25 on the back.

While the results on the field played a result in their attendance undoubtedly, the Twins only dropped, on average, 796 fans per game after a trade deadline in which they traded away nearly 40 percent of the active major league roster.

Their lowest-attended home game came on a Monday in April when the Twins sold just 10,240 tickets to a game against the visiting New York Mets. That was the least-attended game in Target Field history aside from the COVID-affected seasons. Their highest attended game came on July 11, a game in which a pair of all-star starter Joe Ryan and Paul Skenes duked it out before a postgame Nelly concert. They drew 40,100 fans that night.

The Twins eclipsed 30,000 tickets sold in just seven of 81 home games this season.

Briefly

Manager Rocco Baldelli said he expected Ryan Jeffers, on the injured list with a concussion, to join the team on its season-ending road trip to play the Texas Rangers and Philadelphia Phillies. Fellow catcher Christian Vázquez, out since early August, is also expected to join the team in Texas after spending the weekend rehabbing with the Triple-A Saints. Vázquez is coming back from an infection in his left shoulder. … The Twins canceled rookie dress up last season in the midst of their late-season collapse, but it was back on this season with the team’s younger players getting ready for their Sunday night flight in outfits picked out just for them.

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