There was a time roughly a month ago when it felt like the Vikings might not win another game this season. They had just been shutout by the Seattle Seahawks on the road. They boasted a 4-8 record at the time. They looked very much like a group with no direction.

It was at that moment that head coach Kevin O’Connell issued a challenge to his players in the locker room. He asked them to focus on simply trying to go 1-0 each week, even if he knew the playoffs were virtually an impossibility at that point.

As cliche as the request might have been, the Vikings responded by winning every game the rest of the way, capping a frustrating campaign with a 16-3 win over the Green Bay Packers to finish with a 9-8 record.

It wasn’t exactly an impressive win for the Vikings considering the Packers rested a bulk of their starters with their position in the playoffs already set in stone. That said, the Vikings left very little doubt, jumping out to an early lead and never looking back.

Though the offense didn’t necessarily provide anything to write home about — quarterback J.J. McCarthy completed 14 of 23 passes for 182 yards before leaving the game early with a right hand injury — the defense dominated against mostly backups on the other end.

The highlight of the game was undoubtedly veteran fullback C.J. Ham scoring a touchdown in what could be the final game of his career. He’s hinted that he will consider retirement once this season comes to an end.

Some other notable anecdotes included star receiver Justin Jefferson eclipsing 1,000 yards, edge rusher Dallas Turner finishing with a pair of sacks, and veteran safety Harrison Smith getting a standing ovation in what could be the final game of his career.

The game itself didn’t feature much action as the Vikings scored their points via a touchdown run by Ham and a trio of field goals from star kicker Will Reichard. That was more than enough run support as the Packers struggled to generate any sort of offense with reserve quarterback Clayton Tune completing 6 of 11 passes for a mere 34 yards.

As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Smith and Ham both got their flowers with the big screen essentially alternating back and forth while the home crowd gave each of them respective curtain calls.

It was a reminder that while the game itself was rather meaningless on the surface, it still carried a lot of weight for the Vikings in the present and in the future.

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When the lights come down and the needles start dropping, St. Paul and east metro residents have a range of convenient drop-off and recycling options for their trees and holiday décor.

Saint Paul

Holiday trees. In St. Paul, the city organizes a holiday tree collection from Jan. 2-15. Residents can set out one tree next to their garbage carts on regular collection days. For homes with up to four units, each unit can set out one tree.

Trees taller than six feet, heavier than 20 pounds, or artificial trees are not included in the special collection.

Residents are asked to remove all decorations and the tree stand, and to not to put the trees upright or leaning against the cart, or blocking other carts.

Holiday Lights. String lights and electrical cords should not be placed in recycling carts because they can cause damage at recycling facilities. Instead, they can be dropped off for recycling at the following locations until January 9:

The Saint Paul Regional Water Services Facility: 1900 Rice St., St Paul, MN 55113
Public Works Solid Waste & Recycling Facility: 60 W Sycamore St., St Paul, MN 55117
Any Saint Paul Public Library

Greenery and garlands. According to city guidelines, holiday greenery and garlands are not accepted as yard waste because of possible metal wires and decorations. Instead, greenery can be put in a plastic bag and put in garbage carts.

Wrapping Paper and Gift Bags. Most wrapping paper and gift bags are recyclable except for:

Wrapping paper with glitter or foil
Tissue paper
Ribbons and bows.

Cardboard Packaging. Any cardboard that doesn’t fit in recycling carts can be flattened and dropped off, for free, at the Ramsey County Environmental Center, 1700 Kent St., Roseville, MN 55113, which is open year-round.

RAMSEY COUNTY

Holiday trees. After they are stripped of lights, ornaments, tinsel and tree bags, holiday trees can be dropped off at the following yard waste collection sites for free:

Arden Hills
Frank and Sims
Midway
White Bear Township

Flocked trees are not accepted.

In addition, some waste management companies will pick up trees. The county recommends checking with the waste company first.

Holiday Lights. Both LED and non-LED string lights can be recycled at the county’s Environmental Center.

WASHINGTON COUNTY

In Washington County, it’s illegal to put Christmas trees in the trash, but there are options for drop-offs and collections.

The county said that some “private waste haulers, cities, or townships may accept holiday trees. Residents can contact them directly for more information.

“Remove tree stands, plastic bags, tinsel, wire, lights, and all other decorations from trees prior to drop-off or collection,” the county website said.

DAKOTA COUNTY

In Dakota County, it is also illegal to put Christmas trees in the trash or recycling.

Residents can call waste management companies and city staff for disposal guidelines.

It was pretty clear from the opening drive on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium that the Vikings were invested in getting star receiver Justin Jefferson over 1,000 yards. He entered the rivalry game against the Green Bay Packers needing 53 yards to once again reach the milestone.

On the first possession alone, quarterback J.J. McCarthy targeted Jefferson a few different times, completing an intermediate pass for 18 yards, a shovel pass for 10 yards, and a pop pass for 11 yards.

After hauling in another reception for a gain of 12 yards, Jefferson casually secured a catch later in the game to go over 1,000 yards.

Though it certainly isn’t the end all be all for Jefferson, he hasn’t been shy about the fact that he wanted to keep his streak alive. It served as a small consolation in what’s been a frustrating campaign for him.

This is the sixth consecutive seasons in which Jefferson has reached 1,000 yards to start his career. He’s now only five seasons away from tying Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans, who holds the NFL record the most consecutive seasons of a player reaching 1,000 yards to start his career.

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LOS ANGELES — There has been precious little sunshine in normally sunny Southern California as the Minnesota Wild visit. The schedule-makers gave them three games here in four days as part of their season-long seven-game road trip. Those in search of natural Vitamin D have instead been greeted by clouds and rain that have blanketing the Los Angeles basin as the Golden State experiences its annual rainy season.

But there’s no snow. The temperatures are well above freezing. And the Wild have grabbed at least a point in each of the first five games away from Minnesota on this journey so far, going 3-0-2.

“It feels good, especially with my family here,” Wild forward Yakov Trenin said, after his parents traveled from Russia to see him play this week. “It feels like home.”

Following Saturday night’s shootout loss to the Kings in downtown Los Angeles, the Wild are 11-6-3 away from St. Paul this season, and as they continue to accumulate points, have now moved into the drivers’ seat for a second-place finish in the Central Division behind the powerful Avalanche but ahead of the Stars. While we are only barely into the second half of the season, and the playoffs are still more than three months away, a finish ahead of third place Dallas means that the postseason would begin with two games at Grand Casino Arena.

Reinforcing ways to win and collect vital points during two consecutive weeks away from the comforts of home will no doubt be a valuable attribute when the elimination games begin.

“We knew this was going to be a big part of our season where you could say it’s a long road trip, and you play seven games in 14 days,” Wild coach John Hynes said on Saturday, after his team came from behind four times to grab a point. “So, I like the fact that we got off to a good start (on the) road trip. We continue to do it.”

Wild defenseman Brock Faber said the Los Angeles portion of the trip is a bit of a flashback to his days as a Gopher. College hockey teams almost always play two-game weekend series versus the same team, and with visits to the Kings on Saturday and again on Monday, it’s a chance to learn from the first game and do things better in the second game.

“It’ll be good. I’m sure they’ve got areas they want to be better in and we’ve got areas we want to be better in,” Faber said, after scoring his ninth goal of the season on Saturday. “It’ll be fun playing this team back to back. It’s one where we want to leave this part of California with another two points.”

Holed up out of the rain in an oceanfront luxury hotel just down the street from the famed Santa Monica Pier, the Wild plan was to take Sunday to rest, then get a morning skate in Los Angeles on Monday before the rematch with the Kings on Monday night.

“We just played this team, we didn’t find a way to get two points. And we got another opportunity against the same team, which you don’t get a lot of times in the regular season,” Hynes said on Saturday night. “So we’ll take a day to rest up (Sunday) and refocus and see if we can get the two points the next time we play them.”

Simple math when one looks at the standings shows that banking those points now is sure to be helpful in April and May.

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