The Minnesota Vikings leaned on defense and Will Reichard’s five field goals to grind out a 15-10 win over the Miami Dolphins on October 4, 2026, at U.S. Bank Stadium, staying unbeaten at 4-0 despite failing to score an offensive touchdown.
Quarter-by-Quarter
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIA | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| MIN | 3 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 15 |
Minnesota’s offense still isn’t pretty, but apparently Will Reichard and Brian Flores’ defense are enough for now. With Justin Jefferson sidelined by an ankle injury, Kyler Murray completed 27-of-37 for 247 yards without a touchdown or turnover, leaning heavily on T.J. Hockenson, who tied his career high and the Vikings’ single-game tight end record with 13 catches for 119 yards. Aaron Jones added 94 rushing yards and 34 receiving, while Jordan Addison caught four passes for 52. Minnesota never reached the end zone, so Reichard handled literally all the scoring, drilling field goals from 47, 50, 33, 41 and 29 yards to tie his career high with five makes and improve to 12-for-12 this season. The Vikings finished with 336 yards and held the ball for 39:11, basically squeezing Miami out of the game one long drive at a time.
Miami’s defense honestly deserved better. A unit that entered Sunday without a sack finally erupted for four, with Zach Sieler getting two while Chop Robinson and Josh Uche added one each; rookie Jacob Rodriguez piled up 18 tackles and Jordyn Brooks had 13. But the Dolphins offense produced only 198 yards and eight first downs. With De’Von Achane out for the season with a torn ACL, Ollie Gordon II made his first start count, exploding for 100 yards on nine carries and Miami’s only touchdown, including a 53-yard run.Malik Willis, though, finished just 9-of-17 for 85 yards, lost a fumble recovered by Blake Cashman and was sacked twice by Dallas Turner. Malik Washington accounted for 67 of those passing yards by himself. Even Myles Price chipped in on special teams with 121 combined return yards. Miami fought — its defense especially — but Minnesota’s defense, Hockenson and a kicker doing his best impression of the entire offense were enough to move the Vikings to 4-0 and Miami to 0-4.
Postgame Statistical Breakdown
Team Stats
| Stat | Miami Dolphins | Minnesota Vikings |
|---|---|---|
| Final Score | 10 | 15 |
| Total Offensive Yards | 198 | 336 |
| Passing Yards | 77 | 213 |
| Rushing Yards | 121 | 123 |
| Total Plays | 37 | 72 |
| Yards Per Play | 5.4 | 4.7 |
| First Downs | 8 | 20 |
| Third Downs | 2-9 | 8-18 |
| Third-Down % | 22.2% | 44.4% |
| Fourth Downs | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| Passing TDs | 0 | 0 |
| Rushing TDs | 1 | 0 |
| Total Offensive TDs | 1 | 0 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| Interceptions Thrown | 0 | 0 |
| Fumbles Lost | 1 | 0 |
| Sacks Allowed | 2 | 4 |
| Penalties | 9 | 11 |
| Penalty Yards | 55 | 85 |
| Time of Possession | 20:49 | 39:11 |
Passing
Miami Dolphins
- Malik Willis — 9/17, 52.9%, 85 YDS, 0 TD, 0 INT, 5.0 YPA, 2 SACK, 67.0 RTG
Minnesota Vikings
- Kyler Murray — 27/37, 73.0%, 247 YDS, 0 TD, 0 INT, 6.7 YPA, 4 SACK, 90.7 RTG
Rushing
Miami Dolphins
- Ollie Gordon II — 9 CAR, 100 YDS, 11.1 AVG, 1 TD, LONG 53
- Malik Willis — 2 CAR, 11 YDS, 5.5 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 8, 1 FUM
Minnesota Vikings
- Aaron Jones Sr. — 20 CAR, 94 YDS, 4.7 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 19, 1 FUM
- Kyler Murray — 6 CAR, 16 YDS, 2.7 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 8
Receiving
Miami Dolphins
- Malik Washington — 5 REC, 5 TGT, 67 YDS, 13.4 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 17
- Will Kacmarek — 1 REC, 2 TGT, 15 YDS, 15.0 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 15
- Kevin Coleman Jr. — 1 REC, 4 TGT, 3 YDS, 3.0 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 3
- Ollie Gordon II — 2 REC, 2 TGT, 0 YDS, 0.0 AVG, 0 TD
- Chris Bell — 0 REC, 3 TGT, 0 YDS, 0.0 AVG, 0 TD
Minnesota Vikings
- T.J. Hockenson — 13 REC, 13 TGT, 119 YDS, 9.2 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 22
- Jordan Addison — 4 REC, 6 TGT, 52 YDS, 13.0 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 27
- Aaron Jones Sr. — 4 REC, 8 TGT, 34 YDS, 8.5 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 15
- Tai Felton — 1 REC, 1 TGT, 14 YDS, 14.0 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 14
- DeeJay Dallas — 1 REC, 1 TGT, 10 YDS, 10.0 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 10
Scoring Plays
| Qtr | Clock | Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 7:54 | Minnesota Vikings | Will Reichard 47-yard field goal | MIA 0, MIN 3 |
| Q2 | 7:08 | Minnesota Vikings | Will Reichard 50-yard field goal | MIA 0, MIN 6 |
| Q2 | 0:00 | Minnesota Vikings | Will Reichard 33-yard field goal | MIA 0, MIN 9 |
| Q3 | 11:56 | Miami Dolphins | Riley Patterson 27-yard field goal | MIA 3, MIN 9 |
| Q3 | 6:35 | Minnesota Vikings | Will Reichard 41-yard field goal | MIA 3, MIN 12 |
| Q3 | 0:11 | Miami Dolphins | Ollie Gordon II 12-yard run (Riley Patterson kick) | MIA 10, MIN 12 |
| Q4 | 6:41 | Minnesota Vikings | Will Reichard 29-yard field goal | MIA 10, MIN 15 |
Defense
Miami Dolphins
- Zach Sieler — 3 TOT, 3 SOLO, 2 TFL, 2 SACK, 2 QBH
- Jacob Rodriguez — 18 TOT, 9 SOLO
- Jordyn Brooks — 13 TOT, 5 SOLO, 1 PD
- Chop Robinson — 2 TOT, 2 SOLO, 1 TFL, 1 SACK, 3 QBH
- Josh Uche — 6 TOT, 2 SOLO, 1 TFL, 1 SACK, 1 QBH
- Michael Taaffe — 6 TOT, 4 SOLO
- Zeek Biggers — 4 TOT, 2 SOLO, 1 QBH
- JuJu Brents — 6 TOT, 1 SOLO
- Malik Herring — 3 TOT, 2 SOLO, 1 TFL
- Dante Trader Jr. — 5 TOT, 3 SOLO
Minnesota Vikings
- Dallas Turner — 3 TOT, 3 SOLO, 1 TFL, 2 SACK, 2 QBH
- Blake Cashman — 8 TOT, 3 SOLO, 1 QBH, 1 FR
- Joshua Metellus — 5 TOT, 3 SOLO, 1 PD
- Kyle Van Noy — 2 TOT, 2 SOLO, 2 TFL
- Eric Wilson — 4 TOT
- Harrison Smith — 2 TOT, 1 PD
- Jalen Redmond — 3 TOT, 2 SOLO
- Jake Golday — 2 TOT, 2 SOLO
- Andrew Van Ginkel — 2 TOT, 1 SOLO
- Byron Murphy Jr. — 2 TOT, 1 SOLO
Kick Returns
Miami Dolphins
- Jaylen Wright — 5 KR, 97 YDS, 19.4 AVG, LONG 28, 0 TD
Minnesota Vikings
- Myles Price — 2 KR, 70 YDS, 35.0 AVG, LONG 47, 0 TD
Punt Returns
Miami Dolphins
- Malik Washington — 1 PR, 0 YDS, 0.0 AVG, 0 TD
Minnesota Vikings
- Myles Price — 3 PR, 51 YDS, 17.0 AVG, LONG 36, 0 TD
