EAGAN, Minn. — There's no such thing as a 'gimme' game in this league, regardless of records heading into any matchup.

Minnesota (3-0) hosts Miami (0-3) on Sunday riding high on an eight-game winning streak (since Week 14 last season) that's featured an historic level of defense, a flurry of special teams honors and sights of explosiveness on offense; and has continued during changes to the front office and roster, in collaboration with Head Coach Kevin O'Connell and his staff.

The Dolphins are young and under new — familiar — leadership in General Manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and Head Coach Jeff Hafley, who were hired from Green Bay; the latter served as the Packers defensive coordinator from 2024-25. Sullivan's father, Jerry, is credited with identifying Justin Jefferson's talent at LSU and helped develop him into the star he is today.

Jefferson did not participate in practice this week and was ruled out for Sunday after spraining his ankle in the first quarter in the win at Tampa Bay. The Vikings also ruled out punter Brett Thorson and cornerback Chuck Demmings.

Let's preview the Week 4 contest, which kicks off at 3:05 p.m. (CT) at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Uniform

Minnesota will wear its traditional home uniforms that include purple jerseys and white pants.

3 Prominent Topics

1. Cooking on high heat

At this rate, it's a shock if Cashman and Eric Wilson aren't mugging the line of scrimmage, and if players aren't doing something post-snap that is different than what they show pre-snap. We'll leave this blurb at this: It's a surprise when Brian Flores' defense doesn't blitz.

2. Third-phase aces

A short story could be written about the special teams magnificoes in this game, but we will try to share the goods as succinctly as possible, beginning with the Fins. Miami kicker Riley Patterson has gone 5-for-7 on field goals with a long of 41 and he's accounted for 18 points total — as many as Miami's offense. Additionally, Patterson has the most tackles (three) on special teams, and long snapper Tucker Addington ranks second with two. In the KOR (kickoff return) phase, there should be a warning sign next to Jaylen Wright's name. The third-year back out of Tennessee has speed to burn and boasts an NFL-best 37.0 yards per return (five for 185). He cut back against the grain for 79 yards — but not the distance — in the second half of Week 1 against Las Vegas. He ran a 4.38 40-yard dash at the combine.

Minnesota's specialists are studs across the board. The All-Decade punter of the 2010s, Johnny Hekker, filled in nicely for Thorson in Week 3 and will do so again this week, and kicker Will Reichard has made 26 consecutive field goals, which is the franchise's longest streak this century. The excellence of Thorson, Hekker and Reichard are a testament to long snapper Andrew DePaola's consistency.

And then there's Myles "Jug" Price, the 2025 undrafted rookie who in Year 2 has solidified himself as a star returner. He won NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for September — after Reichard won it for December/January last season — and snapped a 10-year drought of punt return touchdowns when he cribbed one from 86 yards out against the Buccaneers. Price is a threat to score on any touch, and he ranks first in the NFL in kickoff and punt return yards.

3. Developing offenses

One of Miami's most valuable players, RB De'Von Achane, suffered a torn ACL in Week 3. Ollie Gordon II and Wright figure to split the load without the rushing/receiving dynamo who accounted for a higher percentage of his team's offensive yards (32%) than any player since 2025 aside from Bijan Robinson (40), Christian McCaffrey (32.7) and Jonathan Taylor (32.6). Undoubtedly, Achane's leave will make life more difficult for dual-threat QB Malik Willis, who was paid handsomely for his potential in free agency this past spring after rebooting his career as Green Bay's backup, but owns the fourth-to-worst passer rating (74.1) among guys with at least 45 attempts this season. The Fins, overall, are averaging just 12.0 points per game.

On the other side, Miami presents another opportunity for the Vikings offense, which hasn't lived up to its standards, yet, but has expressed a real commitment to the run through three games and opened up its downfield passing in Week 3, with hits and misses.

2 Talented Dolphins

1. Jacob Rodriguez | LB No. 10

The 43^rd overall pick in 2026 won the Lombardi Award, Chuck Bednarik Award, Bronko Nagurski Award and Dick Butkus Award last season, proving himself as the best defensive player in college football. He was a takeaway machine with seven forced fumbles and four interceptions, and he placed fifth on the Heisman ballot behind three quarterbacks and Jeremiyah Love. He was freaking good for Texas Tech, and he's been good for the Fins, too.

Rodriguez leads Miami in tackles (28) and is tied for the team lead in tackles for loss (three) and interceptions (one). He's the Green Dot player, a.k.a. the designated mouthpiece of the defense, which is a mighty undertaking for a rookie and says a lot about his communication skills and command of Hafley's scheme. Rodriguez and veteran 'backer Jordyn Brooks have combined for 30 "stops" per Next Gen Stats, which is the third most by a pair of teammates in the NFL this season after Kansas City's Nick Bolton and Drue Tranquill (33) and Cashman and Wilson (31). Rodriguez's 19 are the most by a single player and his 10 against Las Vegas in Week 1 are the most in a single game. For visualization, Wilson practically sunburned an outline of his 5-5 uniform in the Buccaneers backfield last Sunday — and he recorded nine.

This Vikings writer attended the Senior Bowl in January and jotted down notes on Rodriguez, who ended one practice with a diving pick, after executing a 'Peanut Punch' forced fumble. Here's some of what I wrote: "Fiery leader who sets the tone with disruption; very little to no wasted movement in coverage; explosive coming out of his breaks — plants his feet and goes; consistently gained great depth in his drops during team periods to cancel middle-of-the-field routes developing behind him; great feel for wheel route in multiple 1-on-1s against RBs — matched acceleration and even turned his head to locate the ball and deny the catch on one rep." FYI, Rodriguez is a native of Hastings, Minnesota.

2. Malik Washington | WR No. 6

Miami's passing attack looks demonstrably different, and we're not talking about Willis or schematic changes. "The Blur Brothers" Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are gone, and so Washington's role has evolved. The 2024 sixth-round pick posted an average depth of target of 5.4 yards as a rookie and 4.9 last season. Well, it's up to 12.0 in 2026, and he's hauled in four catches of 20-plus yards already, which is tied for eighth most in the NFL, and is equal to his 2024-25 tally. Washington paces Miami with 12 receptions for 152 yards. The only guy with a touchdown catch, though, is Ryan Miller, who scored a 77-yarder against the Niners.

Washington's tape shows him winning over the middle of the field out of the slot, and on the perimeter when Willis gets out of the pocket. He also draws a good number of ops in the flats, either motioning across formations and catching the ball with built-up speed or releasing from the backfield. Although he's not the biggest dude at 5-foot-8 and 192 pounds, he's got juice and slips tackles. The Fins have great size with rookie receivers Chris Bell (6-2, 228) and Caleb Douglas (6-4, 208), and veteran tight end Greg Dulcich (6-4, 245), but Douglas was ruled out Friday with an ankle injury.

1 More Thing to Know

Minnesota won last weekend but lost tight end Josh Oliver for the season when he tore his biceps while protecting on Will Reichard's penultimate field goal, which sailed through the uprights with 3:10 left in the contest. Players like 2025 sixth-round pick Gavin Bartholomew will step up to fill in for Oliver, but no one will be able to replicate his impact or match his sheer size.

Oliver, whose nickname from former QB Kirk Cousins is "The Sears Tower," is valued enormously for his in-line run-blocking ability. But he's also an underrated — and surehanded — receiver. In 50 games for Minnesota, he's trapped 62 of 80 targets (77.5%) for 677 yards and nine touchdowns. Oliver owns the highest receiver pass rating (139.4) among TEs targeted at least 40 times since he joined Minnesota in 2023. While the likes of George Kittle (134), Tucker Kraft (128.7) and Isaiah Likely (127.3) have been thrown to more often, the stat underscores Oliver is reliable.

There's confidence in players rising in relief of the 6-foot-5, 264-pounder. T.J. Hockenson, for one, expressed this week that he's getting ready to take on a larger workload — about 60% of his snaps have been in the pass phase, according to Pro Football Focus; whereas Oliver's share leaned 70% run. Bartholomew is expected to see an increased role, as well.

"I really like his play demeanor. He's got a good way about him," Offensive Coordinator Wes Phillips said to local reporters Tuesday about Bartholomew. "He's excited about being out there. He was physical on the snaps that he was playing. He does have talent in his body. He's got twitch. He's got some uncoil in the run game, and some twitch in the pass game. So, I'm excited to see him go out there really for the first time with some significant snaps."

Special Teams Coordinator Matt Daniels explained there's a "huge void" on special teams to boot with the news on Oliver and he also extended some big-time belief in Bartholomew.

"With the more reps and the more exposure that he continues to get, he's finding himself in some really good positions," Daniels shared. "He's a lot more savvy than he might appear. He can work edges. He's strong at the point of attack. He can get off blocks. He can strain [on KOR]. I'm really excited about where we can go with him and just being able to utilize his traits and his attributes, and what he's able to do on the football field."

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