EAGAN, Minn. — Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell spent nearly an hour gathering with folks on both sides after joint practices at Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center with the New England Patriots.

There were plenty of familiar faces for the ex-NFL quarterback who was drafted in the third round by New England in 2008. Among them, of course, was former teammate and Patriots Head Coach Mike Vrabel, who celebrated his 50th birthday Thursday with cool, windy weather and some intense football.

"I mentioned it when we got this thing started, before the work, that there was a reason why the Patriots were here," O'Connell said to begin his press conference following his catching-up on the field. "And now that it's concluded I feel great about the work we were able to get in. I think both teams accomplished a lot of things in these two days. I wish them nothing but the best moving forward, and we'll have a competitive game on Saturday and move on with our process of leading into the season.

"I thought for two days of joint work, to come back, our team had kind of a good look in their eyes today of wanting to really accomplish a lot of things," O'Connell added. "I thought the offense did a lot of really good things. I thought it was a really impactful day in the red zone and then some second down into some third downs again for two days in a row and then the 2-minute, finding J.A. (Jordan Addison) there to start the whole thing off was really positive. A lot that we'll correct, a lot we'll go into meetings here in a little bit and make sure we dive into this tape the right way and get ready to play a game on Saturday."

Joshua Metellus appeared to hurt his shoulder defending a Hail Mary-type play in a 2-minute drill and will be evaluated, O'Connell noted. Also, Jalen Nailor jammed his hand and exited practice as a precaution.

Justin Jefferson remains sidelined with a hamstring strain but is progressing. Other non-participants included Harrison Smith, C.J. Ham, Andrew Van Ginkel, Levi Drake Rodriguez and Christian Darrisaw.

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We expanded our observations to six, again, in order to capture action scattered across, at times, four fields. They are presented by Minnesota Eye Consultants, the Proud LASIK Partner of the Minnesota Vikings.

1. In the trenches

The first "compete" portion of practice pitted skill players against each other in red zone 1-on-1s. While those happened, Vikings and Patriots linemen gathered on a different set of fields to sharpen their skills.

Several reps featuring Minnesota defenders were notable.

On the second of back-to-back snaps working against veteran right tackle Morgan Moses, 22-year-old outside linebacker Dallas Turner dipped his frame to get underneath the 34-year-old, then ripped by him.

It was a nice switch from Turner, who used an inside spin to beat Morgan in the same drill Wednesday.

Harrison Phillips had an interesting matchup, facing a friendly foe in Garrett Bradbury. The former teammates might have tied – if that's such a thing – as Phillips pressed forward and Bradbury anchored.

The flashiest 1-on-1 win by a Vikings defender went to Jonathan Greenard, who took a convincing step up the field and then unleashed a lightning-quick spin to beat left tackle and No. 4 overall pick Will Campbell on the inside. To the rookie's credit, he stayed engaged with Greenard on their second rep as the Pro Bowl EDGE rounded the corner and tried to get to the quarterback (a Patriots coach) from the blind side.

After players rotated through a couple times, the drill changed to a combo block/rush that allowed defenders to alternate working on straight-up pass rushes and "games." In one instance, Turner and Javon Hargrave did the former, performing moves on Campbell and Ben Brown, and folded the pocket.

Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins busted free when Gabriel Murphy effectively twisted inside and pulled attention away from the rookie. Travis Bell also got loose for a "sack" when Elijah Williams picked off his blocker. Before that rep, Bell tried setting a pick for Tyler Batty but bulldozed two o-linemen into the QB himself.

2. Completions streak

The third team period Thursday focused on scripted second-down play calls and unscripted third downs.

Excitingly, it did not matter the down, distance or play that was dialed. If a Vikings quarterback was dropping back, he was completing a pass. Matter of fact, the QBs racked up 11 consecutive completions.

McCarthy initiated the streak with a b-e-a-utiful deep ball to running back Aaron Jones, Sr., who was streaking up the right sideline, collected it in stride and darted into the end zone, igniting a SKOL Chant. There was pressure near the QB before he moved around the pocket and released the football. Two Patriots defenders collided in their pursuit of Jones, stirring a memory of the Minneapolis Miracle.

Then McCarthy located Jordan Addison on consecutive attempts, hitting him first on an out-breaking route for another first down and then on a bubble route.

McCarthy connected with Thayer Thomas next, before handing controls to Max Brosmer and Brett Rypien. Keeping the streak intact, Brosmer strengthened his budding chemistry with Tim Jones, who hauled in a contested catch on a route that carried him from the right side all the way to the left hash.

Brosmer followed that with a delivery to Jeshaun Jones, who reached low to extend the streak to six. Before McCarthy reassumed the role, Rypien hooked up with Myles Price over the middle of the field for lucky No. 7, then T.J. Hockenson secured the eighth completion in a row near the right sideline.

Ironically, No. 9 of the period – via No. 9 – was the most daring.

McCarthy released a shot to Addison up the left sideline. The pass wobbled and faded inside, forcing Addison to adjust a bit and dive to make the catch. He did it gracefully, with a defender pinned to him.

The 10-minute period wrapped with McCarthy dealing shallow throws to Thomas and Hockenson, who brought the streak to 11. The below post on X illustrates the caliber of performance by McCarthy and Co.

3. 'Other' receivers stepping up

A couple of Addison-centric themes have held true for the duration of training camp: 1) He's been unguardable; and 2) The third-year wideout and McCarthy have a tremendous rapport going already.

Other playmakers are stepping up, as well, though.

Whether it's Lucky Jackson, the Joneses (Tim and Jeshaun), Price or Thomas, there's something to say about the way Minnesota's receiver depth has been counted on, and looked good, with Jefferson hurt.

Nailor's departure from practice Thursday tightened the focus on that cast, and the group didn't flinch.

During a high-red zone team period, the Vikings offense balanced competitive runs by the likes of Jordan Mason (on one rush Mason wiggled through a crease and breezed through a few attempted arm tackles to reach pay dirt) and Zavier Scott with a touchdown reception on a go-ball by Jeshaun Jones (from Sam Howell) and a tight-window pass from McCarthy to Thomas that landed on the doorstep of the end zone.

When the drill advanced to the low-red area, the depth kept showing up.

Howell would have connected with undrafted rookie tight end Bryson Nesbit on a slant for six points except Nesbit was unceremoniously dragged down and garnered a defensive pass interference penalty.

Shortly after that, McCarthy caught fire, spinning touchdowns to Addison, Jackson and Thomas. The first seemed simple as McCarthy lobbed one to No. 3 in the back right corner of the end zone. On the second, McCarthy rolled right and put one in Jackson's hands despite a defensive holding call. The third was a personal favorite as Thomas, a former college walk-on, stemmed inside then flipped his route to uncover.

Jeshaun Jones and Price capped the period with touchdowns courtesy Rypien and Brosmer.

4. Red zone challenges

Patriots second-year QB Drake Maye showcased his ability to spin the football during red zone drills against Minnesota's defense. The No. 3 overall pick of 2024 connected with former Viking Stefon Diggs to start 1-on-1 (receiver/tight end vs. defensive back) and again in a 2-on-2 period. After one outbreaking route to the left, Diggs tossed a ball to a fan and said, "Hold this."

Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy, Jr., followed Maye's first completion by breaking up a pass intended for DeMario Douglas.

Coverages by Jeff Okudah and Mekhi Blackmon resulted in incompletions on passes (to Kayshon Boutte and Kyle Williams). Undrafted rookie Zemaiah Vaughn also broke up a pass intended for Mack Hollins, and Reddy Steward broke up two passes.

New England fared well in the 2-on-2 drill, with Maye finding Hollins on his second throw of the period and former Viking Joshua Dobbs connecting with Javon Baker before Hollins speared a pass by Dobbs with one hand. Hollins and Baker each added another score.

Maye and Dobbs combined for 10 completions on 11 passes during the 7-on-7 red zone portion (some were shy of the sticks, and one was a TD to Boutte after holding the ball for several seconds).

5. Factoring in disruption

The last line of the previous section brings us to the next point. Rushing the quarterback and coverage go hand in hand, and once Minnesota's disruptive defensive line and edge players got involved, the results shifted toward the Vikings favor.

Greenard and Jonathan Allen each had cases for two sacks during the "fringe" red zone period.

In the run game, rookie linebacker Kobe King and defensive lineman Jalen Redmond each burst into the backfield on separate occasions to de-cleat running backs. Byron Murphy later crashed through on a corner blitz to stifle another run.

Greenard zipped into the backfield for a tackle for loss early in the team second- and third-down period. He and Javon Hargrave also created pressure on a third-and-8, prompting a teammate to holler, "Gravedigger."

Blackmon also showed alertness when he reacted to stop an intended receiver screen well behind the line of scrimmage.

6. 2-minute recaps

McCarthy had maybe his best moment Wednesday in the 2-minute, instinctively scrambling out of danger on a third-and-long and then converting with his arm on a fourth down. He did it again Thursday.

Well, that and more.

Trailing 27-21 with a minute remaining in a simulated 2-minute drive against New England's first defense, McCarthy started with a bang, finding Addison for a first down. On the next snap, his internal clock kicked in and he tossed the ball incomplete. His next pass was out of Hockenson's reach, setting up …

Another pivotal third down.

Like Wednesday, McCarthy leaned on his legs, and this time cruised past the line to gain on a scramble. Two snaps later, after a short rush up the middle by McCarthy, he laid one out in front of Addison, who was breaking from the right across the heart of the end zone on a post route. He trapped it with Marcus Jones on him.

The Vikings first-team defense opened its 2-minute opportunity with a sack by Allen and forcing Maye to scramble and throw the ball out of bounds on second down.

On third down, Turner screamed around the edge for what would have been another sack. There seemed to be a disagreement for what was called a completion later in the period, and New England eventually advanced to Minnesota's 38 with 0:08 remaining. That's when Maye lofted the Hail Mary to Boutte.

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