Five Field Goals, Zero Touchdowns: Vikings Stay Perfect at 4-0 With 15-10 Win Over Dolphins

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Vikings never reached the end zone on Sunday. They never needed to. Will Reichard kicked five field goals, T.J. Hockenson caught all 13 passes thrown his way for 119 yards, and the Vikings' defense suffocated the Miami Dolphins 15-10 at U.S. Bank Stadium — the 11th 4-0 start in franchise history.

The Dolphins (0-4) managed 10 points for the second straight week, eight first downs, and six punts. As NBC Sports' ProFootballTalk wrote after the game: “At 0-4, the Dolphins look like the worst team in the NFL.” On Sunday in Minneapolis, it was hard to argue.

The kicker is the offense

Reichard's afternoon, in order: 47, 50, 33, 41, 29 — five-for-five. He opened the scoring midway through the first quarter from 47 yards after Myles Price's 36-yard punt return set Minnesota up at the Miami 38. He added a 50-yarder with 7:08 left in the first half and a 33-yarder as time expired — the capper of a 10-play, 61-yard drive — for a 9-0 halftime lead. In the second half, a 41-yarder made it 12-3, and after Miami pulled within two, his 29-yarder with 6:41 left provided the final 15-10 margin.

Reichard is now 12-for-12 on field goals this season with six extra points, and he has made 31 straight field goals dating back to last season, per Vikings Wire — the quiet engine of an undefeated team that keeps winning without scoring touchdowns.

Hockenson's everything game

With Justin Jefferson sidelined by a sprained left ankle, Minnesota needed someone to carry the passing game. Hockenson answered with a career-high-tying 13 receptions for 119 yards — catching literally everything Kyler Murray threw at him. Murray finished 27-of-37 for 247 yards, and while NBC Sports noted he “wasn't great,” he was good enough on a day the Vikings didn't need much.

Hockenson's smartest play produced zero yards. At the two-minute warning, he caught a pass on third-and-8 and deliberately slid to the ground at the 2-yard line rather than scoring — with Miami out of timeouts, three kneel-downs ended the game. The home crowd booed the kneel-downs anyway, voicing frustration with an offense that has now gone since Week 1 without an offensive touchdown.

Murray, on Hockenson, postgame via Heavy.com: “I know how great he wants to be and how confident he is in his ability and who he is, and it's been frustrating for everybody as far as how we've been playing offensively the past couple of weeks. We feel like we're much better than what we've been putting out there on the film. So today happened to be his day, and I expect many more days for him because he's a great player. I expect many more days for T.J.”

Flores versus his old team

The cruelest twist for Miami: the architect of its misery used to be its head coach. Brian Flores, who coached the Dolphins from 2019-2021, now runs Minnesota's defense, and his unit was on full display — four forced three-and-outs, 198 total yards allowed, eight first downs surrendered, and a 2-for-9 day on third down for Miami.

Malik Willis, starting at quarterback for Miami, completed 9 of 17 passes for 85 yards and lost a fumble. Minnesota ran 72 plays to Miami's 37 and held the ball for 39:11 — the Dolphins' defense, for all its fight, was simply on the field far too long. The Vikings converted 8 of 18 third downs; Miami managed 2 of 9.

Miami's flickers of fight

It wasn't all bleak for the Dolphins — and given the state of the season, the bar is low. Rookie linebacker Jacob Rodriguez was everywhere with 18 tackles, and Miami's defense recorded four sacks — its first of the season after being blanked through three weeks. Running back Ollie Gordon II, making his first start in place of the injured De'Von Achane, ran nine times for 100 yards and a touchdown: a 53-yard burst set up Riley Patterson's 27-yard field goal in the third quarter, and Gordon later bounced left and leapt over a defender for a 12-yard score that cut it to 12-10.

But the offense stalled everywhere else, and a 15-play, 60-yard Vikings drive that ate 8:30 of clock — capped by Reichard's fifth field goal — plus a final 5:41 run-out ended it. For more on Miami's injury situation, see our report on the Dolphins' ruled-out starters.

The concern beneath 4-0

Here's the tension: Minnesota is 4-0 and its offense hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 1. The Vikings lost the left side of their offensive line on Sunday — left guard Donovan Jackson (knee) and left tackle Christian Darrisaw (neck) both exited — and newcomer Jauan Jennings managed one catch for eight yards filling in for Jefferson. Aaron Jones carried the load with 20 carries for 94 yards plus four catches for 34 (128 all-purpose yards), but the red zone remains a riddle: 0-for-3 on Sunday.

The schedule offers a soft landing: Minnesota visits New Orleans next Sunday, and Jefferson is eyeing a return. The defense is championship-caliber right now. If the offense finds the end zone again, the Vikings might be more than a pleasant surprise. Our NFL Week 5 preview has the full lookahead, and Sunday's Week 4 takeaways round up the rest of the league.