Amidst all the turnovers, the Minnesota Vikings offense moved the ball well on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Many facets of the Vikings’ offense looked good. One player had a particularly good game, and it was a case of Brian O’Neill starring again at a time when the Vikings needed him most.
Brian O’Neill Stars Again When Vikings Need Him Most
Last month, I wrote about O’Neill’s high performance level to that point in the season. There had been no letup. Since then, he has kept the high standards up and is well on his way to a Pro-Bowl season, if not in the All-Pro conversation. O’Neill’s performance against the Jaguars was the latest top-drawer display from the Vikings’ correct tackle.
O’Neill didn’t allow a single pressure against Jacksonville on his way to an 80.5 pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus.
O’Neill was also solid in the run game, with a run-blocking grade of 75.0. The only blemish on his performance came in the form of a false start penalty, as the return of pre-snap penalty problems plagued the Vikings’ offense once again in Week 10. O’Neill was solid protecting Sam Darnold on the right side from a mix of Travon Walker and Arik Armstead. The Vikings need that level of play to continue for the rest of the season.
O’Neill’s Importance Amplified by Darrisaw Injury
O’Neill was the solid veteran on one side of the Vikings OL to complement the rising star Christian Darrisaw on the other side. When Darrisaw went down with a season-ending knee injury, O’Neill suddenly became even more important. He is now “the guy” in that unit. The Vikings traded for Cam Robinson, who is doing a solid enough job after arriving only two weeks ago, but he is not a left tackle of the caliber of Darrisaw.
With the Vikings, the IOL still often looks shaky, and O’Neill is now the standout player on the OL. He has been playing that way all season, having only allowed one sack through nine games. That came in the Week 8 loss to the LA Rams. Just as impressive is his record of only allowing nine pressures – that’s one per game. This is high-level play from O’Neill when they need it most. His overall grade from PFF for the season is 83.1, which ranks him as the 10th-best tackle in the league. He ranks 7th in run blocking (81.4) and 15th in pass blocking (80.5).
O’Neill is earning the big contract he signed back in 2021, which made him the second-highest-paid right tackle in the league at the time. His contract runs to the end of the 2026 season, and with the way he is currently playing, Minnesota should have no qualms about honoring it.
In recent weeks, we have seen signs of Darnold getting flustered, and it’s going to be important that the Vikings OL do their best to protect him. While there might be question marks over the rest of the group, the Vikings can rely on O’Neill.
