Pat McAfee Talks Kyler Murray and Unbeaten Vikings With Kevin O’Connell

“Protect the football, force turnovers, possess the ball,” Kevin O’Connell said.

The Vikings head coach joined Pat McAfee’s show on Tuesday, October 6, to discuss Kyler Murray and Minnesota’s 4–0 start after Sunday’s 15–10 win over Miami at U.S. Bank Stadium.

“Coming into this year, we kind of viewed the early part of this season we would be learning what kind of football team we had,” O’Connell said. He had expected the defense to be Minnesota’s strength while the offense developed.

Murray’s fit and the Hockenson connection

“What is it about Kyler you love to see in your offense? And what do you envision for Kyler in your offense both now and when you signed him to the Minnesota Vikings?” McAfee asked.

O’Connell pointed to Murray’s passing talent and “his athletic ability to play within and out of the pocket.” Those traits, he said, were “something we saw early on from the first few days when he got here in spring to what progressed in training camp.”

He pointed to Murray’s throws to T.J. Hockenson against Miami. “All 13 targets to TJ were completions and impact plays,” O’Connell said.

Hockenson finished with 13 catches for 119 yards, while Murray completed 27 of 37 passes for 247 yards, according to the Vikings’ official game report. Hockenson’s final catch and slide at the Miami 2-yard line allowed Minnesota to run out the clock.

Room to grow on offense

“I think we’ve seen bits and pieces of what we want our offense to look like,” O’Connell said.

He said he needed to improve pre-snap and early-down issues, adding, “I gotta do a better job.”

O’Connell said he wants to make Murray as comfortable as possible. He described Minnesota as “playing good, smart football right now” and said “we can continue to have an evolution and growth in the 2026 version of our offense.”

He also emphasized “staying committed to running the football, staying committed to playing the type of offensive football where you do protect it.”