After a great performance in Week 15, Minnesota Vikings running back Ty Chandler is primed for another start, but head coach Kevin O’Connell isn’t quite ready to bring in Alexander Mattison just yet.
With Mattison sidelined due to an ankle injury last week, Chandler enjoyed a coming-out party against the Cincinnati Bengals, amassing 132 rushing yards on 23 carries. For a Vikings team that is 23rd in the league in rushing yards this year, Chandler became the first player to reach 100 yards on the ground.
The play of the 2022 fifth-round pick enhanced the passing game, enabling the Vikings to surpass 400 total offensive yards for the first time since defeating the San Francisco 49ers in Week 7.
O’Connell is still cautious to declare Chandler as the team’s legitimate starting running back for the remainder of the campaign.
Ty is undoubtedly a player who will continue to see a prominent role in our offense, but O’Connell went on to say, “We’ll continue to work through what that looks like moving forward, as far as who gets the first touch of the game and all those things, based upon what we are attempting to do scheme-wise,” as ESPN’s Kevin Seifert wrote on December 20.
If Mattison is out this week against the Detroit Lions, it doesn’t really matter if Chandler is labeled the RB1 because there aren’t many other realistic choices.
But as the postseason draws near and Mattison recovers from his injuries, O’Connell’s devotion to him might backfire.
In his two seasons in Minnesota, O’Connell has worked to instill in the Vikings locker room a spirit of hope, development, and openness.
He has exhibited a friendly level of allegiance to his players and staff, in contrast to the offensive coordinator turnover of the Zimmer era and the release of rookie Daniel Carlson after just two games played.
Getting the most out of his players has been made easier by O’Connell’s coaching philosophies. He supported Ed Ingram during his difficult first season and has subsequently watched Ingram mature into a competent starting guard.
