The Minnesota Vikings fell short against the Denver Broncos on the road on Sunday night. Here are some of the notes that came from the 21-20 road loss and Kevin O’Connell’s Monday press conference…

Kareem Jackson suspended

While Denver safety Kareem Jackson was not penalized for lowering his helmet and slamming into Josh Dobbs on the opening drive of the game, Jackson was hit with a big suspension on Monday. The NFL announced that he will sit the next four games without pay due to a “serious violation of the rules,” according to NFL Compliance Officer. He had previously been suspended for multiple instances of lowering his helmet and being ejected.

Since 2018 the NFL’s “command center” in New York has been allowed to look at plays that could result in an ejection but NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero noted that the league is not allowed to step in unless there is a penalty flag thrown on the play.

Following the game head coach Kevin O’Connell expressed that he felt Jackson should have been penalized on the play, which caused Dobbs to fumble and sent the QB to the injury tent.

“It seemed like a pretty direct helmet to helmet type of hit but I’m sure they saw it differently on the play,” O’Connell said.

It’s hard to make sense of the league not being able to step in when a play so blatantly should have been penalized for unnecessary roughness and possibly could have resulted in an ejection. Those plays are very difficult to determine in the moment for referees and often impact the game significantly, as it did on Sunday night. Not only did the Broncos produce a field goal off the turnover but Jackson remained in the game and played 74 total snaps for Denver’s defense.

Mattison and Chandler

In Denver, Alexander Mattison had one of his best games of the season, save for his game-altering fumble late in the third quarter. He gained 4.5 yards per carry, 3.44 of which came after contact. He ended up slightly on the positive side of NFL NextGen’s Rushing Yards of Expected stat and caused a season high seven missed tackles.

On the season, however, his numbers remain underwhelming. Out of 31 running backs with at least 100 carries, Mattison grades 30th by PFF and 25th in terms of yards per attempt. As far as the all-around game goes, he’s 23rd in receiving grade and mid-pack in terms of pass protection.

His blunder against the Broncos combined with RB2 Ty Chandler’s 110-yard game on just 10 carries and four receptions opens the door to the potential of Chandler getting more opportunity going forward.

“I think it is pretty obvious to see his burst, his athleticism. He is an exciting player with the ball in his hands,” O’Connell said. “We try to find different ways to get it in his hands throughout the game. He does play a critical role right now on our offense to be a featured player, we are continuing to add to his workload every single week because he has earned those opportunities. I feel great about where Ty is at just in year two of his career the progression.”