MINNEAPOLIMEDIA SPORTS | Vikings Grind Past Dolphins 15-10, Reach 4-0 Without Scoring a Touchdown

Will Reichard accounted for every Minnesota point with five field goals, T.J. Hockenson caught 13 passes for 119 yards and the Vikings defense held Miami to 198 total yards Sunday as Minnesota remained undefeated despite failing to reach the end zone.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (October 5, 2026).

The Minnesota Vikings are undefeated four games into the season, although almost nothing about the way they have arrived at 4-0 resembles the conventional formula for an unbeaten NFL team.

Minnesota defeated the Miami Dolphins 15-10 Sunday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium without scoring a touchdown, relying instead on five Will Reichard field goals, another dominant performance from Brian Flores' defense and a career-high-tying afternoon from tight end T.J. Hockenson to survive a game in which the Vikings repeatedly moved the football but could not finish drives.

The victory improved Minnesota to 4-0 for the 11th time in franchise history and the second time since 2024. Miami fell to 0-4.

For the second time in three games, the Vikings won without scoring an offensive touchdown.

Reichard supplied every Minnesota point.

The third-year kicker converted field goals from 47, 50, 33, 41 and 29 yards, finishing 5-for-5 and extending his streak to 31 consecutive successful field-goal attempts dating to last season.

That streak ties Fuad Reveiz for the second-longest in Vikings history. Gary Anderson holds the franchise record with 35 consecutive makes.

Reichard is now 12-for-12 on field goals this season.

Minnesota's reliance on him tells two different stories about a team that has yet to lose.

The Vikings repeatedly moved far enough into Miami territory to generate scoring opportunities, but they finished 0-for-3 in the red zone and never crossed the goal line. At the same time, Reichard turned those stalled possessions into points every time Minnesota gave him a realistic opportunity.

The result was enough because the defense allowed Miami very little.

The Dolphins finished with only 198 total yards and eight first downs while possessing the football for just 20 minutes and 49 seconds.

Minnesota controlled possession for 39:11 and ran 72 offensive plays to Miami's 37.

The Vikings finished with 336 total yards, including 213 net passing yards and 123 rushing.

Miami quarterback Malik Willis completed only 9 of 17 passes for 85 yards. He did not throw an interception, but Minnesota produced the game's only turnover when Dallas Turner knocked the football loose from Willis and linebacker Blake Cashman recovered it.

Officials initially ruled the play an incomplete pass. Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell challenged the ruling, and replay review determined Willis had fumbled.

Turner was the central figure in Minnesota's pass rush throughout the afternoon.

The third-year defender recorded both Vikings sacks in addition to the forced fumble, continuing an early-season surge that has made him one of the most productive players on Minnesota's defense.

Turner now has 5.5 sacks and two forced fumbles through four games.

Miami's offense found its most meaningful success on the ground.

Running back Ollie Gordon II rushed nine times for 100 yards, including a 53-yard run, and scored Miami's only touchdown on a 12-yard run with 15 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

That score briefly transformed what had been a controlled Minnesota performance into a one-possession game.

Reichard had given Minnesota a 3-0 lead with a 47-yard field goal in the first quarter. He connected from 50 yards in the second quarter and added a 33-yarder four seconds before halftime, sending the Vikings into the locker room with a 9-0 advantage.

Miami opened the second half with a 27-yard Riley Patterson field goal, cutting Minnesota's lead to 9-3.

Reichard responded with a 41-yard field goal midway through the third quarter.

Then Gordon broke through.

His touchdown and Patterson's extra point reduced Minnesota's lead to 12-10 entering the fourth quarter.

For an undefeated team playing at home against a winless opponent, the Vikings suddenly found themselves protecting a two-point advantage despite having controlled much of the game.

Reichard provided the final points with 6:43 remaining, converting from 29 yards to extend Minnesota's lead to 15-10.

Miami still had time to answer.

The Vikings defense did not allow it.

Minnesota forced Miami to punt with 7:41 remaining, and the Dolphins never got the football back.

The Vikings offense, which had struggled to finish drives throughout the afternoon, produced its most important possession when the game required it.

Minnesota took over at its own 19-yard line with 7:35 remaining and proceeded to consume the rest of the game.

Quarterback Kyler Murray converted multiple throws on the possession while Aaron Jones helped keep the chains moving on the ground.

Hockenson became the central figure.

The veteran tight end caught a 22-yard pass that moved Minnesota from the Miami 37 to the 15. After another Hockenson reception and a Jones run forced Miami to use its remaining timeouts, the Vikings faced third-and-5 from the Dolphins 10 with 2:07 remaining.

Murray found Hockenson again.

Hockenson gained eight yards and had a path toward the end zone.

He did not take it.

Instead, he deliberately went to the ground at the Miami 2-yard line.

The decision effectively ended the game.

Because Miami had exhausted its timeouts and the two-minute warning arrived immediately afterward, Minnesota could remain in possession and run out the clock rather than score and give the Dolphins another opportunity with the football.

Murray took three kneel-downs.

Miami's offense never returned to the field.

Hockenson finished with 13 receptions on 13 targets for 119 yards.

The 13 catches tied his single-game career high and established a Vikings record for receptions in a game against Miami, surpassing the previous mark of nine shared by Sammy White, Jake Reed and Cris Carter.

His 119-yard performance was his fourth 100-yard receiving game since joining Minnesota, tying Joe Senser for the most such games by a tight end in Vikings history.

Hockenson's production became especially important because Minnesota played without star receiver Justin Jefferson.

Jordan Addison contributed four receptions for 52 yards, including a 27-yard reception on Minnesota's final possession.

Jones carried 20 times for 94 yards and caught four passes for another 34.

Murray completed 27 of 37 passes for 247 yards. He did not throw a touchdown, but he also avoided the turnover that could have changed a close game.

Minnesota's offense was far from clean.

Murray was sacked four times, the Vikings committed 11 penalties for 85 yards and the offense repeatedly failed to finish drives once it moved into scoring territory.

The offensive line also absorbed injuries.

Left guard Donovan Jackson left during Minnesota's second possession with a knee injury and was replaced by Joe Huber.

Left tackle Christian Darrisaw later left with a neck injury, returned during the second half and subsequently exited again to be evaluated for a concussion.

Those injuries will be important to monitor as Minnesota prepares for its next game.

But Sunday's victory reinforced an increasingly unusual characteristic of the 2026 Vikings.

They have demonstrated that they can win games without conventional offensive production.

Minnesota beat Chicago 9-3 on September 20 without scoring an offensive touchdown. Two weeks later, the Vikings did it again.

Through four games, Reichard has become an essential component of that formula.

His five field goals Sunday matched his single-game career high, and his 31 consecutive successful attempts constitute the longest active streak in the NFL.

Special teams contributed beyond field goals.

Myles Price opened the game with a 47-yard kickoff return and later returned a punt 36 yards, repeatedly helping Minnesota begin possessions with favorable field position.

Reichard also varied the trajectory and placement of his kickoffs to complicate Miami's return game.

The defense supplied the other half of Minnesota's winning formula.

Miami averaged just 5.4 yards per play despite Gordon's 53-yard run and produced only 77 net passing yards.

Willis never developed a sustained passing rhythm against Flores' defense.

Minnesota's ability to control possession also limited Miami to 37 offensive plays, nearly half the Vikings' total.

Veteran safety Harrison Smith added another milestone Sunday by appearing in his 211th career game for Minnesota, moving past Fred Cox into third place on the franchise's all-time games-played list. Only Jim Marshall, with 270, and Mick Tingelhoff, with 240, have played more games for the Vikings.

Smith also broke up a pass on Miami's final offensive possession, helping force the punt that preceded Minnesota's clock-killing drive.

The victory leaves Minnesota among the NFL's remaining undefeated teams through four weeks.

It also leaves a significant question unresolved.

The Vikings are 4-0, but twice in the past three games they have won without scoring an offensive touchdown.

That formula has worked because Reichard has been virtually automatic, Flores' defense has prevented opponents from generating sustained offense and Minnesota has avoided the catastrophic mistakes that often decide low-scoring games.

Winning that way demonstrates resilience.

Depending on it every week would be considerably more difficult.

Sunday nevertheless belonged to the result.

The Vikings were missing Jefferson, dealt with injuries along the offensive line, failed to score a touchdown and allowed Miami to pull within two points late in the third quarter.

They still never trailed.

They still did not turn the football over.

Their defense surrendered only 10 points.

Their kicker did not miss.

And when Minnesota needed to keep Miami's offense off the field for the final 7:35, the Vikings produced a 12-play possession and never gave the football back.

Four games into the season, Minnesota remains undefeated.

The Vikings will now prepare to take that 4-0 record on the road against the New Orleans Saints.

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