Dolfan Radio | Week 4 Recap
By Brad Michaels • October 4, 2026
Minnesota did not score a touchdown. They still won. That is the game. Will Reichard kicked five field goals, we scored ten in the third quarter, and the fourth quarter was theirs.
U.S. Bank Stadium, Vikings 15, Dolphins 10. We are 0–4 and they are 4–0. I had them 24–13, so the number was high, and the result was not a surprise. I have been in this chair since 1970. A loss you can live with is still a loss.
Reichard hit from 47 in the first, then from 50, and from 33 as the half ended. It was 9–0 and we had not put a point on the board. Patterson hit from 27 to open the third, Reichard answered from 41, and then Ollie Gordon ran it in from the 12. Patterson kicked the extra point, and for a minute it was 12–10. Reichard closed it from 29 in the fourth, on a 15-play drive that took 8:30. Five kicks. We had the only touchdown, and we lost.
| Dolphins | Vikings | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 10 | 15 |
| Yards | 206 | 370 |
| Pass | Willis 9 of 17, 85 yards, 2 sacks | Murray 27 of 37, 247 yards, 4 sacks |
| Rush | 121. Gordon 9 for 100 and the score | 123 |
| Turnovers | 1 fumble lost | 0 |
This unit did not do its job. Patterson made the field goal and the extra point, so the kicker is not the problem. The problem is what happened after the kick. Minnesota returned three punts for 51 yards, the long one 36, and two kickoffs for 70, the long one 47. We punted six times, and Bradley Pinion averaged 45.8. You can punt it well and still lose the hidden yardage if the coverage does not get there. They did not get there. A short field is how a team kicks five field goals and never needs the end zone. Cover the kick.
Chop Robinson got a sack and three quarterback hits, and he was in the backfield. Zach Sieler had two sacks, Josh Uche had one, and that is four sacks on Murray for 34 yards. I asked for two before the game. They got four. That is the first time this year the rush showed up on the sheet, and I am going to say so.
Jacob Rodriguez had 18 tackles, 9 of them solo, and a pass broken up. Jordyn Brooks had 13, 5 of them solo. Those are outstanding numbers. Rodriguez is a rookie and he was all over the field in a game where Murray threw 37 times and Hockenson caught 13. Eighteen tackles on the road against a 4–0 team is a Defensive Player of the Week afternoon. I am saying that. Brooks next to him at 13 means the middle of this defense showed up. That was good.
It does not mean the coverage was clean. Hockenson still caught 13 for 119, and Jordan Addison caught 4 for 52. A lot of Rodriguez’s tackles were after the catch. The linebackers did their job. The secondary still has to know who has the tight end. That is what has to be fixed. I am not taking the 18 away from him because the coverage leaked.
Jaylen Wright carried it five times for 7 yards. Gordon carried it nine times for 100, with a 53-yard run and the 12-yard touchdown. Gordon ran well. One back at 11 yards a carry and the other at 1.4 is not a running game. Achane is on IR with the ACL, done for the year. You feel that when the quarterback is 9 of 17 for 85 yards and Malik Washington is the leading receiver at 5 for 67. We missed Achane. Wright has to give us more than 7 yards on five carries, or Gordon is going to wear out.
I do not want to make a habit of this. Adrian Hill was the referee, and he did not have a good day. His crew has averaged 12.91 flags a game over his career, which is above the league. They call a lot of offensive holding and false starts. They call illegal contact about 32 percent more than the league, and they call defensive pass interference. A lot of flags is not the same as good officiating.
Then he made it about himself. In the second quarter two Vikings jumped, the whistle went, and Ollie Gordon was still blocking Eric Wilson. Wilson went into Hill and Hill went down. It was an accident. Wilson reached to help him up. Hill got up and yelled at him. Fox posted it, took it down, and posted it again. That was a bad look. Wilson did not hit him on purpose.
Were the flags picky? Some of them, yes. A holding call wiped a Willis run. I can argue a flag in any NFL game. I am not hanging 15–10 on the stripes, and I am not letting Hill off either. Hockenson still caught 13 for 119. The return unit still gave up a 36-yard punt return and a 47-yard kick return. We still fumbled one away. We still had 206 yards to their 370. The assignment is the standard. The referee who yells at a man for an accident is a separate failure, and I am writing it down so I do not have to pretend I did not see it.
This is a young team, and it has been better every week. Week 1 in Las Vegas was 27–13, and we were not in it long enough. Week 2 in Santa Clara we played a half. Week 3 at home was 24–10, and we were in the game longer than we had been. Week 4 we went to Minneapolis against a 3–0 team and Brian Flores and lost 15–10. They did not score a touchdown. We scored one. The margin has come down every week. That is improvement. We are still 0–4.
There are problems. The kick coverage did not get there. The passing game was 85 yards. Wright ran five times for 7 yards, and Achane is out for the year. Hockenson caught 13. Those have to be fixed. Cover the kick. Know who has the tight end. Give Gordon help so he is not the whole run game. None of that is the end of the season. It is not all doom and gloom. They got to the quarterback four times, Rodriguez made 18 tackles, and Gordon ran for 100 on the road against that defense. A young team that is closer every Sunday is doing what a young team is supposed to do.
This team will win. I am not picking the week. I am telling you what four weeks of film show. They are learning how to line up. They are not getting blown out. The win is still owed. I expect them to pay it.
1993 stays in the featured slot. We have not won one. I picked 24–13 and they won 15–10. I will take being high on the number. I will not take a special-teams leak and call it only the officials. Hill was bad. The coverage was worse. The team is better than it was four weeks ago. I expect a win.
Final, Oct. 4, 2026, U.S. Bank Stadium. Referee Adrian Hill. Reichard 5 for 5 on field goals. Patterson 1 for 1, and the extra point. Gordon 9 carries, 100 yards, 1 touchdown. Rodriguez 18 tackles, 9 solo. Brooks 13 tackles, 5 solo. Chop 1 sack, 3 quarterback hits. Sieler 2 sacks. Murray 4 sacks taken.