A banged up Minnesota Vikings team missing starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy took on an equally battered Cincinnati Bengals squad playing without star passer Joe Burrow. With both teams relying on backup quarterbacks, the Vikings’ defense stole the show. Isaiah Rodgers’ historic performance took the pressure off of Minnesota’s passing game in the team’s 48-10 blowout win.
However, the Vikings are dealing with another injury that could further impact an already compromised offense.
Rookie left guard Donovan Jackson underwent wrist surgery on Monday, per ESPN’s Kevin Seifert. The Vikings' first-round pick originally injured his wrist in Week 2’s matchup against the Atlanta Falcons but played through the ailment Sunday. The team hopes he can return after its Week 6 bye. Minnesota hosts the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 7.
Vikings’ offensive line hit with another injury
While left tackle Christian Darrisaw made his return to the field in Week 3, Jackson’s injury is a major blow to a team already missing several key players.
McCarthy is expected to miss up to four weeks with a high ankle sprain and running back Aaron Jones landed on the IR with a hamstring injury. The Vikings have not placed Jackson on IR as the team hopes he’ll only miss two games with the bye coming in Week 6.
Still, Minnesota’s o-line is dinged. Center Ryan Kelly and tackle Justin Skule both missed the Bengals game with concussions. Darrisaw made his 2025 debut after suffering a torn ACL in Week 8 of the 2024 season. But he was limited to 63 percent of offensive snaps against Cincinnati. Now Jackson, who logged 98 percent of snaps through the first three weeks, will miss multiple games.
Fortunately for the Vikings, very little pressure was placed on backup QB Carson Wentz in Week 3. Rodgers became the first Minnesota player to score two defensive touchdowns in a game. And his efforts alone would have been enough to top the Jake Browning-helmed Bengals.
Wentz will get another start in place of McCarthy when the Vikings take on the 2-1 Pittsburgh Steelers in Dublin next Sunday. The team is relying on Darrisaw taking another leap forward in his recovery.
Defensively, the Vikings welcomed safety Harrison Smith back after an illness delayed his season debut. And Andrew Van Ginkel returned from a concussion suffered in the season opener. The Pro Bowl pass rusher only played 14.3 percent of snaps in Week 3 – down from 91 percent in Week 1 – but he recorded two sacks in limited playing time.
