The victories keep piling up for the Vikings. So does the attention.<\/p>\n
But if there\u2019s one message echoing through the locker room as Minnesota heads into another key matchup Sunday in Tampa, it\u2019s that success won\u2019t change the approach that produced it in the first place.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re just taking one week at a time and winning our games,\u201d Vikings star receiver Justin Jefferson said Wednesday. \u201cNot really letting the outside noise seep into this building. Obviously, winning some games, more people want to talk about us and put us on a pedestal. But we\u2019re focusing on what we can do to get better every single week.\u201d<\/p>\n
***Click the video box above to watch Jefferson and LB Blake Cashman preview Sunday\u2019s game at Tampa***<\/p>\n
The Vikings carry momentum that extends beyond this season. Jefferson pointed to the strong finish from a year ago as the foundation for what the team is building now. The Vikings are riding a 7-game win streak, dating back to last season.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur philosophy hasn\u2019t changed,\u201d Jefferson said. \u201cIt\u2019s just adding key factors into our building and getting them to learn our philosophy.\u201d<\/p>\n
That consistency has helped Minnesota maintain the confidence of a team that believes its best football is still ahead.<\/p>\n
Linebacker Blake Cashman said the defense, despite its strong start, has no interest in becoming satisfied.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019re all playing at a high level with a lot of confidence, but we understand that there\u2019s still a lot of meat left on the bone,\u201d Cashman said. \u201cWe don\u2019t allow any room for complacency, and we\u2019re a hungry bunch.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jefferson eager for return of Murray<\/p>\n
Jefferson also expressed excitement about having quarterback Kyler Murray back in the lineup after limited action in the opener vs. Green Bay. Murray only played 11 snaps before departing with a concussion.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019ve built throughout training camp, throughout the offseason, leading into the season, that definitely has been exciting,\u201d Jefferson said. \u201cThe time was limited the first game, so for him to be back out there and for us to get back started with him, it\u2019s going to be a joy to see.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jefferson believes Minnesota\u2019s improved running game is beginning to create more favorable looks in the passing attack. He noted seeing more single-high safety coverages recently and expects defenses will continue facing difficult choices when trying to stop both the run and the pass.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith our running game and how we\u2019ve been running the ball, we\u2019re going to get those single-coverage matchups and opportunities,\u201d Jefferson said. \u201cWe know we won\u2019t get many of them throughout the game, so when they do come, see it and attack it right away.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kickoff Sunday is at 3:05 p.m. Central.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFor Related Stories:\u00a0Minnesota Vikings<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Vikings<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The victories keep piling up for the Vikings. So does the attention. But if there\u2019s one message echoing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":408911,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[12216,135,137,136,48123],"class_list":["post-408910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-minnesota-vikings","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-vikings"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=408910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408910\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/408911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}