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T.J. Hockenson battles through pain, has massive day in Vikings' win

Originally posted on FanNation Inside The Vikings
By Will Ragatz | Last updated 11/13/23

The fact that T.J. Hockenson even suited up for Sunday's game against the Saints is impressive on its own.

He suffered a painful case of bruised ribs in last weekend's win over the Falcons, remaining in the game and gutting it out through significant pain. That's not something that just goes away in a week's time, either. When Brian O'Neill saw Hockenson on Wednesday, he thought 'There's no way this guy is going to play,'" O'Neill told Alec Lewis after the game.

Hockenson was limited in practice throughout the week and listed as questionable heading into the weekend — but there was never any doubt in his mind that he was playing in this game.

Although he was active, the Vikings' coaching staff talked about limiting the reps of their star tight end during the game, which did happen — to some extent.

"On some of those early-down calls, we tried to get Johnny (Mundt) in there a little bit more, use Josh (Oliver) in some of the 11 (personnel) groupings a little more," Kevin O'Connell said. "But T.J. wanted to be out there for everything. And he was out there, had some big blocks in the run game. Just all the way around, T.J. was phenomenal today."

Not only did Hockenson play, he had a historic first half and one of the best games of his life. He caught ten passes for 128 yards and a touchdown before halftime, becoming the first tight end in NFL history with a 10-125-1 line within a single half. Hockenson finished with 11 catches for 134 yards — the second-highest yardage total of his career — and a touchdown on 46 snaps.

T.J. Hockenson was everywhere today. Super impressive performance, especially when you consider that he was playing with bruised ribs the whole time. pic.twitter.com/JTohvywMoM
— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) November 12, 2023

It was a warrior-like performance. Over the course of the game, Hockenson took several big hits, staying down for a moment a few times. Each time, it wasn't long before he got up and kept playing.

"I think a lot of it is the people around me," Hockenson said. "I just want to play for this team. I love these guys in this locker room, love these coaches, love the organization, and just ultimately wanted to be out there with these guys. There was a couple (hits) that had me going, but at the end of the day, a win helps every bruise.

"You get hit a few times, you feel it, but at the end of the day, you get back up and you want to go back. As much as it hurt, you just want to go back in and show them that even at 80 percent, you can still do this."

Hockenson caught passes for gains of 24, 13, 21, 13, and 28 in the second quarter alone. During the two-minute drive that put the Vikings up 24-3 before half, he caught a pass on five of the last six plays, capped by a 28-yard touchdown strike from Josh Dobbs up the seam.

"I'm gonna be honest with you, I kind of blacked out," Hockenson said of his record-setting first half. "That was one of those things where you're just playing. You’re just focused on every play and the ball keeps coming to you, and I was reading the defenses real well and just feeling it a little bit. So that was a blast. Josh and I were on the same page."

"That guy's a fighter," Dobbs said.

It would've been understandable if Hockenson missed this game to give his body time to heal. It would've made sense if he only played in certain situations. But that's not who he is. He made it very clear to the coaching staff that he didn't want to have his workload managed during the game.

"I try not to make that a thing," said Hockenson, who is second in the NFL with 71 receptions through ten weeks. "I know they wanted to protect me a little bit, but I'm a pretty strong-willed personality, too. I don't want to be limited, no matter what's going on. I just love this game too much to do that. It's going to take a lot for me to not be on the field."

This article first appeared on FanNation Inside The Vikings and was syndicated with permission.

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