Iowa Hawkeyes: only FBS team that’s committed fewer than 19 penalties in 2025

 

https://x.com/BenScottStevens/status/1978861531937775991

Vikings say the quiet part out loud about T.J. Hockenson’s rare skillset

 

Minnesota Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson | David Berding/GettyImages

By Anthony Miller | Sep 24, 2025

For the modern-day tight end, it has almost become more important to be a great pass catcher than a blocker. Some players, like Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson, have the whole package.

Hockenson has been great this season when it comes to being a receiving tight end, recording nine receptions for 76 yards and one touchdown. Pro Football Focus has graded him as the second-best tight end in the NFL out of 28, with an overall grade of 77.3. His receiving grade is 72.7, which is good for fifth.

Everyone knows the kind of impact he can make in the passing game, especially with a first-time starting quarterback in J.J. McCarthy and first-year Viking, Carson Wentz, playing the position. Tight ends can be seen as security blankets, but there's another aspect to his game that is just as good, if not better.

Minnesota Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson has been elite as a blocker this season

During the Vikings' media availability on Tuesday, Vikings offensive coordinator Wes Phillips was asked about his thoughts on Hockenson as a blocker. Phillips could not stop gushing over the tight end for his selfishness as a teammate.

"T.J.'s been phenomenal in the run game. It's one of those things where you're trying to get your best players the football, and it was nice to see him get some catches in that game.

You kind of talk to guys like 'This will be a good play for you. We're working on this.' His attitude about the whole thing is, 'Hey, I just want to win and I'll do anything it takes for us to win football games.' That's the kind of player he is."

This was evident with Hockenson's impact in the running game in last week's 48-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, as Phillips praised Hockenson for what he does on outside zone runs. The Vikings' offensive coordinator pointed out Hockenson's ability to go block cornerbacks and stick on them to break out big runs.

Minnesota had success on the ground against Cincinnati as they rushed 31 times for 169 yards and two touchdowns. The team averaged 5.5 yards per carry, with a lot of those runs coming on the outside off the edge of the tackle.

It's rare in today's game to find a tight end that can do it all, and after all the offseason chatter and his invisible act through the first two games with Hockenson, he's more than proven his worth on the team. He could start getting back to a Pro Bowl-caliber season that Vikings fans expected from him.

 

https://thevikingage.com/minnesota-vikings-say-quiet-part-out-loud-tj-hockenson-skillset

‘That was a huge loss’ – Todd Bowles knows Bucs’ devastating injury is going to hurt more than people realize

 

By Evan Winter

NFL Managing Editor

Sep 24, 2025 2:07 PM EDT

David Reginek-Imagn Images

 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been dealing with injuries to key players before the 2025 season began and that hasn’t changed three weeks into the season.

The latest and most devastating injury comes in the form of tight end Ko Kieft’s broken leg. The injury occurred during the Bucs’ Week 3 win over the New York Jets and is of the season-ending variety. This is the final year of Kieft’s rookie contract, as well, so his future with the Bucs is definitely in question.

Regardless, on the surface, losing your TE3 may not seem like the biggest deal in the world, but Todd Bowles and even Baker Mayfield both know how much work Kieft did behind the scenes and how important he was to the Bucs offense.

 

Kieft helped set the tone for the Bucs offense and special teams

 

“He was probably our toughest player, one of our toughest three players on the team because he was our tone-setter offensively,” Bowles told reporters after Wednesday’s practice. “He did a lot of things in the room from a blocking standpoint, so that we have to try and run the ball different ways without them. So that was a huge loss for us.”

Cody Mauch was another tone-setter for the Bucs offense and he’s also out for the year. So, now, Tampa Bay is without its two biggest “firestarters”, which can certainly have an effect on the rest of the group’s mindset in certain situations. Plus, the Bucs no longer have those guys who get under the skin of opponents and someone will have to fill that void.

But Kieft’s main value was on special teams. The unit is already struggling enough after allowing a punt and field goal to be blocked in back-to-back weeks and it’s easy to see why his absence could lead to even more underwhelming protection.

“[He’s] a guy that does a ton for us on special teams [and] a guy that doesn’t get a lot of credit in that regard, and then offensively, [he’s a] tone-setter,” Baker Mayfield told reporters. “He’s always the asshole touching you until the whistle is blown [and] somebody’s pulling you off…

“… We have to have guys step up and do that, because, you know, our identity is being smart and a tough team, but also (playing) physical, physical ball. And we lost two guys for the year that have done that for us. So we have to have guys step up and set that tone for us.”

It’s been “next man up” all year long for the Bucs, so they’re used to it, by now. It’ll be interesting to see how they make up for Kieft’s absence and who steps up along the way.

 

https://atozsports.com/nfl/tampa-bay-buccaneers-news/ko-kieft-season-ending-injury-bucs/