For a long time, the San Francisco 49ers have been the reigning kings of the NFL 2023 regular season. Ever since the Cowboys’ bout, the 49ers have been put on a pedestal but no more. The last game against the Minnesota Vikings left the 49ers with food for thought. The 22-17 Vikings win was a product of Coach Kevin O’Connell, his instincts and coaching skills. Not to forget, Kirk Cousins & Co. who took the Vikings from zeros to heroes in a night.

In high-stakes games, there are chances that a coach or a player might fake an injury to get the advantage. But when does it go too far? Kevin O’Connell and TJ Hockenson found that out quickly in the game.

Kevin O’Connell and his antics

A video from the Vikings side of the field just surfaced, and it shows the HC giving locker room pep talk after the game concluded. The video starts with O’Connell emphasizing the ‘trust’ factor that the team has and praising the team for not being hesitant. “Shoot your shot” is the mantra that Kevin O’Connell and the team follow. He mentioned how the Vikings achieved what they had been busting their behinds for.

Coach starts handing out the game balls and the first one goes to TJ Hockenson who had 11 receptions over 86 yards, his best in the season so far. The next game ball went to Kirk Cousins as he had his first 100-yard receiving game of the season. The next ball goes to the defensive linemen as they did their best and the Vikings came out not getting sacked at all throughout the game. We can’t forget the safety Camryn Bynum as he would also get a game ball for his efforts. Danielle Hunter also got a game ball after getting the 80 career sack.

But despite the game, Coach quickly caught the attention of the commentators for faking the injury.

TJ Hockenson is a pro (at faking injuries?)

It is not uncommon in sports at all to flop an injury. It happens in the sport of basketball quite often. But the injury that TJ Hockenson faked to stop the game quickly got the attention of the commentators as they called out to the Coach on live television. Apparently, the coach said, ‘TJ, go down’ and we see the Tight End go down on the grass.

This happened in the second quarter after Hockenson helped the Vikings get a first down. Not only this, but ESPN also showed the replay of the Coach yelling ‘go down’ multiple times. This was the Vikings’ attempt to slow the 49ers down and safe to say it worked. Hockenson was on the sidelines for some time but then returned to the game later on.

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There are still some debates about whether this is ethical or not. Most importantly, people were worried if Hockenson was really hurt. But, calling such plays to make time and strategize has been a part of the sport forever.

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