DETROIT— If the Vikings have an upcoming game set to be played on Sunday afternoon, it’s commonplace for head coach Kevin O’Connell to lead a team meeting on Saturday night at the team hotel.

With the Vikings preparing for the Detroit Lions this weekend, O’Connell decided to take a backseat. Instead, he let his captains do pretty much all of the talking, trusting that would provide a spark ahead of a game the Vikings absolutely needed to win.

“There were a lot of folks that wanted to play the game last night,” O’Connell said after the Vikings found a way to score a 27-24 upset win over the Lions. “We just had to wait until 1 o’clock this afternoon.”

The list of captains for the Vikings includes quarterback J.J. McCarthy, running back Aaron Jones, receiver Justin Jefferson, right tackle

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