When the Minnesota Vikings started their current season 1-4, they were in danger of missing the playoffs for a third straight year.
When star receiver Justin Jefferson went down with a hamstring injury against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 5, playoff hopes were dashed even further.
Minnesota has been playing its best football since Jefferson’s initial injury, going 6-2 and jumping back into the NFC playoff picture.
One of many reasons behind the Vikings’ resurgence is the play of second-year running back Ty Chandler, who played his final year of college football at UNC in 2021. Chandler ran for 1,092 yards in Chapel Hill, continuing a long string of recent success among Tar Heel backs.
On Saturday, Dec. 16 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Chandler helped Minnesota do something it hadn’t this season – score an opening-drive touchdown.
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This was Chandler’s second score in his second NFL season, with his first coming in the Vikings’ 27-19 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, Nov. 12. Chandler has proven to be a difference-maker in his first NFL start, with his 1-yard plunge being Saturday’s lone, first-half touchdown.
If Chandler keeps producing like this, he could surpass Alexander Mattison on the depth chart – even when Mattison returns from an ankle injury.
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