Former Vikings RB Jerick McKinnon Finally Gets His First Super Bowl Ring

After several close calls, McKinnon is a Super Bowl champion.

After coming up just short multiple times, former Vikings running back Jerick McKinnon is finally a Super Bowl champion. The Kansas City Chiefs rallied from a ten-point halftime deficit to beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-35, in Super Bowl LVII on Sunday evening, and McKinnon played a big role in the victory.

Let's start with the close calls. McKinnon, a third-round pick by the Vikings out of Georgia Southern in 2014, was part of Minnesota's NFC North-winning teams in 2015 and '17. His first playoff game ended on the heartbreak of Blair Walsh's missed chip shot field goal. His second was the Minneapolis Miracle, which preceded a blowout loss against the Eagles in the conference title game. Although much of it came in garbage time, McKinnon led all players with 126 yards from scrimmage in that game.

After joining the 49ers in free agency a couple months later, McKinnon missed all of the next two seasons due to major knee injuries. In the 2019 season, he was on IR when the 49ers lost to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV. McKinnon joined the Chiefs in 2021 and lost in the semifinals for the second time in his career, with Kansas City falling to the Bengals by three points.

This year, at age 30, McKinnon finally got his ring.

The Chiefs fell behind in the first half, but were nearly flawless in the second half to win their second championship in the last four years. Patrick Mahomes threw three touchdown passes in the game and the Chiefs got huge plays from their defense and special teams to overcome an incredible performance by Eagles QB Jalen Hurts. A somewhat controversial late defensive holding call on Eagles CB James Bradberry set up the Chiefs' game-winning field goal.

McKinnon played 29 offensive snaps and had an efficient 49 total yards on seven touches. He had three touches for 24 yards on the opening possession of the second half, nearly scoring a touchdown. After being tackled just shy of the goal line, McKinnon was the lead blocker on fellow RB Isiah Pacheco's one-yard score. He also made a savvy play immediately following the Bradberry penalty when he intentionally slid down short of the end zone to drain the clock instead of scoring.

A few other former Vikings players also get rings. Two are on the roster: TE Blake Bell, who spent one season in Minnesota, and practice squad WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette, a 2021 Vikings draft pick. Neither was active for the game. Former Vikings WR Greg Lewis is the Chiefs' running backs coach.

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