3 winners from the Minnesota Vikings 24-23 preseason victory against the Raiders

Minnesota Vikings football is officially back, and Kevin O’Connell picked up his first preseason victory as the head coach. The Vikings would defeat the Las Vegas Raiders 24-23 Saturday afternoon on a game-winning 38-yard field goal from rookie kicker Will Reichard.

The Vikings were led by first-round quarterback J.J McCarthy , who, after throwing an interception on his third pass of the night, finished 11-17 for 188 yards with two explosive touchdown passes to Trishton Jackson and Trent Sherfield Sr.

With roster cuts right around the corner and only two preseason games left before the Vikings kick off their regular season against the New York Giants , the time to make a push if you're on the roster bubble is right now. While the Vikings had many players playing exceptionally well, here are three winners from the preseason debut.

Honorable Mentions: Levi Drake Rodriguez, Dallas Turner, and Kene Nwangwu

QB: J.J McCarthy

It is hard to make a winners list without including the first-round quarterback. As mentioned, McCarthy got off to a rough start with an interception by Jack Jones during his third pass of the night. However, the way McCarthy settled back in , looked comfortable and poised in the pocket, and dialed two long touchdown passes.

Kevin O’Connell and the Vikings needed to see McCarthy's ability to bounce back after a mistake and remain poised and confident in the pocket. He returned after the turnover and settled in while continuing to process through reads and make confident decisions with the football. While Sam Darnold also had a good day on the opening drive and further cemented himself as the starting quarterback, at least for the beginning of the regular season, it is hard not to be excited and itching for the rookie to hit the field sooner rather than later.

WR: Trishton Jackson

Trishton Jackson has been a player who has floated on the Vikings roster bubble the last few off-seasons. He was waived as a final cut on last year's initial 53-man roster and brought back on the practice squad. This season, however, he has firmly put himself in the mix for a spot on the roster, and his preseason debut further proved that. Jackson totaled four catches for 100 yards and connected with McCarthy on a 45-yard touchdown pass on the Vikings' first drive of the third quarter.

Jackson is likely sitting as the current WR5 for the Vikings behind Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Jalen Nailor, and Brandon Powell. With a strong preseason debut and a solid overall training camp, Jackson could be a lock as the fifth wide receiver on the roster when final cuts are made in a few weeks.

EDGE: Bo Richter

The Vikings have an excellent young crop of UDFA pass rushers, including UCLA’s Gabriel Murphy (who did not play due to an undisclosed injury) and Owen Porter from Marshall. Both have had good showings in training camp, but Air Force’s Bo Richter was wreaking havoc on the Raiders offensive line and quarterback room on Saturday afternoon.

Richter totaled six tackles, two for loss, and a sack in the preseason debut and had a second sack taken away by the stat keepers. He created constant pressure all afternoon and was fast-paced around the edges. He played with significant motor and energy. While the battle to make the initial roster for Richter is challenging given the plethora of talent the Vikings have brought in at edge rusher, the strong showing against the Raiders undoubtedly helped his case for, at a bare minimum, a practice squad spot.

The Vikings' next preseason game is Saturday, August 17, in Cleveland, against the Cleveland Browns . Kickoff is at 3:25.

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