Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell has a special bond with his players, and his affinity for running back Cam Akers is no different.
The two have a history that dates back to the Los Angeles Rams, where O’Connell was the offensive coordinator when the organization selected Akers with the No. 52 overall pick of the 2020 draft.
“Cam has something inside him that allowed him to push through the adversity of what’s happened to him over the course of his career,” O’Connell told reporters on December 29. “He loves football, I think he loves being a Minnesota Viking, he loves his teammates. His teammates were probably the most excited all season when Cam scored on that screen and then, obviously, the catch late.”
Akers appreciated O’Connell’s kind words.
“It’s a blessing, especially coming from KO, a person who has seen first-hand my journey,” Akers said, per ESPN’s Kevin Seifert on December 30. “It’s a blessing to be able to have a coach like him, a personable coach like him. I’m going to try to run through a wall for him every chance I get.”
“He just brings something. Brings physicality, brings a level of mental and physical toughness that I think makes us all better. We’ve got a lot of examples like that on our team,” O’Connell said. “But Cam’s just another one of them that I feel very fortunate to have him on this team.”
Akers and Aaron Jones give the Vikings and potent backfield duo. Jones has missed time this season, so the Vikings have reaped the benefits of their depth, with Ty Chandler on hand too.
Cam Akers Gets Real About Vikings’ ‘Main Goal’
Akers finished with 18 yards on six carries in the Vikings’ Week 17 win over the Green Bay Packers. He also caught two passes for 15 yards and 1 touchdown.
“Championship football, that’s the easiest way to put it,” Akers told reporters on December 29. “It’s going to be adversity, it’s going to be hills you got to climb. But that’s what we do. That’s the NFL. That’s what this team is: overcoming adversity week in and week out. So proud of them – proud of us. Proud of everything we’re doing, and I want to keep doing it. That’s really the main goal stacking them on top of each other.”
“This is probably one of the best team I’ve been on as far as people,” Akers said. “Obviously, we got great players. But got great people [too], so I’m thankful for that. I’m thankful to be a part of this and, like I said, on to next week.”
Akers has rushed for 379 yards and 2 touchdowns on 98 carries in 16 games this season.
The Vikings acquired Akers – who tore his Achilles twice; once in 2021 and again in 2023 – from the Houston Texans between Weeks 6 and 7. He is on a one-year, $1.2 million contract.
Cam Akers, Kevin O’Connell Could Face Former Team in Playoffs
Entering “Monday Night Football,” the Vikings are on track to receive a bye in the first round of the playoffs. That would set them up to face the lowest advancing seed from the Super Wild Card Round in the Divisional Round.
That could end up being one of the Detroit Lions, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, or Washington Commanders.
However, a loss to the Lions in Week 18 would cost them the No. 1 seed.
The Vikings would be the fifth seed in that scenario. A win by the Bucs in Week 18, combined with a Rams loss, would then set up a showdown between Akers and O’Connell’s Vikings against their former squad.
If the current playoff picture holds, the two franchises would not meet until the NFC Championship Game.
