1. Raiders: Ugly, uglier, ugliest

Penalized a league-low 56 times through 13 games, the Raiders out-uglied the Vikings early with drive-killing penalties for holding and intentional grounding on their first two possessions. Las Vegas converted on fourth-and-1 from its 44 and 43, but interim coach Antonio Pierce must have forgotten by the fourth possession when he did the Vikings a favor and punted from his 48. Aidan O’Connell missed an open Davante Adams deep on the game’s ninth snap. The Raiders also were flagged for holding in the red zone and for illegal contact on a third-down drop by K.J. Osborn. Throw in three giveaways, no takeaways and Vegas wins for ugliest outfit.

2. Hockenson drops a sixth ball

The injured Justin Jefferson was heading to the locker room when Joshua Dobbs threw a perfect deep ball to T.J. Hockenson, the guy who should have been the most reliable target still on the field. Unfortunately for the QB who would later be benched, the ball bounced off Hockenson’s hands inside the 10-yard line. Two snaps later, Greg Joseph missed a 49-yard field goal. Osborn dropped two balls on one possession. Jalen Nailor dropped an easy ball that led to a third-down sack. Hockenson entered the game tied for second for most drops by a tight end (five). Dobbs was bad. But he had help being bad.

3. Great challenge, KOC

The Raiders had 12 possessions. They penetrated the Vikings’ 49-yard line once. Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell helped that cause with an outstanding challenge that overturned Tre Tucker’s 22-yard sideline catch to the Vikings’ 45 on third-and-5 late in the third. Tucker’s second bobble negated the fact he got his toes down inbounds. The play would have been the Raiders’ third-longest of the game. O’Connell has thrown his challenge flag 11 times in two years. He’s 6-5. The bad: delay of game in the red zone coming out of a timeout. The ugly: having your place-kicker pooch a dangerously returnable punt down the middle of the field in the closing seconds.

4. Bynum, Phillips and three-and-outs

The Vikings started the second half with a takeaway and finished the game with two more. In between were four punts, including three three-and-outs and nary a first down in the fourth quarter. The three-and-outs netted 10 yards in nine snaps. Safety Camryn Bynum got the fourth quarter started with a right cross to dislodge the ball from what should have been a first-down catch by rookie tight end Michael Mayer on third-and-4. Bynum also had four tackles and leads all NFL DBs with 103. Tackle Harrison Phillips closed out the three-and-outs with a run stop on second down and a third-down sack that extended his career-high total to three.

5. O’Neill outclassed again

Brian O’Neill is one of the league’s highest-paid right tackles. He hasn’t lived up to it the past two games. Before the bye, he gave up two sacks to new Bears edge rusher Montez Sweat. Pro Football Focus slapped him with one of his worst grades ever (44.7). Next up for O’Neill was Maxx Crosby. Crosby dominated O’Neill with two sacks and four hits. O’Neill left the game for good with an ankle injury after trying desperately to anchor himself on Crosby’s second sack. O’Neill has given up six sacks this year, tying his career high set last year, according to PFF.

The Star Tribune did not send the writer of this article to the game. This was written using a broadcast, interviews and other material.