Vikings head coach says what needs to be said about Ty Chandler

The Minnesota Vikings offense looked the best it has in weeks against the Cincinnati Bengals and big reason why was running back Ty Chandler's career day.

Chandler looked like a Pro Bowler out there, slicing and dicing his way to 132 rushing yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. He also added three receptions for 25-yards on four targets. The rushing total was third-most among all RBs in Week 15 and his 5.7. yards per carry were second-best among backs with at least 20 carries. In all, the 157 total yards were fourth-most among all players last week.

It was easily the best single-handed rushing performance of the Vikings' season and it showed Chandler can carry the load as a three-down back. I mean, he took on 23 of the team's 24 handoffs on the day and he had just one negative run in four quarters of play and part of an overtime period.

Alexander Mattison, the team's primary running back, is still in concussion protocol, so it's unclear if he'll return in Week 16. But even if he does, it's obvious the Vikings need to make Chandler the primary back. He's simply more explosive and he can handle both receiving and pass protection duties. His ability to hit the home run makes him a threat on every play and that's something the offense absolutely needs, right now, with the question mark at the quarterback position.

Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell made the right call on Monday when he told reporters Chandler will indeed see a bigger role as the weeks continue to roll on, but it's up-in-the-air when talking about the former Tar Heels' potential role as the lead back.

"There is no question that I thought Ty had a huge role and impact on the game the other day," said O'Connell. "... Ty is absolutely a guy that is going to continue to see a feature role in our offense. What that looks like moving forward as far as who gets the first touch of the game and all those things, we’ll continue to work through based upon what we are attempting to do scheme-wise.

"But there is no question that we have confidence in Alex, but I think Ty has done a lot of great things and will continue to do so and will hopefully be a huge reason why we are able to have success offensively down the stretch, here."

The Vikings need "scheme" around Chandler as much as possible, even if Mattison signed a two-year, $7 million deal and the main reason why the team parted ways with Dalvin Cook. Either way, Mattison's days as the starter are clearly numbered as Chandler ascends.

Ty Chandler's not just an offensive weapon, either

He's a key special teams player who has helped the Vikings convert two fake punts, so far, this year. The former fifth-round pick is really starting to round into an all-around weapon and a major draft steal.

That's always been a part of the Vikings' plan: patience and development.

And it's really starting to pay off.

"I saw Ty getting on the field regardless," said O'Connell. "It has always been his plan since we selected him last year. We’ve had our eyes on continued growth and development, and I know nobody gets more excited than when I see Ty go out there and have the success he did. It has been part of his growth and process. As great as Ty was running the football running the day, there were some great moments in protection on some play-passes in protection where he solidified some things for us. Had great awareness of the looks we were playing against, whether it was going fast in tempo situations.

"It is just all of the different aspects that I think Ty brings to the table, and his comfort level while also having a major role in the special team phase as our personal protector, I am not sure if I am faking it twice this year in big situations if Ty Chandler is not the guy with the ball in his hands. Ty has had a big impact, and like I said, I think Ty is exactly where we want him to be in his progression, and I think the role he is ascending to is something that we had our minds on when we brought him here, and we’ll continue to everything to get him valuable touches and make him a big part of our offense."

The last several weeks have been very promising for Chandler's future and if the light is really on like it appears to be then the future is as bright as ever.