It looked like a routine play from cornerback Byron Murphy at first glance. He tracked down a deep pass from backup quarterback Jameis Winston last Sunday, then made the eighth interception of his NFL career to help put the game on ice as the Vikings finished off a 27-19 win over the New Orleans Saints.

It wasn’t until a few days later that team broadcaster Gabe Henderson detailed the intricacies of Murphy’s interception on the website formerly known as Twitter. In a post that has been viewed more than 500,000 times this week, Henderson highlighted that while Murphy deserves credit for making the play, veteran safety Harrison Smith might have actually been in better position.

Asked to clarify what happened on the field, Murphy confirmed that Smith indeed deferred to him in that moment.

“It happened pretty fast,” Murphy said. “Literally in the middle of the play, the ball was in the air, and he was like, ‘You got it, Murph.’ I was like, ‘Hey, I’ll take it, for sure.’ ”

The selfless act shouldn’t go unnoticed. It’s a perfect example of leadership.

“He could’ve made the pick and added to his list,” Murphy said. “He let me get it instead. I definitely appreciate him for that. That shows what type of dude he is.”

Mattison returns to practice

Though it seems unlikely that he plays this weekend, running back Alexander Mattison is showing signs of improvement as he works his way through the concussion protocol. He was listed as a limited participant on Thursday after not participating at all on Wednesday.

The other limited participants included receiver Justin Jefferson (hamstring), tight end T.J. Hockenson (ribs), quarterback Nick Mullens (back) and linebacker Brian Asamoah. Cornerback Akayleb Evans (calf) missed his second straight practice, which puts his available in question for the game against the Broncos.

Hall participating in full

For the first time since suffering a concussion a couple of weeks ago, rookie quarterback Jaren Hall was able to get through a full workload in practice. He was listed as a full participant on Thursday after being listed as a limited participant on Wednesday. That’s good news for the Vikings as they work to get more bodies available behind starting quarterback Josh Dobbs.

Aside from Hall, receiver K.J. Osborn also seems to be in position to return after suffering a concussion a couple of weeks ago. He technically cleared concussion protocol last week. He missed the Saints game for precautionary reasons.

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