The Minnesota Vikings Must Keep Their Foot on the Gas
Ted Schwerzler
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On Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings found themselves on the wrong side of a loss to the Detroit Lions. Despite coming in as two-point underdogs, it was a puzzling line considering Kevin O’Connell’s squad found themselves sitting at 10-2 on the season. When the dust settled, it couldn’t have been clearer why they were doubted, and maybe they didn’t help themselves, either.
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Prior to the game a handful of regulars were listed as questionable. Star left tackle Christian Darrisaw had shed his red no-contact jersey midweek as he was set to come back from a concussion. Harrison Smith got in only limited work due to a neck injury but was still seen as questionable. Even starting center Garrett Bradbury was considered questionable as he was going through a back problem of his own. Ultimately, the trio were left inactive for the contest.
It did not go well.
Starting in their place were the likes of Blake Brandel, Josh Metellus, and Austin Schlottmann. If you’re thinking that sounds like a considerable downgrade, it’s because it is. Brandel has held his own in the weeks since Darrisaw suffered his second concussion in as many weeks, but he’s clearly not at the All-Pro level.
Beyond that, Brandel too suffered a late injury on Sunday and backup Oli Udoh was called into action. Mettellus came in with just one other start in his career, coincidentally in Week 3 against these Lions, and had just 26 tackles on the season. Schlottmann had been solely a special teams player prior to this weekend.
There was thought going into the game that each of the three starters would play, and when it was announced they were inactive, the immediate reaction was that the Vikings saw this as an opportunity for a break. Not rolling the trio out there was akin to putting the 10-2 record on cruise control, seeming as though they all but have a playoff position secured.
The problem is that there are still four weeks left of the regular season, and there’s no certainty the maladies are entirely healed by a singular week off. The assumption would be that each of the starters are back next week to face off against the Indianapolis Colts at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Minnesota can wrap up the NFC North with a victory in that contest, but they still have an outside chance at the number one seed. More importantly, though, need to stay above the competition for the number two seed with the 49ers slowly creeping closer to them.
If each of the starters truly needed an additional week to be ready, then that’s one thing. The trio being so close to going, and the Vikings potentially seeing the Lions as beatable without them would be another. It didn’t take long for Smith’s absence to be felt as rookie wide receiver Jameson Williams caught his first pass as a wide-open touchdown where Mettellus failed in coverage.
You’d like to see the Vikings have an opportunity to get their talent healthy and right going into a playoff run, but each regular season game that’s winnable and dropped takes away from them being able to do that.
O’Connell won’t have rookie Akayleb Evans on defense over the next three weeks as he heals from a concussion, but if the injury report can remain clean from here on out, it would benefit all involved to be on the field.
Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes weekly for Twins Daily. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.