With Playoff Hopes on the Line, 4 Young Vikings Will Play Crucial Roles vs. Packers
The Minnesota Vikings are riding into Week 17 with slim playoff hopes and a laundry list of injuries.
Because of these injuries, a number of young Vikings are set to take on big roles for the team when they play host to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night. Here is a look at four of those players who could either keep Minnesota’s playoff hopes alive or send the Vikings into the new year on a sour note.
QB Jaren Hall
The Vikings have been flipping quarterbacks like hotcakes since Kirk Cousins got hurt. This weekend, they are going back to where they started with rookie QB Jaren Hall. The 2023 fifth-round pick is set to make his second career start under the bright New Year’s Eve lights against Minnesota’s most hated rival.
Hall, of course, made his first NFL start back in Week 9 against the Atlanta Falcons, but it was cut short because of a concussion suffered in the first quarter. Prior to the injury, though, he played some poised football. He completed five of six passes for 78 yards and led the Vikings down into the red zone before suffering the injury.
Now, the rookie finally gets an opportunity to build on that performance and potentially keep Minnesota’s playoff hopes alive.
RB Ty Chandler
The Vikings have made the turn to Ty Chandler as their lead running back in recent weeks. After a very strong game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 15, though, Chandler saw some major struggles in Week 16. His pass protection in the backfield was not up to snuff, nor was his production in the running game as he earned just 17 yards on his eight carries. He did score a touchdown, but the Vikings need more production out of their backfield this weekend.
Green Bay’s run defense has allowed 2039 rushing yards this season, which is the third-most in the NFL. Running backs have consistently been able to gash them for chunk yards throughout the season, and Chandler will need to bounce back in a big way in order to take pressure off Hall.
CB Andrew Booth
The Vikings will be without Byron Murphy for another game this weekend while Mekhi Blackmon has been listed as questionable. These are two premier pieces in Minnesota’s secondary, and they will likely need depth pieces to step up this weekend.
One of those depth pieces is second-year player Andrew Booth, who the Vikings selected in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Booth has not been a feature in Minnesota’s defense much over his first two seasons, and he has started just one game. If Blackmon is unable to go, the Clemson product could be poised to make his second career start against a talented group of Packers receivers.
OLB Pat Jones
The Vikings lost D.J. Wonnum to a partially torn quad last weekend, and the next man up on the depth chart is third-year pass-rusher Pat Jones.
Jones has not had a great season (he remains one of the lowest graded pass-rushers according to PFF), but there were signs of improvement during Week 16 against the Lions. The 2021 third-round pick put together three tackles for loss and a sack in Minnesota’s loss versus Detroit. Hopefully, he can prove to be equally effective against Green Bay on Sunday night.
Vikings Bring an Old Friend to the 53-Man Roster Amidst New Wave of Injuries
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.