Vikings offensive line injuries piling up The Vikings walked into Charlotte injured. They limped out with another offensive line injury, which calls into doubt their ability to sustain themselves the next three weeks. Left tackle Riley Reiff left in the third quarter with an ankle injury. According to Ben Goessling of the Mineapolis Star Tribune, Reiff was carted to the locker room, and was wearing a walking boot after the game. He didn’t talk to reporters, and coach Mike Zimmer’s reaction to questions about his level of concern was: “I don’t know.” They were already playing without center Pat Elflein because of a shoulder problem, and right tackle Mike Remmers missed his fifth straight game (two with a back problem after three with a concussion). That left them scrambling when Reiff went down, with replacement right tackle Rashod Hill flipping to the left, and Jeremiah Sirles came in to play right tackle, amid their other preexisting moves. Nick Easton, who competed for and lost a guard job, was starting at center for Elflein. As a result, quarterback Case Keenum was sacked six times and hit seven times, well off the normal level of protection he’s enjoyed. “I think [offensive line coach] Tony Sparano does a great job of shuffling those guys around in practice,” Keenum said. “Heck, I got a lot of snaps with Nick Easton in the preseason, as far as being at center. He has played the position, too, for a long time. You move them around and do lots of different things. It takes some adjustments, but I think communications-wise, they do a great job.” The Vikings have been here before. They were 5-0 last year when the injuries arrived in bulk, and a 3-8 finish derailed their hopes. They’ve built up a bigger margin this time, but if Reiff’s missing time, it might be hard to avoid a similar fate. (PFT)
This rash of injuries comes at a Real Bad Time going into the playoffs,really sorry about Carson Wentz the guy is AWESOME he was having a MVP type of year
Eden Prairie, MN (December 19, 2017) – Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr, defensive end Everson Griffen, cornerback Xavier Rhodes and wide receiver Adam Thielen have been selected by players, fans and coaches to the 2018 NFL Pro Bowl. Barr and Griffen each earned their third trip to the Pro Bowl, while Rhodes received the recognition for the second time. It was the first time receiving the honor for Thielen
I don't understand how is Barr going to the pro bowl and not Kendricks they pulled this crap last year, the pro bowl voting is confusing and doesn't seem fair IMO
The Pro Bowl is a joke as it stands right now... the voting is warped. The 'All-Snubbed' team could kick some ass.
Monday Night Football WTH Raiders playing to lose it was amazing the O-line could not block worth s damn
Turnovers killed them coming down the stretch. It was fun to see them give the Eagles such a hard time. 1 more to go... bring on the Bears.
Harrison Smith is the NFC defensive player of the week Vikings safety Harrison Smith was frequently included on lists of players who didn’t receive Pro Bowl berths last week despite playing at a high level during the 2017 season, but he found a way to ensure that his week didn’t end without accolades. Smith has been named the NFC’s defensive player of the week for his play in last Saturday’s 16-0 win over the Packers. Smith intercepted a Brett Hundley pass deep in Minnesota territory late in the first half to put an end to what would be Green Bay’s best scoring chance of the night. Smith helped ensure they wouldn’t get close again by making eight tackles an intercepting Hundley again in the fourth quarter. Those were the fourth and fifth interceptions of the season for Smith, who may still find his way in the Pro Bowl as long as the Vikings don’t have better things to do a month from now.
The Nightmare known as Blair Walsh has done it again...first the Vikings now the Seahawks NOW THEY KNOW HOW IT FEELS NOT TOO GOOD!!!!!
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. – While eight NFL playoff teams will kick off the postseason this weekend, four will enjoy a first-round bye. The Vikings clinched the No. 2 seed in the NFC with Sunday’s win over the Bears, which essentially worked as a two-for-one victory that sent them straight to the Divisional round of the playoffs. What will the players do with their weekend off from football? Well, most of them will be watching football. A number of Vikings this week told Twin Cities media members that they plan to take in the Wild Card matchups from home. “I’ll probably relax,” said quarterback Case Keenum. “Maybe have some of the guys over or go over to somebody’s house and watch the game.” This weekend’s NFC showdowns between the Falcons and Rams (Saturday at 7:15 p.m. CT) and the Saints and Panthers (Sunday at 3:40 p.m. CT) will determine the Vikings opponent for their game on Jan. 14 set to kick off at 3:40 p.m. (CT). Keenum said he plans to “just relax” and watch the weekend’s games from a fan’s perspective because he’ll have plenty of time to study the coaches’ film during the week. “I mean, it’s different [than film study]. You hear stuff that’s going on,” Keenum said. “I haven’t watched too many games this year. I mean, you’ll watch them Monday night or a Thursday night game or something like that, but this will be the first time I’m watching a game knowing, you know, ‘This is [determining] who we’re playing this week.’ ” If the No. 3 Rams defeat the No. 6 Falcons, Minnesota will have a rematch against Los Angeles after taking the 24-7 win on Nov. 19. If Atlanta wins, the Vikings will then play the winner of the Saints-Panthers game.
Sam Bradford is ready to return for the Vikings, though it remains to be seen whether he’ll actually take the field. Bradford was activated from injured reserve to the 53-player roster today. That means he could dress for tomorrow’s playoff game against the Saints. It remains to be seen whether he will. The Vikings could make him inactive, but it wouldn’t make a lot of sense to put him on the active roster just to have him in street clothes during the game, so presumably he’ll be active and available. Case Keenum will start, but the Vikings haven’t said whether Bradford or Teddy Bridgewater will be No. 2 on the depth chart. The Vikings have never dressed three quarterbacks for a game since Mike Zimmer became their coach, so it seems likely that Bridgwater will be inactive. Going forward, the Vikings will have some interesting decisions to make in the offseason when Keenum, Bradford and Bridgewater all become unrestricted free agents. For now, it appears that the depth chart will be Keenum first, then Bradford, then Bridgewater.
Vikings come back to beat Saints, advance to NFC Championship The Saints came back, twice. But that wasn’t enough to beat Case Keenum. The Vikings beat the Saints 29-24 on a last-second touchdown pass, a 61-yard beauty from Keenum to Stefon Diggs which ruined a brilliant second half by Saints quarterback Drew Brees and his teammates. The Vikings advance to next week’s NFC Championship Game at Philadelphia, with a chance to play the Super Bowl at home on the line. The Saints had come back from a 17-0 deficit, and the Vikings hadn’t lost when leading by 10 or more since the start of the 2015 season (28-0). The way they did it was impressive, as the Vikings top-ranked defense held them in check throughout the first half. Brees hit rookie running back Alvin Kamara for a go-ahead touchdown, after Michael Thomas caught the first two. But Vikings kicker Kai Forbath coolly responded with a 53-yard field goal to give the Vikings the lead back, only to see Brees even more coolly move them downfield for another go-ahead field goal. After striking out three straight plays throwing at Xavier Rhodes, he converted a season-on-the-line fourth down pass to Willie Snead to get them into position for the Wil Lutz 43-yarder to go up 24-23. Brees finished the game 25-of-40 for 294 yards and three scores, balancing out the two interceptions he threw in the first half. Vikings quarterback Case Keenum had one last shot, and he made the most of it. After floundering early in the drive, Keenum lofted the ball to Diggs, who ducked inside and took it the rest of the way.
I'm just real glad for once the Vikings get a break,in playoffs games they have the worst luck now it's on to PHILLY GO VIKINGS and take some luck with you against the Eagles..But it was SWEET wasn't it
