These matchups will be key to win for the Vikings to take home the victory
The push to earn a playoff spot begins on Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas for the Minnesota Vikings as they take on the Raiders.
As things currently sit, the Vikings control their own destiny to make the playoffs. They are currently the sixth seed and are in a win and in scenario.
The division is a different story for the Vikings. They are three games behind the Detroit Lions and need them to lose one more than the Vikings outside of their two matchups, both of which Minnesota needs to win.
As we head into the first game out of the bye, these five matchups will be critical for the Vikings to get a win.
Chris Spooner takes a look at seven players for the Vikings who deserve a trip to Orlando for the 2024 Pro Bowl.
The NFL’s regular season is coming down the stretch run, which means it’s time to start thinking about the postseason and the Pro Bowl. Voting for the Pro Bowl has opened up, and it’s your time as fans to let your voice be heard. This is your chance to tell the league – and the world – who you think the best players of the 2023 NFL season have been, and there are several Minnesota Vikings players who are worthy of the trip to Orlando.
This season has been a rollercoaster for the Vikings and their fans. The season started off about as bad as it could be, with the Vikings dropping each of their first three games, and four of their first five, with turnovers abound in each game. Then they recovered to win their next five games – but lost both their star wide receiver and starting quarterback in the process.
Now the Vikings are in the midst of a two-game losing streak and have gone into their bye week with significant questions at the quarterback spot. How they finish out the season will likely have some bearing on how the Pro Bowl voting turns out, but they have a number of players who are deserving of the spot regardless of how successful Minnesota is from here on out.
I have not included Justin Jefferson in this list due to the injury and extended amount of time missed, but name recognition alone may get him a nod. Now, let’s dive into the names!
The 53-man roster and practice squad saw multiple changes this week
The Minnesota Vikings had some changes on the roster after a 21-20 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday night.
Defensive end Dean Lowry injured his pectoral muscle which needed surgery and was placed on injured reserve. They also lost outside linebacker Benton Whitley to the New York Giants, who signed him to the active roster off of the Vikings practice squad.
That wasn’t all. The Vikings also activated Chris Reed to the active roster after he was on the NFI list since the start of training camp with a foot injury. Nose tackle Sheldon Day was brought up from the practice squad to join the active roster while wide receiver Trishton Jackson was sent back down to the practice squad.
Heading into Monday night’s game, here is the updated 53-man roster, including potential elevations to the active roster.
The Vikings called a trick play on the third play of the game and it didn’t work. Tyler Forness breaks down why it didn’t
On the third play of the game, Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell called a unique play that didn’t end up working.
Quarterback Josh Dobbs ended up fumbling after cornerback Kareem Jackson speared him, forcing the fumble. The play itself was a gutsy call that has been criticized for not working.
That’s the frustrating thing with play calls. They get criticized when they don’t work and praised when they do. What doesn’t get dissected nearly enough is what the play was designed to do and if the execution is to blame rather than the play call itself.
That’s what we are going to do here. What was the play designed to do and how was the execution?
The Minnesota Vikings injury report on Thursday afternoon saw two changes with one of significance
The Minnesota Vikings injury report for Thursday looks mostly unchanged. The one notable change is seeing wide receiver K.J. Osborn going from not practicing to being limited. The less notable one is safety Harrison Smith receiving a veteran rest day.
QB Jaren Hall (concussion): Did not practice
DE Dean Lowry (groin): Did not practice
Harrison Smith (rest): Did not practice
WR K.J. Osborn (concussion): Limited
ILB Brian Asamoah (ankle): Limited
LT Christian Darrisaw (groin): Limited
TE T.J. Hockenson (ribs): Limited
WR Justin Jefferson (hamstring): Limited
TE Johnny Mundt (knee): Limited
WR Jalen Nailor (hamstring): Full
G/C Chris Reed (foot): Full
If Osborn is symptom free on Friday and practices in full, he can play on Sunday afternoon. He likely won’t.
Hockenson is still on track to play and Darrisaw being limited again is a good sign as well.
The Saints didn’t see any changes on their injury report. They will likely be without defensive end Isaiah Foskey and running back Kendre Miller who haven’t practiced this week.
Friday’s report will tell us much more about where things sit.
From Justin Jefferson to Alexander Mattison, fans had burning questions and we answered them
The Minnesota Vikings are quite the fascinating team going into their week 10 matchup. Sitting at 5-4, the record is objectively fine considering their schedule, but how they got there could end up being a movie.
Despite injuries to their best three players on offense against the Atlanta Falcons, they willed themselves to a win.
After a wild first half of the season, we went tot the fans to see what questions they had about the team moving forward. These seven questions are fascinating and we answered them.
The first injury report for the Minnesota Vikings is full of starters, but most of them did practice on Wednesday
The Minnesota Vikings had their first injury report of the season drop and it is filled with Minnesota Vikings starters. They did not practice and held a walkthrough instead, so this is an estimation.
QB Jaren Hall (concussion): Did not practice
WR K.J. Osborn (concussion): Did not practice
DE Dean Lowry (groin): Did not practice
ILB Brian Asamoah (ankle): Limited
LT Christian Darrisaw (groin): Limited
TE T.J. Hockenson (ribs): Limited
WR Justin Jefferson (hamstring): Limited
TE Johnny Mundt (knee): Limited
WR Jalen Nailor (hamstring): Full
G/C Chris Reed (foot): Full
Both Hall and Osborn are not likely to play on Sunday, as only one player has played the week after being placed in the concussion protocol (Brock Purdy).
Lowry didn’t practice at all last week and missed Sunday’s game. This isn’t a good sign for Lowry.
Darrisaw suffered his injury during practice last week with Hockenson and Mundt suffering their injuries during Sunday’s game. Limited practice off the bat is a good sign.
Jefferson being on the field in any capacity is a great thing, as the Vikings activated his practice window on Wednesday afternoon.
Nailor and Reed are likely to be returning to the field sooner rather than later, as they both continue to practice in full.
The next two days will tell us more about where the Vikings are at.
PFF recognizes Darrisaw and Jefferson for their outstanding play this season
Each season, Pro Football Focus takes a look at what their All-Pro team would look like at certain points of the year.
At the halfway point, Vikings left tackle Christian Darrisaw made PFF’s first team and wide receiver Justin Jefferson made the second team.
Here is what Gordon McGuinness had to say about Darrisaw:
The 2021 first-round draft pick is following up a standout 2022 campaign with an equally impressive 2023. He missed this past week due to injury, but he has allowed just 13 total pressures from 304 pass-blocking snaps this season.
Darrisaw has been excellent all season — allowing pressure on just 4.28% of his pass protection snaps is beyond impressive. He earned the honor ahead of Las Vegas Raiders LT Kolton Miller, who was on the second team.
Jefferson made the second team despite missing the last four weeks with a hamstring injury. He was joined on the second team by Dallas Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb. The Philadelphia Eagles’ A.J. Brown and the Miami Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill were on the first team.
O’Connell provided multiple injury updates during Monday’s press conference
The Minnesota Vikings scrounged out a win in Atlanta over the Falcons by a score of 31-28 but they didn’t come out of it unscathed.
Throughout the game, they batted adversity with injuries across the board, especially at the skill positions. In his Monday press conference, head coach Kevin O’Connell provided injury updates on multiple Vikings, including three of the best players on the roster.
