Tag: Garrett Bradbury

Two Vikings make the 2024 NFL Pro Bowl, six are alternates

Two players will represent the Minnesota Vikings at the 2024 Pro Bowl Games while six others were honored as alternates.

The NFL recently unveiled their 2024 NFL Pro Bowl Games with the following Minnesota Vikings making the cut:

  • OLB Danielle Hunter
  • LS Andrew DePaola

The Vikings also have six alternates, ranging from first to fourth at their respective positions.

The number of players may seem lower than usual, especially with wide receiver Justin Jefferson not being a part of the festivities due to injury. However, the Vikings are well-represented in that those who were selected, alternate or otherwise, certainly deserved it.

Here are the 2024 representatives (and alternates) for your Vikings.

5 areas of concern exposed in Vikings 30-24 loss to the Lions

Chris Spooner takes a look at five areas of concern that Sunday’s loss to the Detroit Lions exposed heading into the final weeks of the season and into the offseason.

Just like that, the Minnesota Vikings hopes of winning the NFC North were dashed. Instead of a Christmas miracle, the Vikings were handed a lump of coal with their 30-24 loss on Christmas Eve to the Detroit Lions. With the loss, Minnesota was eliminated from contention for the division title, and the Lions clinched their first division title since before the NFC North was even in existence.

The Vikings did a lot of things right in this game. Quarterback Nick Mullens was throwing the ball all over the field and notched his first career game with more than 400 yards passing. Minnesota was able to hold the Lions running game largely in check, and they made some big plays throughout the game when they needed it.

Unfortunately, as has been the case for much of the season, it was the unforced errors that ultimately doomed the Vikings. Mullens was doing his best impression of a baker out there, handing out turnovers left and right. He had four interceptions on the day, and could have easily walked out of there with a couple more.

He also had two plays where he narrowly avoided fumbling the ball. A four-turnover game was almost a blessing considering how much worse it could have been.

The turnover issues have been a theme throughout the season, but there were a lot of other areas of concern that this game exposed. Areas that have been a concern all season, but have largely been masked or glossed over in one way or another. Let’s take a look at five of those areas of concern that the loss against the Detroit Lions exposed.

Studs and duds from Vikings 27-24 loss vs. Bengals

The studs and dus from Satuday’s loss to the Bengals were rather obvious, especially the studs

The Minnesota Vikings played at the Cincinnati Bengals for the second time in the last three years and lost by the same 27-24 score after turning the ball over in overtime.

In 2021, the Vikings fumbled the ball away when driving in enemy territory. In 2023, it was failing twice in a row on the tush push. The frustration from the loss had Fire KOC trending on Twitter.

It’s fair to be frustrated, as the Vikings blew a 14-point lead they entered the fourth quarter with despite playing really well on offense.

Saturday’s edition of studs and duds highlight some impressive performances and others that cratered the chance at a victory.

7 Vikings make top 10 of Pro Bowl voting

The Vikings have been popular in the Pro Bowl voting through the first week

The Minnesota Vikings currently sit at 6-6 this season heading into week 14 against the Las Vegas Raiders. They have had some standout performances this season and have won multiple Player of the Week awards and a Player of the Month award as well.

Earlier this week, Chris Spooner took a look at seven different Vikings players who deserve a Pro Bowl berth and there are more who could be headed to the games the week before the Super Bowl.

Through a week of voting, the Vikings have seven players in the top 10 of their position.

Breaking down why the Vikings called a toss sweep to Josh Dobbs

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?

Studs and duds from Vikings 21-20 loss vs. Broncos

There were plenty of standout performances that we highlighted in the latest studs and duds

The Minnesota Vikings had the turnover bug bite them once again as they fall 21-20 to the Denver Broncos on Sunday night.

Even with the turnovers, the Vikings had chances to win. They could have gone up nine instead of five but they kicked a field goal. They could have driven down the field and won the game with a field goal, but they stalled out.

Yes, there were some missed penalty calls and the defense played well, but the Vikings can only blame themselves.

Throughout the game, there were multiple good and poor performances. Here are the studs and duds from Sunday’s game.

Zulgad: Vikings’ reliance on Alexander Mattison in run game raises questions

The Vikings reliance on Alexander Mattison in the running game raises some major questions writes Judd Zulgad

The Minnesota Vikings’ offseason pivot at running back included rewarding running back Alexander Mattison with a two-year, $7 million contract after the decision was made to move on from veteran Dalvin Cook.

Cook was nearing the end of a five-year, $63 million contract and the assumption was the Vikings wanted to flip to more of a running back by committee situation. That would start with Mattison but not require him to be a bellcow in the backfield.

The likely scenario as training camp opened was that Mattison would be the lead back (1A) and Ty Chandler and Kene Nwangwu would battle for the job as the 1B running back.

But during the Vikings’ 2-4 start little has gone as expected and the running back situation is one of them. The Vikings are 30th in the NFL in rushing, averaging 75 yards per game, and they join the Pittsburgh Steelers as one of two teams without a rushing touchdown this season.

So what’s gone wrong?

Vikings PFF grades on offense through 6 games

The Vikings offense has some standouts and the Pro Football Focus grades showcase that

The Minnesota Vikings are a fascinating team.

Despite a 2-4 start, the Vikings have good underlying metrics and Pro Football Focus has the offensive line as one of the best units in the National Football League.

As we head into week seven, here are the PFF grades for each member of the Vikings offense starting units in 11 and 12 personnel.

Vikings get boost as Garrett Bradbury returns in Week 5

Garrett Bradbury is off the injury report just in time for the Vikings’ Week 5 matchup against the Chiefs.

The Minnesota Vikings got some good news on the injury front ahead of their Sunday showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Injured center Garrett Bradbury was a full participant in practice Friday, and will be the starter for Sunday’s game. Getting Bradbury back should provide the Vikings with a much-needed boost on the offensive line, and may even help settle the offense down as a whole.

Backup Austin Schlottmann has played well in Bradbury’s absence, taking over for the injured center only a few snaps into the first game of the year. Schlottmann has ranked as the 12th-best center in the league according to PFF. However, getting Bradbury back into the fold is likely to increase the productivity of an offensive line that has been much maligned in the media this season, but has statistically played pretty well overall.

Heading into Week 5, Schlottmann and the Viking offense are the fourth-ranked unit in terms of pass blocking grade, according to PFF. They also sit as the second-best run blocking unit in the league, behind only the Philadelphia Eagles. It may not always be pretty, but the Vikings offensive line has been exceeding expectations this season — at least from a grading perspective.

With Bradbury returning to man the middle of the Vikings offensive line, we’re likely to see increased production from a running game that finally found its legs in the Week 4 win against the Carolina Panthers. With Alexander Mattison and the energy that Cam Akers has brought with him from Los Angeles, combined with the return of Bradbury, this rushing attack may finally be the complement to the vaunted passing attack the preseason led us to believe it might be.

Who knows, his return may even help Kirk Cousins cut down on the untimely turnovers, something this team desperately needs if they’re going to recover from their 1-3 start.

Back injury for Garrett Bradbury has been frustrating

Bradbury’s back injury has been frustrating

So far this season, the offensive line has been dealing with injuries and none of them have lingered as long as the back injury for Garrett Bradbury has.

The Minnesota Vikings signed him to a new contract back in March, but he only played in a few snaps in the season opener.

In speaking with the media earlier on Wednesday, Bradbury expressed his frustration with the injury, one he dealt with last season as well.

“It’s been really just annoying to be honest,” Bradbury told The Star Tribune’s Andrew Krammer. “Feeling better. Working with as many people as I can to feel better and I am feeling better. It’s coming around quicker than last year.”

Bradbury nearly had a fully healed back after two weeks last season, but a minor car accident after the game against the Indianapolis Colts knocked him out for the final three games, but he returned for the playoff game against the New York Giants.

When he comes back, he will be taking over for Austin Schlottmann, who is PFF’s 12th-ranked center in his absence.

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