Minnesota Vikings Looking Rather Healthy to Start Wildcard Week
It’s a revenge matchup for the Minnesota Vikings during Wild Card Weekend. They could be facing déjà vu against the Los Angeles Rams, especially following a Detroit Lions loss. However, the hope is that Kevin O’Connell can craft a better game plan this time around.
Although the Vikings got throttled against the Detroit Lions, they came out of the game with a relatively clean bill of health. That’s a positive while moving into must-win territory, and they’ll need the full complement of talent at their disposal on Monday night.
Kevin O’Connell has all Minnesota Vikings talent ready to rock
It stinks that Minnesota won’t be hosting a home playoff game during the second round of the NFL playoffs. The top seed in the NFC was on the line in Week 18 against the Detroit Lions. If there is a silver lining, it’s that the Vikings have a nearly complete roster against the Los Angeles Rams.
The first #Vikings Wild Card playoff injury report of the week pic.twitter.com/6z8XLdqz73
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) January 9, 2025
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Unfortunately the Green Bay Packers Tucker Kraft took out Patrick Jones. It was a legal, albeit dirty, hit. Which leaves Brian Flores with one less pass rusher on defense. The healthy group will need to sack Matthew Stafford on Monday night, at least a few times.
Running back Aaron Jones is the only other player with a designation. While he was limited, he played in all 17 games this season. His 1,138 yards were a career-high, and his five rushing touchdowns were the most he has posted since 2020.
=Aaron Jones quite literally getting skinny through the hole on the Vikings Duo run pic.twitter.com/CN7fwdi1hw
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) December 17, 2024
In their first matchup the Vikings failed to bring down Stafford behind the line of scrimmage. Puka Nacua returned to the lineup and shocked the defense. He won’t be a surprise this time around, and Flores will need to make sure his group sacks the quarterback.
The Vikings are favored to beat the Rams in the wild card round. The fact that they have a relatively healthy roster inly makes that reality more plausible.
If O’Connell can come up with a gameplan to best his former boss, the Vikings will likely be in live to avenge their second Lions loss of the season. It’s unfortunate that a 14-win team must go on the road, but they also need to substantiate just how good the regular season has been.
Related: Former Minnesota Vikings Safety Signed to Eagles Active Playoff Roster
Minnesota winning against the Rams would be a great reality for a team projected to be terrible this season. They can figure out the offseason when the dust settles, but Sam Darnold continuing his incredible performance would be a ton of fun.
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