Another Notable Viking Out at Green Bay
Dustin Baker
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The Minnesota Vikings are a portable infirmary for their date with the Packers in Green Bay on Sunday night.
Notably, Kirk Cousins, Adam Thielen, Danielle Hunter, Everson Griffen, Irv Smith Jr., Nick Vigil, Mason Cole, and likely Cameron Dantzler will miss the climactic showdown at Lambeau Field. If the Vikings win, their postseason probability climbs to 49% per FiveThirtyEight.com. A loss guts those hopes to an exiguous 3%.
Conversely, guard Oli Udoh and defensive lineman Kenny Willekes are slated to return, bolstering the team’s trenches.
But with two bits of good news comes another portion of downtrodden information.
Nose tackle Michael Pierce will miss Sunday night’s game due to non-COVID illness, placing Armon Watts back into the starting lineup. In Watts’ defense, the third-year lineman has thrived.
Pierce, though, has performed wonderfully — when he plays. After Sunday, Pierce will have missed 75% of all Vikings games since signing with the franchise in the spring of 2020. Yet, when on the field, Pierce is among Minnesota’s top players. The man stuffs the run and rushes passers. Pierce’s 81.4 grade from Pro Football Focus is third-best on the Vikings whole roster behind Justin Jefferson (90.1) and Kirk Cousins (86.4).
Watts’ 66.5 score from PFF will have to do in Week 17, facing two formidable running backs in Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillion while quarterback Aaron Rodgers wreaks his customary havoc on the Vikings.
The Pierce absence is especially notable because of the weather forecast. The game, per current weather forecasting, will be around the eighth-coldest in Vikings history. What does that mean? Well, whichever team runs the ball more effectively probably finds victory. And with no Pierce — that’s advantage Packers.
Ironically, Minnesota’s win-loss record is largely unaffected by Pierce. With Pierce in the lineup, the Vikings are 3-5 in 2021. When Pierce does not play, Mike Zimmer’s bunch is 4-3.
The Packers are favored by 13 points to effectively finish off Minnesota’s season.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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