The Vikings’ Final Injury Report for the Playoffs
The Minnesota Vikings won nine straight games, lost to the Detroit Lions with homefield advantage on the line, and now enter the postseason as a 14-win Wildcard combatant.
Vikings Injury Report (Final) … The Playoff Edition
This week’s injury report is out, and the document looks pretty wonderful, all things considered.
Next up is the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night, and it’s for a date to Round 2 in the postseason. Minnesota hasn’t reached the Divisional Round in five years.
Minnesota’s injury report, on the whole, is encouraging.
These are each team’s injured players one day before the Wildcard showdown.
Vikings Injury Report
- Patrick Jones II — OUT (OLB, Knee)
- Cam Akers — QUESTIONABLE (RB, Illness)
- Taki Taimani — QUESTIONABLE (DT, Ankle)
Aaron Jones (RB), Sam Darnold (QB), Fabian Moreau (CB), Josh Oliver (TE), and Taki Taimani (DT) were sprinkled a bit on the injury report this week but carry no injury designation into the playoffs.
Long-term Injuries
- Mekhi Blackmon, CB (Knee, Out for season)
- Christian Darrisaw, LT (Knee, Out for season)
- Jeremy Flax, OL (Out for season)
- J.J. McCarthy, QB (Knee, Out for season)
- Taki Taimani, DT (Ankle)
- Najee Thompson, CB (Knee, Out for season)
Rams Injury Report
- None
Hunter Long (TE) and Rob Havenstein (OT) were limited in practice this week but will enter Sunday with no injury designation.
Minnesota is a three-point favorite at the Rams (in Arizona) in the Wildcard Round. Los Angeles handed the purple team its second loss of the season in late October, so vengeance could be on the menu.
The Vikings earned second place in the NFC North, right behind Detroit, a club that toppled Minnesota in Week 18 for the NFC’s No. 1 seed.
Minnesota’s Super Bowl probability has climbed from +8000 to +1300 in the last four months, a signal that oddsmakers are beginning to buy what the purple team is selling. Nobody anywhere predicted Minnesota to be 14-3 at this point on the calendar. Instead, most would’ve guessed a mark closer to .500.
The Rams and Vikings haven’t met in the postseason since 1999, a 25-year drought that will Monday.
Los Angeles’ defense is pretty suspect, ranking 26th in the business per DVOA.
Minnesota hasn’t won two playoff games in the same year since 1987.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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