The Minnesota Vikings are set to take on the Detroit Lions in the second annual winter whiteout on Christmas Eve in week 16.
During the Vikings 7-7 campaign, they have dealt with a myriad of injuries and struggles throughout the year. From losing star wide receiver Justin Jefferson to starting four quarterbacks due to injuries and poor play, it’s been an excellent coaching job from both Kevin O’Connell and Brian Flores.
They still face an uphill battle if they want to win the NFC North. Just one Vikings loss or Lions win will give Detroit their first division title since 1993 when it was the NFC North.
If the Vikings want to win, they will need some big-time performances from these players.
Managing editor Tyler Forness: OLB Danielle Hunter
Right now, Hunter is unofficially questionable to play on Sunday afternoon due to an illness. He did improve from not practicing to limited on Thursday which is a good sign that he will play. Hunter will be going up against a duo of offensive tackles in Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell that could severely hinder the Vikings’ pass rush. Hunter is second in the NFL with 15.5 sacks and continues to do a great job in impacting the quarterback. His presence will be necessary if the Vikings want to pull out a victory.
Columnist Judd Zulgad: RB Ty Chandler
The running back rushed for a career-high 132 yards on 23 carries with a touchdown in the Vikings’ loss last Saturday in Cincinnati. That was eight more carries than his season high and came with star Alexander Mattison sitting out because of an ankle injury. Chandler also caught three passes for 25 yards and figures to remain the Vikings lead running back, in large part because he’s a more explosive runner than Mattison. That explosiveness gives the Vikings something they have lacked in the run game for much of the season. The Lions are eighth in the NFL in rushing defense, allowing 95.9 yards per game, so they won’t be as easy to run against as the Bengals (28th in the NFL against the run, giving up 128.3 yards per game).
Columnist Saivion Mixson: S Camryn Bynum
Bynum had one of his worst performances, not just this season, but of his career Saturday. He was targeted seven times. All seven were caught, including the 13-yard touchdown for Tee Higgins to start the fourth quarter. Browning had a passer rating of 150.3 when targeting Bynum on Saturday, the worst of Bynum’s career when targeted five or more times in a game.
The last game where he let up a passer rating over 100 to a quarterback was against Chicago in week six. He followed that up with the performance of a lifetime against San Francisco with nine total tackles, two interceptions and a passer rating of 24.2 when targeted, earning him NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Will lightning strike twice? Maybe not to that extent, but there’s no doubt that Bynum will come in laser-focused against the Lions.
Columnist Chris Spooner: QB Nick Mullens
Lost in the hubbub of the loss last week is that Nick Mullens played pretty well for the most part. He threw for over 300 yards, had a pair of touchdowns, and was generally playing well enough for the Vikings to win that game. Had he been the quarterback in the previous two games and played like he did last week, you can make a pretty strong argument that Minnesota would have won both of those games.
That’s not to say that Mullens played anywhere near a perfect game. His ball placement was sketchy the entire game. He threw two crucial interceptions that arguably cost the Vikings the win, and of course there were the back-to-back failed “tush push” plays that *did* cost the Vikings the win. So it was a mixed bag with Mullens. What are the Vikings going to get out of him this week, with their playoff lives hanging in the balance? Are they going to get the Mullens who was able to be effective, or are they going to get the one who was spraying the ball all over the field and making pivotal mistakes? Are those two versions one in the same?
