DAILY CLIPS

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2020

LOCAL NEWS: Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Star Tribune

Film: Five players who could be building blocks for the Vikings By Andrew Krammer https://www.startribune.com/film-five-players-who-could-be-building-blocks-for-the-vikings/600004785/

Wait, an early (partial) mock draft? Vikings take who?? By Mark Craig https://www.startribune.com/wait-an-early-partial-mock-draft-vikings-take-who/573498752/

Vikings put tight end Kyle Rudolph on injured reserve By Ben Goessling https://www.startribune.com/vikings-put-tight-end-kyle-rudolph-on-injured-reserve/600004877/

The state of Minnesota football in 2020: Doubly brutal By Patrick Reusse https://www.startribune.com/the-state-of-minnesota-football-in-2020-doubly-brutal/573499452/

Pioneer Press

Vikings place TE Kyle Rudolph on injured reserve, sign guard off practice squad By Chris Tomasson https://www.twincities.com/2020/12/29/vikings-place-te-kyle-rudolph-on-injured-reserve-sign-guard-kyle-hinton-off- practice-squad/

Lions’ faces Vikings on Sunday in what could be his final NFL game By Chris Tomasson https://www.twincities.com/2020/12/29/lions-adrian-peterson-faces-vikings-on-sunday-in-what-could-be-his-final-nfl- game/

The Athletic

How the Vikings season was lost: Everything that went wrong in 2020 By Arif Hasan https://theathletic.com/2289119/2020/12/29/vikings-missed-playoffs-offense-defense/

Purple Insider

Vikings' Week 17 game has its share of finality, uncertainty and optimism By Matthew Coller https://purpleinsider.substack.com/p/vikings-week-17-game-has-its-share

Skor North

Vikings place Kyle Rudolph on injured reserve, will tight end return next season? By Judd Zulgad https://www.skornorth.com/vikings-place-kyle-rudolph-on-injured-reserve-will-tight-end-return-next-season/

NATIONAL NEWS: Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Maven Media

Vikings Place Kyle Rudolph on IR, Sign Guard Kyle Hinton to Active Roster By Will Ragatz https://www.si.com/nfl/vikings/news/vikings-place-kyle-rudolph-ir-sign-guard-kyle-hinton-active-roster

VIKINGS ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK: Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Vikings Move TE Kyle Rudolph to IR; Sign G Kyle Hinton to Active Roster By Lindsey Young https://www.vikings.com/news/kyle-rudolph-ir-kyle-hinton-active-roster

NFL Power Rankings: Vikings Dip Before Season Finale By Eric Smith https://www.vikings.com/news/nfl-week-17-power-rankings

Early Look: Vikings to Finish 2020 Season Against Lions By Eric Smith https://www.vikings.com/news/lions-early-look-vikings-finish-2020-season

Lunchbreak: The Athletic Proposes Vikings Offseason 'To-Do' List By Lindsey Young https://www.vikings.com/news/2021-offseason-to-do-list

Personal Milestones within Vikings Reach in 2020 Finale By Craig Peters https://www.vikings.com/news/dalvin-cook-justin-jeffersron-adam-thielen-2020-milestones

PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 12/30/20

Film: Five players who could be building blocks for the Vikings

By Andrew Krammer

How much can the offensive and defensive lines be restocked? Will all the injured defensive stars come back healthy? Are the cornerbacks going to keep progressing? Who will start opposite Harrison Smith at safety? There are a lot of questions about the future of a Vikings roster locked into the franchise's first losing season since 2014.

There have also been a handful of players flashing long-term potential, including at key positions like corner, offensive line, tight end and the struggling special teams.

For the sake of brevity, we'll keep this to non-first round players as receiver and cornerback have made strong impressions in their own ways. The good news for General Manager Rick Spielman is three of these players still come from the 2020 draft, which at first blush has a chance to be the Vikings' best class since 2015.

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1. Cornerback 's (#27) rookie season won't necessarily be remembered for having Smith, his All-Pro teammate, telling him to cover his guy, in so many words, after D.K. Metcalf's game-winning touchdown in Seattle. That's a credit to how Dantzler, the third-round pick, has improved in coverage. He's remained aggressive in run contain on the perimeter despite rib and neck injuries forcing him to miss time. He's played 601 defensive snaps [59.1%] with three tackles for a loss, two interceptions, two deflections and a fumble recovery in 11 games. But these corners are missing tackles like none under coach Mike Zimmer. Gladney soared past the previous high (' nine misses in 2019) with 15 whiffs and a game to play. Dantzler has eight missed tackles, per Pro Football Focus. He's also crossed wires in coverage, misaligned before the snap based on poor awareness and made other rookie mistakes. But Dantzler has used his long arms to make plays and displayed an unfazed confidence that Zimmer tends to like.

Dantzler has made a strong push to the finish, being credited with an interception or pass deflection in four straight games before the loss in New Orleans, including during this second-and-8 play in Tampa Bay.

Dantzler begins in off coverage and handles the switch release between Buccaneers tight end (#82) and receiver Chris Godwin (#14). Because Auclair is not a speed threat and Dantzler has deep help in safety Harrison Smith over the top, he controls his own pace with the Bucs tight end before jumping the in- breaking route.

Tom Brady's pass appears to come out a beat late, and Dantzler avoids early contact while playing the ball. He's going to have much tougher assignments, but this basic understanding of where his help is defensively, jumping the route and avoiding illegal NFL contact is a good sign of consistency.

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2. Defensive end D.J. Wonnum (#98) is a quick study, coaches have found, while giving him more and more to handle in a role that started to grow before Yannick Ngakoue was traded to Baltimore. His role was solidified once Ngakoue was gone, as Wonnum has played 420 defensive snaps [41.9%], the fifth most on a young D- line and the most by a rookie lineman since in 2015. That's the lofty comparison coaches have made to Wonnum, due to a similar 6-foot-5-inch frame and a work ethic visible when watching him play. But like every Vikings defender, he had a rough one in his first NFL start in New Orleans, where he missed a handful of tackles and illustrated how far he has yet to go.

Most of Wonnum's impact plays — five tackles for losses and three sacks — have been the product of relentless effort, and not necessarily superior technique, which is to be expected for the rookie. This includes his four stops against Chicago in the Week 15 loss.

On this first-and-goal play, Wonnum makes the incredibly quick read on a zone run to corral Bears running back David Montgomery (#32) for a 2-yard gain. It starts with the proper angle, following behind the left tackle's back shoulder, and ends with acceleration and closing speed that bode well for his NFL future.

Bears receiver Darnell Mooney (#11) has little interest in laying out for this backside block on Wonnum, who is past the line of scrimmage before anybody touches him.

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3. Tight ends Irv Smith Jr. (#84) and (#83) have emerged in a way that casts a shadow over veteran Kyle Rudolph's spot as a highly-paid starter. Smith, in Year 2, and Conklin, in Year 3, have added spring to the step of the downfield passing attack from heavy personnel groupings favored by coordinator Gary Kubiak. Those bigger formations have continued even with Rudolph sidelined since a Dec. 6 foot injury. Smith has played 482 snaps [48.1%] and Conklin is at 391 snaps [39%] this season. Both have been heavily involved as defenses key on receivers Justin Jefferson and .

The Vikings have been waiting on Smith, the 2019 second-round pick out of Alabama, to start playing up to his potential, and they saw improvements in his run blocking earlier this season. But injuries to his groin and back derailed a midseason ascension. He's returned and continued to ascend as a pass catcher, outrunning linebackers and running over safeties from all areas of the field. He's been particularly effective as a red-zone weapon, with two games — Nov. 8 vs. Lions and Friday in New Orleans — with two touchdown catches after fake handoffs near the goal line.

Conklin, the 2018 fifth-round pick from Central Michigan, has enjoyed the biggest breakout this side of Justin Jefferson. Much of his receiving production — 12 catches for 128 yards and a touchdown — have come in the past three weeks with Rudolph sidelined.

Conklin is making grabs in key moments. He's recently moved the chains three times on third or fourth downs against the Bucs and Saints, including this third-and-8 play in New Orleans. Notice Conklin (#83) is not the center of the Saints' defensive attention, with top cornerback Marshon Lattimore (#23) shadowing Jefferson (#18) and four defenders hovering over a trips formation, including Smith (#84), to the left.

Conklin wasn't the defense's focus, but he's where quarterback goes upon facing quick pressure up the middle. A sharp cut on an in-breaking route helps him get free of Saints linebacker Kwon Alexander (#58), and strong hands finish the 9-yard catch.

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4. Offensive lineman 's (#72) whirlwind rookie season started buried on the depth chart at guard, a position the ex-Boise St. tackle said he hadn't played in a game since high school. The former second-round pick started by Week 6 and has since taken every snap at right guard outside of a two-game absence to an ankle injury. He's played 541 snaps [54%], coming on as a pleasant surprise to a coaching staff that waited through four rough starts by guard before an injury led to the switch. Cleveland has been inconsistent, struggling with power and the speed of D-line twists (he was overpowered during Cam Jordan's strip sack last week). And December hasn't been a good month for this interior offensive line against the Bucs, Bears and Saints. But he's also flashed some of the reasons why the Vikings compared him to right tackle Brian O'Neill.

Sticking to and finishing blocks seem to be among Cleveland's areas to improve. He too often bounces off defenders, who are then free to pursue and affect the play. Then you see plays like this 20-yard run by in the Week 15 loss to Chicago.

It's an inside zone run on second-and-5. The Bears keep the box light, preparing for a shot play. But Kubiak often runs in these situations, perhaps because Cook can break off runs like this. With the numbers advantage up front (six defenders to the right, seven blockers), Cleveland heads immediately to the linebacker level and the Bears' Danny Trevathan (#59).

There are a few things to watch here, but starting with Cleveland, notice in the video below that his pads stay north and his feet keep moving upon contact.

Cook sets up the nose tackle by starting his run left before cutting right, where Cleveland has walled off Trevathan and O'Neill (#75) does a great job burying his shoulder into Bears defensive tackle Akiem Hicks' attempted swim move. Hicks (#96) reacts by swinging at O'Neill; officials miss the foul.

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5. Special teamer (#85) has rebounded since the catastrophic special teams performances in Chicago included the rookie trying to down a punt while standing on the goal line. Coaches made him a healthy scratch the following week against the Cowboys. He's since played a consistent role in five straight games — 237 special teams snaps on the season [57.2%] — while coordinator Marwan Maalouf rotated gunners between Chisena, running back and cornerbacks and Kris Boyd, prior to Boyd's season- ending shoulder injury.

Chisena is the former track athlete at Penn State who only played a handful of football games before the Vikings signed him as an undrafted free agent. They saw a potentially premiere special teams player, and Chisena began to realize some of that potential this season between growing pains.

His burner speed, said to have been clocked in the 4.3's during the pre-draft process, was on display in New Orleans, where it was easy to overlook Chisena breezing past a Saints blocker to force a fair catch at the 4-yard line on a 51-yard punt. It's hard to outkick your coverage when coverage can run that fast.

Chisena is also starting to improve off the line, splitting a double team earlier this month in Tampa Bay on a 4- yard punt return. He releases inside to create a crease between two Bucs blockers, then turns on the jets between them.

Speed control is a work in progress. In the video below, Chisena overruns the returner while Hand (#38) properly slows down, maintains position and makes the tackle. Hand, the fifth-round pick who made a couple plays as a defensive back in New Orleans, has also stood out on special teams in the final month. PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 12/30/20

Wait, an early (partial) mock draft? Vikings take who??

By Mark Craig

Week 16 saw the Vikings improve their 2021 draft position by social distancing from Saints running back Alvin Kamara every time he touched the football.

They moved up to No. 13 while being forcefully shoved down and out of the 2020 playoff picture.

So now what?

On to Detroit, as quarterback Kirk Cousins said after Friday's 52-33 loss?

Nah.

Mock draft time. Duh.

So, here you go, draftniks. After spending literally 30 to 31.5 minutes brushing up on the 2021 draft, this normally one-and-done, highly unsuccessful mock draft guesser gives you his first December mock draft. He stopped at 13 because he grew tired of the exercise and is old enough to remember just how many of these guys never live up to any of the things written about them before the draft.

So, here goes …

1. Jaguars (1-14) They held a Week 16 quarterback competition … and Mike Glennon won, for pete's sake. PICK: Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson.

2. Jets (2-13) Now that Adam Gase has blown the Lawrence pick will his successor build around 2018 No. 3 overall pick Sam Darnold or panic and grab the nearest quarterback? This is the NFL in the 2020s. He'll panic. PICK: Zach Wilson, QB, BYU.

3. Dolphins (10-5) (From Houston) Talk about NFL sensory overload. The Dolphins have it all. Fans of actual football love them. Fans of spring crapshoots love them. On Saturday, Jon Gruden's inability to manage the end of a game handed Miami a 10th win and set up a win-and-they're-in playoff scenario for Week 17. Sunday, Houston lost to Cincinnati to leapfrog the Bengals into the top 3 in the draft. The only downside for the Texans is Miami owns the pick from the Laremy Tunsil trade. Do the Dolphins play it safe and pick another offensive tackle to protect or do they give him a familiar toy to play with? PICK: DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama.

4. Falcons (4-11) Matt Ryan isn't getting any younger or better, but Atlanta needs just about everything. A 6-2, 207-pound elite corner helps. PICK: Caleb Farley, CB, Virginia Tech.

5. Bengals (4-10-1) Reuniting with Ja'Marr Chase is tempting. But the first priority is keeping the young QB alive. PICK: Penei Sewell, OT, Oregon.

6. Eagles (4-10-1) The QB situation is a mess. But some defense also would be nice. PICK: Patrick Surtain II, DB, Alabama.

7. Lions (5-10) Do they pull the trigger on Matthew Stafford's replacement? Or give the Vikings the pain-in-the-butt of having to cover the alleged next Tyreek Hill twice a year? PICK: , WR, Alabama.

8. Giants (5-10) Is Daniel Jones the guy? Probably not. But it's too early to boot him. Especially with this many holes and no edge rushers off the board. PICK: Kwity Paye, edge, Michigan.

9. Panthers (5-10) What better bridge to the future than ? PICK: Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State.

10. Broncos (5-10) Keep swinging, Mr. Elway. PICK: Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State.

11. Cowboys (6-9) They need more defensive backs. In this scenario, an edge rusher could be the best option. PICK: Gregory Rousseau, DE, Miami, Fla.

12. Chargers (6-9) They found their quarterback last year. Now let's give him some better protection. PICK: Rashawn Slater, OT, Northwestern.

And …

Poor Mike Zimmer was pummeled twice on Christmas Day. First, his good buddy, Sean Payton, attached historical significance to Zim's defensive debacle when he fed Kamara a sixth rushing touchdown that tied a 91- year-old record set by Ernie Nevers.

Then a reporter got Zim to eat his now infamous last words that he's never coached a bad defense. Zim's response — "This is a bad defense. Worst one I've ever had" — was instantly stamped on the title page of the 2020 season.

So, yeah, Zim needs help defensively. An elite three-technique tackle who can play the run and pressure the quarterback would fit nicely with all the pieces Zimmer should be getting back.

But …

There is a lot to be said about having guards who don't end up being thrown into Kirk Cousins' lap in key passing situations.

There's a guy at Ohio State named . He's 6-4, 315 pounds. Schooled in zone blocking. Smooth feet, strong, smart, yada, yada.

He's started 21 consecutive games at right guard. He helped the Buckeyes into the playoffs. And among 2020 Associated Press first-team All-Americans, he's the only repeat pick from 2019.

So, here goes …

13. Vikings (6-9) Guards aren't as easy to find as some like to suggest. Especially the elite ones. PICK: Wyatt Davis, G, Ohio State. PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 12/30/20

Vikings put tight end Kyle Rudolph on injured reserve

By Ben Goessling

The Vikings placed Kyle Rudolph on injured reserve Tuesday because of a foot injury, ending the veteran tight end's 10th NFL season.

The 31-year-old had 28 catches for 334 yards in 12 games in 2020. For his career, the two-time Pro Bowler has 453 receptions for 4,485 and 48 touchdowns.

Rudolph got a four-year, $36 million contract extension before the 2019 season, with $9.25 million guaranteed. The Vikings would save $5.1 million by releasing Rudolph before 2021.

Hinton is a rookie from Washburn (Kansas) who was a seventh round pick.

The Vikings are at Detroit on Sunday.

PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 12/30/20

The state of Minnesota football in 2020: Doubly brutal

By Patrick Reusse

There was an attempt to find a comparable for this football season in Minnesota, when our two major entities, the Vikings and the Gophers, started with varied degrees of optimism and turned into embarrassing failures.

I wound up going back to the start of the previous decade, to 2010, for the comparison:

The Vikings were coming off a near-miss in the NFC Championship Game in New Orleans, and there still was hope for Tim Brewster as he entered his fourth season as Gophers coach.

Once Brett Favre was lured back for another season, the Vikings' optimism for 2010 was so strong that even a grumpy Strib columnist offered a prediction this would be the season that finally led to a Purple victory in a Super Bowl.

The season started with an ineffectual offense and two losses, was reacquired and quickly reverted to moronic behavior, Brad Childress was 3-7 and fired on Nov. 22, the Metrodome roof collapsed, Favre was injured and went home to stay, and the Vikings wound up 6-10.

The Gophers had moved into TCF Bank Stadium in 2009 and announced seven sellouts of 50,805. The new place actually was that full on Halloween Night, when Adam Weber passed for 416 yards and won a 42-34 shootout over Michigan State and Kirk Cousins.

The schedule was tough — back-to-back road losses at Ohio State and Penn State – and the Gophers finished 6-6. They then offered a feeble effort and lost to Iowa State, 14-13, in the Insight Bowl.

Still, Weber was back for 2010, so was running back Duane Bennett, and there was this first-year quarterback, MarQueis Gray. The buildup was such that I went to the spring game — played at St. Thomas' O'Shaughnessy Field — and Gray was outstanding.

The Gophers started 1-6 and, on Oct. 17, Brewster became the school's first football coach to be fired in midseason. By then, legions of our Marooned who had devoured Coach Brew's bull slinging for three previous seasons were now claiming to have known from the beginning he wasn't going to cut it.

A decade later, we have had a bit of a reversal in the optimism category:

The Gophers were the recipients of the largest share this summer, while the Vikings were looked at as the only feasible challenger to favored Green Bay in the NFC North.

The Gophers were coming off an 11-2 season and the upset of Auburn in the Outback Bowl. They were No. 19 in the Associated Press' preseason ratings in late August.

The Big Ten had first announced a postponement into 2021, then reversed itself and revealed eight-game schedules on Sept. 19. Five days later, no less of an authority than Sid Hartman — gone a month later but never to be forgotten — offered this optimism in the Star Tribune:

"And now the Gophers get to open the 2020 season against Michigan at home Oct. 24 and follow that up by opening against Ohio State at TCF Bank Stadium for the 2021 season …

"And the fact is that there is not a better time for the Gophers to get these kind of marquee season-opening games, with coach P.J. Fleck and quarterback Tanner Morgan leading a real collection of talent that has built up a lot of excitement about the football program.''

The Gophers lost that Michigan opener 49-24. They allowed 256 yards rushing to the Wolverines. The alibi was, "Well, it was Michigan." And then it turned out to be the worst Michigan team since Bo Schembechler arrived in Ann Arbor in 1969.

The other alibi was: "They have a lot of new guys on defense."

Yeah, and a lot of slow guys.

Who takes the fault for that, Fleck-o-lytes, after his three full recruiting years and a late arrival for a fourth?

A week later, that defense performed the feat of allowing 675 yards to Maryland. At season's end, the Gophers beat three bad teams (Illinois, Purdue, Nebraska), and lost to two bad teams (Maryland, Michigan), one subpar team (Wisconsin) and one good team (Iowa).

The game at West champion Northwestern was canceled, and the Gophers also declined to participate in the bowl game free-for-all, hopefully out of embarrassment.

As for Mike Zimmer's Vikings, they made a statement in the season opener at home against the Packers. Green Bay 43, Vikings 34 (with Cousins' usual garbage-time flurry), and the statement was, "We stink on defense."

And months later, on Christmas night, Zimmer's defense signed off from its remote chance to be exposed in the playoffs with a historic level of that stink-age in New Orleans:

Fifty-two points, 583 yards and 36 first downs allowed and, of course, those six touchdowns by Alvin Kamara to tie an NFL record set in 1929 by Ernie Nevers.

Ernie Nevers, you clowns. Six hundred-and-75 yards to the Terps, you other clowns.

Thanks for nothin', Vikes and Gophs, except for Mohamed Ibrahim, Dalvin Cook and Justin Jefferson. PUBLICATION: Pioneer Press DATE: 12/30/20

Vikings place TE Kyle Rudolph on injured reserve, sign guard Kyle Hinton off practice squad

By Chris Tomasson

The season ended Tuesday for tight end Kyle Rudolph when the Vikings placed him on injured reserve. Next it will be determined if his career with them is over.

Rudolph hasn’t played since suffering a foot injury Dec. 6 against Jacksonville, and will miss his fourth straight game in Minnesota’s season finale Sunday at Detroit. With the open roster spot, the Vikings signed rookie guard Kyle Hinton, a seventh-round draft pick, off the practice squad.

Rudolph, whose base salary for the 2020 season is $7.025 million, has three years left on his contract. He is on the books in 2021 for a base salary of $7.625 million with a salary-cap number of $9.45 million, and many believe the 10-year veteran would need to take a significant pay cut to remain with the team. If the Vikings release Rudolph, they would save $5.1 million.

“That’s certainly a possibility,” former Minnesota star tight end Steve Jordan said last week about whether Rudolph, 31, could be a salary-cap casualty “It’s unfortunate, but that’s the system we’re in.”

The Vikings have money issues and the cap could drop from $198.2 million to as low as $175 million next season due to the coronavirus pandemic. Rudolph’s production has declined in recent seasons, and the Vikings have two solid young tight ends with much lower salaries in Irv Smith Jr. and Tyler Conklin.

Rudolph made Pro Bowls in 2012 and 2017, and in 2016 caught a career-high 83 passes for the Vikings. But, becoming more of a blocker, he had just 39 catches last season, and he had 28 in the 12 games he played this year. When Rudolph sat out the Dec. 13 game at Tampa Bay, it ended a streak of 93 straight games played and 98 overall when five playoff games are considered.

Rudolph has been very active in the community since joining the Vikings as a second-round draft pick in 2011 out of Notre Dame. He was the team’s nominee for the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year Award for three straight years until linebacker got the nod this season.

Hinton joined the Vikings after playing at tiny Washburn (Kan.) University. He was cut before the start of the season, and then spent the first 15 games on the practice squad. He has looked good in recent practices, and Minnesota protected him on the practice squad last week so he could not be picked up by another team.

Hinton played primarily tackle in college before being drafted as a guard. There also has been talk of grooming him to play some center in the future.

The Vikings on Tuesday also placed tight end Brandon Dillon on the practice squad COVID-19 list. He had been on the practice squad injured list. PUBLICATION: Pioneer Press DATE: 12/30/20

Lions’ Adrian Peterson faces Vikings on Sunday in what could be his final NFL game

By Chris Tomasson

After 14 seasons and more than 14,000 yards rushing, could Sunday finally be the end of the line for Adrian Peterson?

The Detroit Lions running back will conclude the 2020 season with a home game against the Vikings, the team he starred for from 2007-16. It’s reasonable to suggest it could be final NFL game.

Peterson, who turns 36 in March, has played sparingly of late, managing just 14 carries for 40 yards over the past three games. He has 541 yards rushing this season but is averaging only 3.6 yards per carry, a full yard less than his career average.

Peterson has talked often about wanting to play until age 40, and there is no indication he will retire on his own after he becomes a free agent in March. But it remains to be seen if any team would be willing to sign him.

“Hopefully, it’s not his last game (Sunday),” said Peterson’s father, Nelson Peterson. “I think he still has a lot left in the tank, but it’s not up to you, it’s up to the people in the NFL.”

If Sunday is his last game, it would be suitable that it is against the Vikings, the team for which he made seven Pro Bowls and had seven 1,000-yard rushing seasons, including a high of 2,097 yards in 2012.

After being released by Washington just before the start of the season, Peterson was picked up by the Lions, and he had high hopes. The offensive coordinator to start the season was Darrell Bevell, who was the Vikings’ coordinator from 2006-10, a period that included Peterson’s first four seasons with the team and a time he produced 5,782 yards rushing for the Vikings.

Peterson rushed for 209 yards in the first three games this season before the Lions turned to rookie D’Andre Swift to handle much more of the running load. Even after Bevell replaced Matt Patricia to become Detroit’s head coach on Nov. 28, little has changed.

“He doesn’t like it,” Nelson Peterson said of his son’s role in the Lions’ offense. “Adrian’s a competitor. He likes to compete, but you’ve got to be a team player, and so he’s trying to do that.”

Peterson has not yet been available for comment this week. A Lions representative said he might hold a Zoom call on Thursday for Detroit-area reporters.

“Detroit is the only team that has been able to stop him in his 14-year career,” Nelson Peterson quipped about his son not getting the ball much. “They don’t want to give him the ball to protect Barry Sanders’ record.”

Peterson is fifth on the NFL’s all-time rushing list with 14,757 yards, and his father is referring to former Lions great Barry Sanders sitting at fourth with 15,269.

Peterson has talked many times over the years about breaking Emmitt Smith’s all-time rushing record of 18,355 yards. But he might be running out of chances to get to 15,000.

“I’m sure a lot of people are saying this might be his last game, but I think he could compete a couple more years personally because of the way he takes care of himself,” said , a Vikings star running back from 1973-79. “I think a lot of (NFL) people are going to emphasize his age. Maybe he’s (going to be) 36, but he could probably outwork anybody that’s 23.”

If Sunday does turn out to be Peterson’s final game, Foreman said it could be fitting that it’s against the Vikings.

“It might be the best time to give (the ball) to him because the Vikings don’t seem to be tackling anybody,” Foreman said. “If I’m Detroit, I’m giving it to him and letting him run.”

In a 52-33 loss last Friday at New Orleans, the Vikings gave up 583 yards, including 264 on the ground; both are the most allowed in Mike Zimmer’s seven seasons as head coach. Saints running back Alvin Kamara tied NFL records with six rushing and total touchdowns.

Zimmer said the Vikings missed 17 tackles against the Saints, and that will be a point of emphasis against the Lions. And now they will try to wrap up Peterson, who will play his fourth game against his former team since the Vikings decided not to re-sign him as a free agent after the 2016 season.

In the three previous meetings, all at U.S. Bank Stadium, Peterson rushed for 18 yards on six carries in 2017 with New Orleans, 76 yards on 14 attempts last year for Washington and 29 yards on eight carries for the Lions in a 34-20 loss on Nov. 8.

“I wouldn’t put much past him as far as how long he’s going to play,” said safety Harrison Smith, Peterson’s Vikings teammate from 2012-16. “But playing against Adrian is always kind of a cool proposition because I had some good years playing with him here, watching him be great. So, playing against him is always a great opportunity, just because of who he is and what he’s meant to the Vikings.” PUBLICATION: The Athletic DATE: 12/30/20

How the Vikings season was lost: Everything that went wrong in 2020

By Arif Hasan

To some extent, it shouldn’t surprise observers that the Vikings ended up eliminated from the playoff race with a week to go in the regular season. While Mike Zimmer’s down years are quite a bit better than the down years most teams see, they still have ended with his teams going home early.

Zimmer has an unfailing — and somewhat justified — faith in his defense. That fell apart in 2020 and the offense couldn’t keep up, all while the special teams unit had its worst year in recent memory — which is saying quite a lot for a Vikings group that often sees special teams failures mark its worst losses.

How did the Vikings go from playoff contenders last year and NFC championship contenders the year before to the disappointment this year? Let’s take a look.

Discontinuity on defense Over the course of the Zimmer era, the Vikings developed one of the most complex defenses in the NFL, helping them maintain their standings atop the NFL’s points leaderboard. Between 2015 and 2019, the Vikings ranked second in points allowed, just behind the Patriots, and fifth in point differential and winning percentage despite starting six different quarterbacks (four of whom started more than 10 games).

That complexity requires chemistry, and that comes from constant communication and familiarity. The Vikings defense in that span of time only ever lost one or two starters from season to season, and often at positions that require less communication with teammates — moving on from one defensive tackle to another means less in terms of a potential breakdown than moving on from a starting cornerback, for instance.

The Vikings entered Friday’s Saints game with a substantially different defense than the one they had last year in the wild-card round, with seven starters in that game unavailable for this year’s regular-season matchup, along with a number of key depth players who rotated in that game that aren’t on the roster this year. The Vikings’ starters — in nickel or base defensive packages — at the beginning of 2019 and now at the end of 2020 only share three players: Anthony Harris, Harrison Smith and Shamar Stephen.

Some of the Vikings’ losses were intentional. They moved on from three starting cornerbacks mostly willingly and decided that Everson Griffen and Linval Joseph weren’t going to live up to their cap liabilities. Others were unexpected — losing Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr for substantial periods of time due to injury loosened up a run defense that already had questions, and their coverage impact over the middle can’t be overstated. Not only that, emerging star Danielle Hunter couldn’t suit up all year.

Their expected replacements couldn’t fill in the gaps, either. Joseph replacement Michael Pierce opted out of the season while Holton Hill and Mike Hughes started early before hitting injured reserve — and the Vikings eventually waived Hill. Though they can be happy with their rookie cornerbacks now, the rough start to the season is fairly expected for rookies, and it would have been nice to ease in that group more gradually.

That turnover on defense meant that the Vikings’ usual modus operandi — inscrutable coverages with high-level communication and disguise — wasn’t going to work. And it didn’t for the first few games, with blown assignments highlighting the defensive struggles to go along with a softer defensive interior that allowed for much better run blocking from their opponents.

Over the first four weeks, the Vikings ranked 21st in expected points allowed against the run and 29th in success rate allowed against the run. Against the pass, they were 24th in EPA and 20th in opposing pass success rate. Overall, their defense ranked 21st overall in EPA/play and 27th in success rate allowed.

The improvement of the young secondary couldn’t come in time to avoid the three early losses in the season and gave the Vikings no wiggle room to earn enough wins later on to squeak into the playoffs.

The losses at linebacker demonstrated these tight tolerances. The Vikings entered a point where they couldn’t have much else go wrong. Of course, that’s exactly what happened. Kendricks sustained a calf injury against Carolina in Week 12 and hasn’t appeared in a game since. One can look at the defensive revival after the first four weeks as one where Zimmer took better advantage of the talent while Kendricks’ injury was the moment where even the best scheme couldn’t account for the lack of quality players on the field.

1-4 21st 24th 20th 21st 29th 5-12 15th 16th 22nd 11th 10th 6-16 28th 22nd 31st 30th 31st The Vikings got to the point where the value they gave up on the ground by the end of the year — 0.155 points per rush attempt — was identical to the value any above-average passing offense put together when throwing the ball, meaning it was just as efficient for opponents to run the ball as it was for them to throw it.

Through 16 weeks, the Vikings’ defense gave up the third-highest scoring rate on drives, though only 15th in touchdown rate because of their excellent red-zone performance. That has made them 11th-worst in points given up per drive.

Defensive deficiencies The Vikings’ struggles were not just a product of a lack of chemistry. They simply lacked talent on the defense, and it’s one reason that they couldn’t sustain losses — their depth at key positions was severely lacking.

The cupboard looks especially bare when looking at the defensive line. Perhaps nothing captures the state of the unit better than the fact that the Vikings’ sack leader only has five. He also plays for the and has for most of the season.

The Yannick Ngakoue trade — initially meant to supercharge a pass-rush that could take advantage of substantial edge pressure — came to represent all the struggles on the defense. Initially full of promise, the unknowns were more appealing than the early outcomes. Despite some flashes, Ngakoue didn’t live up to his potential, Minnesota started 1-5 and the Vikings decided that was enough to move on. He didn’t exactly get better in Baltimore, but it’s easy to have seller’s remorse as the Vikings turned out to need some pass-rushing help as they made a surprising push for the playoffs.

At edge rusher, the Vikings were left with — in order of the number of pass-rushing snaps they had — Ifeadi Odenigbo, , D.J. Wonnum and Hercules Mata’afa. All with pressure rates of 10 percent or lower, they rank 43rd, 97th, 61st and 47th (of 119), respectively, when compared to other edge rushers.

It is not particularly bad for a starting defensive line to feature an edge rusher who ranks 43rd in pressure production, but it is crippling if that player is the best pass-rusher.

They fared better as run defenders, but it’s notable that the record is mixed more than it is useful. One measure, stop rate, tells us how often players tackled runners near the line of scrimmage — before they could gain yardage helpful for the offense. In stop rate, those four players ranked 116th, 25th, 69th and ninth, respectively.

They also missed a high rate of tackles in the run game. None of them ranked in the top 45 in lowest missed- tackle rate, either.

Ifeadi Odenigbo 43rd 116th 50th Jalyn Holmes 97th 25th 47th D.J. Wonnum 61st 69th 118th Hercules Mata'afa 47th 9th 98th Things look even bleaker at defensive tackle. The Vikings were remarkably thin at the position, forced to play a primary rotation of three players — Stephen, and .

They couldn’t account for their intended starter at the position opting out of the season, of course, but they also did very little to add relevant players who could consistently challenge for a starting spot, especially at the understaffed three-technique position, meant to rush the passer. All three players the Vikings employed at tackle are generally regarded as nose tackles and aren’t considered to have pass-rush upside. They didn’t impress at either job.

Shamar Stephen 130th 118th 71st Jaleel Johnson 142nd 103rd 30th Armon Watts 82nd 62nd 79th Out of 152 qualifying defensive tackles, the Vikings’ corps looked bleak. Johnson’s 2.0-percent pressure rate would rank second-to-last if we were more stringent about qualifiers — 76th of 77 defensive tackles with 200 pass-rushing snaps. Stephen ranked 75th.

The Vikings are absolutely insistent that Stephen played a big role in Kendricks’ huge season last year. Be that as it may, the tradeoff is still probably not worth it if the end result is absolutely no interior pressure.

At linebacker, coverage is difficult to completely capture statistically. If good coverage results in a completion because of unerring accuracy by a quarterback, and then goes for 80 yards, that’s more a failure of tackling by the whole team and a good job by the QB than a problem from the coverage defender. Similarly, if a deep bomb lands perfectly in the hands of a receiver off of a blown coverage but is dropped, that’s a statistical win for the coverage defender.

To some extent, PFF coverage grade covers this. Sports Info Solutions’ “deserved completion rate” captures some of this as well. How did the Vikings linebackers fare here?

Eric Kendricks 2nd 7th 15th Eric Wilson 38th 15th 18th Todd Davis 74th N/A N/A We don’t have enough data to include the replacement linebackers — , and Hardy Nickerson didn’t play enough to qualify to be among the 100 linebackers with at least 200 total snaps. But their PFF grades in coverage rank below any qualifying linebacker, effectively making them “dead last” in any list.

The story isn’t much different in the run game.

Eric Kendricks 24th 34th Eric Wilson 90th 67th Todd Davis 82nd 45th Troy Dye 92nd 88th These run metrics become less useful the further away one lines up from the line of scrimmage, as those players are dependent on the players in front of them in some ways. It’s not simply a product of talent up front, either — good defensive tackles can help or hurt production; linebackers who benefit from tackles who hold double-teams will get more stops, while linebackers playing with productive defensive tackles will have fewer opportunities to create tackles because the available run stops are soaked up by the defense in front of them. That’s one reason the PFF grade is kinder to the Vikings in run defense — Davis ranks 16th, while Kendricks ranks 26th — though Wilson unsurprisingly ranks 90th of the 100 qualifying linebackers. Nickerson would rank 59th and Lynch would rank 61st, with Dye ranking last again.

The issue appears to be that the depth linebackers the Vikings employ seem to be specialists. Dye and Wilson are far better in coverage than they are against the run — though Wilson was up-and-down this year with some coverage busts hurting him while impressive interceptions brought him into the limelight — while Davis is a run- stuffer.

Here, it’s easier to be a little more generous to the Vikings. They entered the season not just with a top-level linebacker in Kendricks but a very good one in Barr. Even if you think Barr is overpaid, he’s substantially better than the linebackers who replaced him and better than most starting linebackers. Behind them, they had a competition between , Cameron Smith and Wilson.

Gedeon apparently never recovered from the concussion issues that put him on injured reserve last season and Smith had an emergency develop that required season-ending surgery. Wilson is a great subpackage player for coverage purposes and Davis was a good find as a third linebacker for run-stuffing packages. But injuries at the position — both during the season and before it — crippled the Vikings and forced them to drop off in defensive performance.

In the secondary, they employed a pair of safeties who played at an elite level over the last two years and were lucky that their depth there wasn’t tested — they didn’t have any backups on the active roster for a short period of time and only one, a rookie, for most of the season. We covered the rotating cast at cornerback, but it’s demonstrative to take a look at yards given up to receivers per route run over those periods of time.

1-4 2.18 6-12 1.56 13-16 2.08 That’s critical context when evaluating players like Cameron Dantzler and Jeff Gladney, who improved over time. That said, it’s still useful to look at season-long performance when looking at season-long results. A receiver group averaging 2.18 yards per route run would rank first in the NFL, just ahead of the Titans and Vikings’ receiver groups at 2.06 and 1.91, respectively, while a receiver group with 1.56 YPRR would rank 15th.

Harrison Smith 7th 18th 33rd Anthony Harris 50th 6th 11th Holton Hill 127th 71st 119th Kris Boyd 103rd 129th 125th Jeff Gladney 116th 124th 133rd Cameron Dantzler 32nd 76th 111th Chris Jones 111th 110th 134th The safeties are out of 95 qualifying players while the corners are out of 138.

It’s not a mystery that the Vikings couldn’t sustain themselves defensively. It took quite a while for the Vikings to adapt their scheme to identify their best players, then adapt the scheme to those players. And when other supporting players, like Kendricks — were forced out, the defense fell back apart.

Offensive depth and play-calling The Vikings, for the most part, have enough to make an offense work at a high level, with a quarterback who traditionally stuffs the box score with good offensive pieces around him. The Vikings found a potentially elite receiver in rookie Justin Jefferson and saw the return of Adam Thielen, who continued to play at a high level. Complementing them was Dalvin Cook, who played like one of the best running backs in the NFL this year.

For most of the year, the defensive performance wasn’t so poor that the offense couldn’t find a way to win games if it was effective enough. But the Vikings’ offense wasn’t good enough to overcome the defensive deficiencies.

Jefferson, who ranks third among all receivers in yards per route run, has taken the mantle as the top receiver, while Thielen ranks 29th. The receivers at the top aren’t the issue.

The problem is that the Vikings don’t have a viable third receiver to make efficient formations, like “11” personnel with three wideouts on the field. , their nominal third receiver, doesn’t have enough targets to qualify for PFF’s leaderboards but would rank below the 112th-ranked receiver in yards per route run — the Jets’ Jeff Smith, who produced 0.83 YPRR. Beebe produced 0.76 yards for every route he ran.

The issue at receiver limited the Vikings’ explosiveness and overall passing strength by putting less efficient options, like fullbacks and tight ends, on the field.

The Vikings rank a solid ninth in the NFL in expected points added in the running game, but that is still substantially less efficient than passing the ball. They rank 11th in passing strength by EPA. Despite ranking relatively better in the running game than the passing game, passing has been more effective for them on a per- play level — like it is for most teams.

Their heavy preference for the run game set them back in a substantial way despite the premier talent of Cook — particularly on downs where running the ball has historically hurt offenses, like second-and-long or second- and-short.

The Vikings are the sixth-most likely team to run the ball on early downs outside of garbage time, and in each individual situation they are one of the most likely teams in the NFL to run rather than pass.

That hurt the team, as did play calling that reduced play-action rate over last year. In 2019, Cousins was the sixth-most likely quarterback to pass out of play-action and earned 9.7 yards per attempt on play fakes — 2.3 more than his standard dropback YPA of 7.4. This is another example where his ranking on standard dropbacks (seventh) is higher than his rank on play-action (eighth) but his overall YPA improves because of the heavy play- action rate.

This year, that rate has dropped from 31 percent to 27 percent. That is a relatively small decrease and could be explained by individual variance, but the league environment saw more play-action passing overall, part of the many reasons we saw better passing efficiency this year. As a result, Cousins ranked 18th in play-action rate.

Offensive line woes All of these issues limited the Vikings’ effectiveness, but nothing hurt them more on offense than the offensive line.

We’ve seen poor offensive lines at the helm of good offenses, and teams with excellence elsewhere can overcome this. In this case, though, it adds to all the other problems the Vikings face. Their PFF offensive-line grade overall ranks 23rd but 31st in pass protection. Their No. 17 overall ranking in run blocking might be a reflection of their focus at the position, but it hurts the more important aspect of the game.

That’s one reason Cousins has been the fourth-most pressured quarterback in the NFL this year. Cousins’ performance under pressure hasn’t been all that bad — he ranks 11th of the 40 QBs with at least 50 dropbacks under pressure in yards per attempt, though he has produced enough turnovers for him to rank 19th in passer rating.

Like all quarterbacks, Cousins has been better in a clean pocket than under pressure, ranking second in passer rating and fourth in yards per attempt, but his improvement was even more substantial than most. Cousins ranks eighth in passer rating overall, but he would have ranked third if his pressure percentage matched that of Aaron Rodgers, assuming his dropbacks under pressure and a clean pocket can be prorated like that.

The offensive line was a legitimate disaster at points.

Riley Reiff 72.2 76.6 60.8 43.2 35.6 51.2 Brett Jones 77.6 76.1 73.6 Ezra Cleveland 67.6 49.6 70.2 Dru Samia 33.7 18.7 41.2 61.2 45.2 67 Brian O'Neill 77.8 68.3 83.3 While it’s not surprising that Brian O’Neill is the highest-graded Vikings lineman from PFF, he has taken a big step back from previous years and is giving up pressure much more willingly — he ranks 34th in pass-blocking efficiency (PBE) among 87 tackles with at least 300 pass-blocking snaps, per PFF. Last year, he ranked eighth. Reiff has improved from 39th to 10th, but his efficiency was much better early on and has tailed dramatically late.

The biggest issue, however, has been the guards. Dakota Dozier ranks dead last in PFF grade among guards with at least 500 total snaps and ranks last among offensive linemen at any position in pass-blocking grade. He ranks 84th among 90 guards in PBE.

The sheer magnitude of that issue overwhelms the legitimate issues at other positions. Right above Dozier at 83rd in PBE is Ezra Cleveland. Cleveland’s grade is built more off of some extremely poor individual showings buttressed by other games with fairly clean play — a high-ceiling/low-floor performance manifesting itself on the field.

The confusing issue instead has to do with Brett Jones, who has had limited on-field play and was forced to play guard after multiple injuries but outshined all of his peers in his limited opportunity. Despite the catastrophic play of Dozier at guard, the Vikings would only play Jones at the position when forced to by circumstance and only after exhausting all of their other options.

Garrett Bradbury’s play is worth scrutiny as he enters his third year. The improvement over last year is good to see but not substantial enough to support the team’s necessity for overall offensive improvement.

None of this is to say that Cousins doesn’t bear responsibility for his play. His turnovers can’t just be attributed to pressure, especially early in the season — his interceptions were baffling, often without seeing underneath defenders or throwing to the wrong defender. This might touch on a fundamental weakness of Cousins, seemingly more dependent on preparation and structure than other quarterbacks. Without a preseason, his play and chemistry were wildly off.

Not only that, Cousins has invited pressure just as often as the offensive line allowed pressure. He has held on to the ball too long far too often, and though a substantial part of that has to do with the inherently slow nature of play-action plays — he ranked first in total time to throw last year and 11th this year, matching the change in play-action rate — it was still a concern when his first read wasn’t there.

After tamping down on his interception issue as he reacclimated to the season, Cousins’ fumbling issue showed up again. The Vikings had the ninth-highest turnover rate on drives, and that’s one reason why they only ranked 18th in scoring rate despite their low punting rate.

In high-leverage situations, Cousins improved substantially. But for him, that meant from one of the most unreliable quarterbacks in late-game situations to a functionally league-average one.

The Vikings offense had some high highs — they led the league in explosive plays, ranking first in explosive run rate and fifth in explosive pass rate — but didn’t end up scoring all that often despite ranking fifth in touchdown rate in the red zone on offense.

Pressure, turnovers and suboptimal play-calling held back the offense — one that was fundamentally good and just needed a better balance of passes to runs, more pla- action when possible and slightly fewer mistakes to turn from about the 10th-best offense in the league to the top five. That might have been enough to overcome the inconsistent defense and turn them into a playoff contender.

Special teams disasters Special teams has been the worst unit for the Vikings. For some time, the only unit worth its salt was the field goal unit, but the end of the year saw Dan Bailey go on a streak of missed kicks, making even that a problem as well.

For most of the year, the Vikings netted negative yardage on punt returns and only moved into positive territory late in the year. Unsurprisingly, they rank 32nd in yards per punt return. This is a product of poor punt returning from K.J. Osborn, primarily drafted for his return capability, and Beebe, who replaced him partway through the year. Both had turnover issues.

Part of the issue also had to do with the return unit, one that couldn’t create even limited space for its returners to move out of the way of incoming gunners. Those blockers committed penalties too, setting the Vikings back 28 yards — meaning they have only earned 21 yards on 14 returns. And this doesn’t include the muffed punt recovered by the Panthers in Week 12 or any of the fumbles. The punt return game was essentially negative for the Vikings.

On kickoffs, it wasn’t much better. When the Vikings returned the ball out of the end zone, they only got the ball past the 25-yard mark on 27 percent of returns, which is why they averaged the fourth-worst field position off of kickoffs in the NFL.

Those return failures, as well as the Vikings’ defensive problems in creating turnovers and generally allowing yards, meant that the Vikings offense had the fifth-worst starting field position in the NFL.

On the other side of the ball, the Vikings defense tied for the worst starting field position. Their punts had the fifth-lowest net yards after accounting for returns, and Vikings punts were returned at the second-highest rate in the NFL at 60.8 percent. Some of this has to do with the less expansive field that has had to punt through — he has often had to directionally punt or punt for hang-time instead of distance, lest he cause a touchback. His touchback rate in that light isn’t great, and his ratio of inside-the-20 punts to touchbacks is only slightly above league average. In light of the distance he punted, his hangtime was about league average as well. The issue is the punt coverage, where the Vikings rank 26th in PFF grade. As a stark example, Dan Chisena leads the league in missed special-teams tackles — a player whose only job is to gun punts on special teams.

Their kickoff coverage is an issue as well. Bailey’s average distance kicked is one of the lowest in the league despite not kicking specifically to invite returns. But only 35.5 percent of his kickoffs get returned, below the league-average rate. The issue is that the returns happen to get yardage, especially on the few returns that fall short of the end zone.

The Vikings have made everything hard for themselves in 2020. The team was designed around a ball-control offense meant to play with a lead with a defense that played stout. That defense wasn’t there this year, and the offense wasn’t able to do enough with the tools it had to make up for it. Instead, they shot themselves in the foot, and the special-teams problems magnified things even more.

They’ll have the horses to do more next year. But now they have to figure out if that’s worth investing in or whether they’ll need to tear the team down to the studs and rebuild. PUBLICATION: Purple Insider DATE: 12/30/20

Vikings' Week 17 game has its share of finality, uncertainty and optimism

By Matthew Coller

Even if fans were allowed inside Ford Field in Detroit, the Week 17 matchup between the and Detroit Lions would still have felt pretty lonesome.

The Vikings are one loss away from their worst record since 2013 and Detroit is wrapping up its fourth straight year without making the postseason.

Mike Zimmer just called his defense the worst he’s ever had. Detroit fired their coach and then played last week without their interim coach due to COVID.

But all of that doesn’t mean the Week 17 carries no significance.

The final game of the year for the Vikings brings with it the desire for this roller coaster season to end on a kinder note than last week’s 52-33 loss to the New Orleans Saints.

“I do think that’s important that we understand that wasn’t the game that you want to be remembered with,” head coach Mike Zimmer said. “Let’s go out and let’s try to remember something good.”

It’s probably illogical to judge anything based on Vikings-Lions considering the loser actually benefits more than the winner because of draft status. But a four-game losing streak would also leave a sour taste after the narrative of the team coming together after the bye was spun over the middle portion of the season. Losing to the Lions would mean coming up short against a team that’s at the lowest of lows.

There’s some pretty mixed feelings between caring about the result and knowing there’s no reason to care about the result. Will the 2021 team struggle because of a Week 17 loss? Unlikely. Will the feeling heading into the offseason be more bleak if they lose by 20 to Detroit? Likely.

There’s more to it than the standings. If the Vikings lose, it probably means that the “young players” didn’t have a great day. Again, their careers won’t be impacted by Week 17 but a poor showing won’t provide much of a glisten heading into the offseason.

A loss against the Lions probably means the best effort wasn’t put forth. It probably means there were some business decisions and some self preservation. It probably means they didn’t get Justin Jefferson the ball or that Kirk Cousins ended his up and down season poorly or that Zimmer still didn’t want to let them loose even with no consequences.

But the crawl to the finish line on Sunday isn’t just about whether the Vikings give their all for the Gipper or not. It’s also like taking one last walk through the empty apartment before closing the door.

For the final few hours of the season, we get one last look at a team that was strong enough to compete with good teams like Tennessee, Seattle and Green Bay and flawed enough to come apart at the seams against Atlanta, Chicago, Tampa Bay and New Orleans.

It puts an end to a season in which a team that never quite had a direction or identity ends with the most inauspicious record of either 6-10 or 7-9.

In that way, slamming the door shut might feel cathartic for Vikings fans. But it also has the potential to bring finality to a few significant players’ careers in purple.

Kyle Rudolph may be seeing his last game as a Viking (it’s unclear whether he’ll play or not). With a $9.4 million cap hit, a declining role in the offense and only $1.4 million in dead cap space if he’s a June 1 cut, the reigns may be handed over to Irv Smith Jr. and Tyler Conklin, who have played well over the last two weeks with Rudolph out.

Since being picked in the second round in 2011, Rudolph has amassed 469 catches and 50 touchdowns as a Viking. He caught the game-winning touchdown in last year’s playoff win over the Saints and has built a legacy of philanthropic work that made him a Walter Payton Man of the Year finalist multiple times.

Anthony Harris could also be moving on. He’s one of Zimmer’s great secondary success stories having grown from an undrafted, undersized defensive back on the practice squad in 2015 to a quality NFL starter for three seasons. He made the key tackle in the Minneapolis Miracle game that forced a Saints field goal and set up Case Keenum’s last chance.

Riley Reiff has given the Vikings solid tackle play for four years and has been one of the team’s captains and most respected locker room leaders. His contract isn’t viable for next year and they drafted (supposed) tackle Ezra Cleveland in the second round.

And who knows what else could change once that door closes on 2020. Danielle Hunter’s contract situation is potentially problematic, per reports, and Anthony Barr is set to carry a $15 million cap hit next year. Neither of those players will be in Detroit on Sunday, which almost makes it feel weirder that we’re unsure if they’ll be there when the Vikings face Detroit in 2021.

Finally, there’s the uncertainty about the current cornerstones. Zimmer, Spielman and Cousins. Nobody expects major changes. But nobody really knows.

Of course, usually when you close the door on the empty apartment, it means you’re moving to a better house.

That’s what the Vikings are hoping Sunday’s game is: The final look at something that they can quickly leave in their rear view mirror.

There’s no better signal of that than the fact Justin Jefferson can clear Randy Moss’s single-season record for a rookie in receiving yards by a Viking.

“The season he’s had is special – whether you’re a first-year guy or a 10-year guy, what he’s been able to do this year has been extremely impressive,” Adam Thielen said of Jefferson’s record-breaking year. “It doesn’t shock me, by the things that I saw early: the type of guy he is, the type of locker room guy he is and the way he works and loves the game of football. So I’m excited to see what he can do this week again and then, moving forward.”

Against the Lions, the Vikings will play rookies at receiver, guard, defensive end, linebacker and cornerback. This will be their final three hours in which having “potential” matters. Next year there will be expectations for players like Jeff Gladney, Ezra Cleveland, Cam Dantzler and DJ Wonnum.

“You could tell really grew throughout the season, have grown throughout the season and will continue to do so,” Harrison Smith said on Monday. “There’s a lot of talent, a lot of heart from the young guys.’’

All of them have given the Vikings reason to believe they can be a big part of the future. This is their last chance to boost that notion that the new house has a good foundation to renovate.

And it won’t be long after Sunday that we’re debating offseason which offseason moves will make the difference in 2021, diving into this year’s list of free agents and breaking down the next wave of potential draft picks.

That door opens after we close this one on Week 17.

So take it all in, even if there’s nothing technically on the line.

PUBLICATION: Skor North DATE: 12/30/20

Vikings place Kyle Rudolph on injured reserve, will tight end return next season?

By Judd Zulgad

Is Kyle Rudolph’s time with the Vikings finished?

That is a possibility after the veteran tight end was placed on injured reserve Tuesday. The Vikings will conclude the season on Sunday in Detroit. Rudolph, who has missed the past three games because of a foot injury, had a consecutive games streak of 93 (98 including playoffs) before sitting out on Dec. 13 in Tampa Bay. He had not missed a game since Dec. 21, 2014 in Miami. Rudolph’s streak ranked No. 1 among active tight ends and sixth overall among active players, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

A second-round pick of the Vikings in 2011 from Notre Dame, Rudolph has three years remaining on the four- year, $36 million contract ($9.3 million guaranteed) he signed in June 2019. The 31-year-old is due a base salary of $7.65 million in 2021 and would have a salary-cap figure of $9.45 million. The Vikings would carry $4.35 million in dead money next season, if they were to cut ties with Rudolph.

Rudolph long has been atop the depth chart at tight end, but Irv Smith Jr., a second-round pick in 2019, continues to develop and 2018 fifth-round pick Tyler Conklin has proven to be an excellent replacement for Rudolph. Conklin has 16 receptions for 154 yards and a touchdown in 15 games this season, including 12 catches for 128 yards and a touchdown in the past three games. The Vikings could use the money they would save by cutting Rudolph to address other needs.

The Vikings replaced Rudolph on the roster by signing guard Kyle Hinton to the active roster. PUBLICATION: Maven Media DATE: 12/30/20

Vikings Place Kyle Rudolph on IR, Sign Guard Kyle Hinton to Active Roster

By Will Ragatz

The Vikings have placed veteran tight end Kyle Rudolph on injured reserve, officially ending his season. It was always highly unlikely that he would play in a meaningless Week 17 game after missing the past three contests with a foot injury, so this is more of a formality than anything. To fill his roster spot, the team has signed practice squad guard Kyle Hinton to the active roster.

We've known this was a possibility for a couple weeks now, but this may mean that Rudolph has played his final snap in a Vikings uniform. The 2011 second-round pick is the team's longest-tenured player and an important figure in the Twin Cities community, so that would be sad news. But the reality of the business side of things is that Rudolph's numbers have been down for the past two seasons and his contract will continue to pay him like a top-ten tight end for the next three seasons.

Coming off of a 634-yard season in 2018, Rudolph signed a four-year, $36 million contract extension in June 2019 that ran through the 2023 season. That was a curious move given the timing; the Vikings had just drafted his eventual successor two months earlier in Irv Smith Jr. from Alabama. Rudolph's 367 yards in 2019 were his fewest in a full season since his rookie year. This year, in his tenth NFL season, the 31-year-old finished with 334 yards and a career-low one touchdown in 12 games.

With Smith trending upwards as he enters his third season next year and Tyler Conklin establishing himself as a solid No. 2 option in recent weeks, Rudolph may end up being a necessary cap casualty. The Vikings would create $5.1 million in cap space by cutting him prior to June 1, though they would take on $4.35 million in dead cap space. After June 1, releasing Rudolph would create $8 million in cap space with just $1.45 million in dead money.

A restructured deal could also be a possibility for Rudolph, who remains a threat in the red zone and a good blocker but has clearly lost a step athletically. His 48 receiving touchdowns in the regular season rank fifth in franchise history.

Hinton being signed to the active roster is an interesting move. It would be nice to see him get the start at left guard against the Lions in place of Dakota Dozier, who has been one of the worst offensive linemen in the NFL this season. Hinton, a seventh-round pick out of Washburn this past April, is a highly athletic guard prospect. In my opinion, it's worth seeing what he can do in order to start the evaluation prospect on Hinton heading into 2021.

The Vikings did the same thing with starting at right tackle last Week 17 against the Bears, although that didn't end up leading to any snaps for Udoh this season. It's possible that signing Hinton was just about preventing another team from snatching him off the practice squad this week, like what happened to Alexander Hollins, who was poached by the Browns. PUBLICATION: Vikings Entertainment Network DATE: 12/30/20

Vikings Move TE Kyle Rudolph to IR; Sign G Kyle Hinton to Active Roster

By Lindsey Young

EAGAN, Minn. – Kyle Rudolph will finish out the 2020 season on Injured Reserve, the team announced Tuesday.

The Vikings also signed guard Kyle Hinton from the practice squad to the team's active roster ahead of Minnesota's Week 17 contest at Detroit.

Rudolph suffered a foot injury in Week 13 that has sidelined him for the past three games. When he missed the Vikings Week 14 game against the Bucs, it snapped Rudolph's streak of consecutive regular-season games at 93.

Through 12 games this season, Rudolph recorded 28 catches for 334 yards and a touchdown, which he scored against Tennessee in Week 3.

Rudolph ranks fifth in team history with 453 career receptions and 48 touchdowns. His 4,488 career receiving yards rank 10th.

The tight end had been working to recover but was unable to return to the field.

"He was going to be Kyle Rudolph, working hard, being there early and doing all the necessary steps," Kirk Cousins said following Minnesota's loss at Tampa Bay. "He was trying hard to get in and doing everything he can. But obviously, had to be smart."

Vikings 2020 Roster in Photos View photos of the Vikings 53-man roster as of December 29, 2020.

Tyler Conklin, who has stepped up in Rudolph's absence, spoke to media members recently about learning from his elder teammate.

"It's frustrating for any athlete when you want to go out there and help your team win and you're a little banged up, but it's part of the game. Rudy is a heck of a pro," Conklin said. "People have always asked, 'What's the thing you've learned from Rudy? What has Rudy taught you?' For my first three years, I don't really think there could've been a better person to teach me how to be a professional, how to handle my business on and off the field, how to be the first one in the building.

"On top of that, he's one of the smartest football players I've ever met," Conklin added. "Obviously, I've only been in the NFL for three years, but just the growth he's helped me with – 'How do I run this route? How should I do this against this?' – Those things are huge when you're trying to grow and picking up a way bigger role in the middle or later toward the end of the season."

Conklin said that Rudolph has stayed involved through team meetings and on the sideline on game day, helping coach him and second-year tight end Irv Smith, Jr.

Minnesota's regular-season finale will mark Hinton's first game on the active roster. He spent the first portion of his rookie year on the Vikings practice squad.

Hinton was drafted 253rd overall by Minnesota this spring. The former Washburn University (Division II) standout primarily played tackle in college but has lined up at guard for the Vikings. Upon signing with the team, he expressed confidence in fitting with Minnesota's zone-blocking scheme. PUBLICATION: Vikings Entertainment Network DATE: 12/30/20

NFL Power Rankings: Vikings Dip Before Season Finale

By Eric Smith

The Vikings saw their playoff hopes end with a loss on Christmas Day to the Saints.

Minnesota will now head to Detroit for the 2020 season finale.

The Vikings are 6-9 and the Lions are 5-10. Kickoff from Ford Field is at noon (CT).

Here's a look at where the Vikings rank before Week 17:

No. 23 (down 3 spots): Dan Hanzus – NFL.com

A lost season hit its nadir in a spotlight game on Christmas Day. The Vikings surrendered 52 points [to the Saints] and six touchdowns to Alvin Kamara in a blowout loss that officially eliminated Minnesota from postseason contention. After the game, Mike Zimmer chose not to mince words: "Yeah, this is a bad defense," Zimmer said. "Worst one I've ever had." The 52 points were the most allowed by the Vikings since 1963, while the 583 total yards by the Saints represented the most yielded to any opponent in the history of the franchise. You can probably guess where the Vikes will be putting their focus this offseason.

Through the Years: Vikings vs. Lions Look back at photos over the course of time featuring games between the Vikings and the Lions.

No. 17 (down 1 spot): Frank Schwab – Yahoo! Sports

The Vikings defense should be embarrassed by what happened at New Orleans. The 583 yards allowed is a franchise record, and the 52 points allowed is the most by a Vikings defense since 1963. There have been many injuries on defense but that's still awful. Presumably Mike Zimmer will be back for 2021, but depending on what happens around the rest of the league, he might be the coach on the hottest seat entering next season.

No. 20 (down 1 spot): Pete Prisco – CBS Sports

The defense is putrid, which has to anger Mike Zimmer, who made his bones as a defensive coach. That showing at New Orleans was embarrassing.

No. 23 (down 2 spots): NFL Staff – Bleacher Report

The Minnesota Vikings came into Week 16 needing a cosmic confluence of events to make the playoffs — the first of which was an upset win over the New Orleans Saints on Christmas.

Um, no.

After the Saints drilled the Vikings in New Orleans, the only thing upset was Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer after Minnesota allowed its most points in a game since 1963 and surrendered a franchise-record 583 yards.

Granted, that Minnesota defense was short-handed and then some Friday night — especially at linebacker. But the Vikings have had issues on that side of the ball most of the season. With Danielle Hunter on the shelf, Minnesota's pass rush has evaporated. The secondary has been roasted with regularity.

It's been a miserable season in the Twin Cities — one that began with Super Bowl aspirations but will end with a meaningless game against the Lions.

And it's fair to wonder what kind of changes could be coming after this faceplant.

Vikings 2020 Roster in Photos View photos of the Vikings 53-man roster as of December 29, 2020.

No. 19 (down 2 spots): Gary Gramling (The MMQB) – Sports Illustrated

After losing all their cornerbacks it was going to be a trying year for this defense, but losing Danielle Hunter for the season, Anthony Barr for all but two games and Eric Kendricks for the past month is the kind of thing that results in opponents dropping 52 on you on Christmas night.

No. 18 (down 1 spot): Vinnie Iyer – Sporting News

The Vikings have been trying to keep their young and injury-riddled defense together with duct tape and zone coverage but it's caught up to them against the run, too. Kirk Cousins and the offense did as much as they could under the circumstances.

No. 17 (up 1 spot): Courtney Cronin – ESPN.com

Note: ESPN looked at a New Year's resolution for each team. ESPN Vikings reporter Courtney Cronin wants the Vikings to commit to using their star receivers.

The Vikings can absolutely be a run-first team if they want to continue to carry that philosophy into 2021. It'd probably help if they were less predictable, like running less on second down, and one way to execute that is by prioritizing an uptick in usage for Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen. Minnesota has two star wideouts who should each be nearing double-digit targets every game and relied on in critical situations, such as two-minute drives and helping the team get back into contention when playing from behind.

No. 18 (down 2 spots): Mike Florio – Pro Football Talk

"Just good enough" will have to be good enough in 2021, 2022 and possibly beyond. PUBLICATION: Vikings Entertainment Network DATE: 12/30/20

Early Look: Vikings to Finish 2020 Season Against Lions

By Eric Smith

EAGAN, Minn. — The Vikings will close out their 2020 season on the road against the Lions.

Minnesota is out of playoff contention after a Week 16 loss against New Orleans. The Vikings, who are 6-9, have lost three straight games.

Detroit is 5-10 after losing to Tampa Bay in Week 16. The Lions have lost five of their past six games.

The Vikings earned a 34-20 home win over the Lions in Week 9.

Through the Years: Vikings vs. Lions Look back at photos over the course of time featuring games between the Vikings and the Lions.

Here's an Early Look at the Vikings Week 17 matchup against the Lions, presented by Minnesota Eye Consultants, the Proud Ophthalmology Partner of the Minnesota Vikings.

Passing: Kirk Cousins played well against the Saints in a loss. He completed 27 of 41 passes for 291 yards with three scores and no interceptions. He had a passer rating of 110.9, which was his eighth performance of 100-plus in 2020.

The quarterback was also sacked twice, bringing his total to 15 in the past four games.

He has now completed 321 of 476 passes (67.0 percent) for 3,860 yards with 32 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He has a passer rating of 103.1, which ranks eighth in the league.

Cousins has also set a career high in touchdown passes and has the second-best passer rating of his career.

It remains to be seen who will start at quarterback for the Lions.

Matthew Stafford started in Week 16 but left with an injury. Chase Daniel saw some action, and David Blough also played against the Bucs.

Stafford has started all 15 games in 2020, completing 319 of 497 passes (64.2 percent) for 3,791 yards with 23 touchdowns and nine interceptions. His season-long passer rating is at 95.2.

Stafford is 8-12 in his career against Minnesota, and has thrown for 4,883 yards with 28 touchdowns and 10 picks.

Rushing: Dalvin Cook saw his usage go down due to the Vikings playing from behind, but he was still effective against the Saints.

Cook had 73 yards and a score on 15 carries against New Orleans. Ameer Abdullah added 13 rushing yards on one attempt, and Mike Boone scored a 4-yard touchdown on his lone attempt.

Cook ranks second in the league with a career-best 1,557 rushing yards, and is one of three running backs in team history with 1,500 rushing yards in a season (Adrian Peterson and Robert Smith). He also is tied for the league lead with 16 rushing touchdowns.

Minnesota ranks sixth in the NFL with 143.9 rushing yards per game. Detroit is tied for 30th at 91.3 yards per game.

D'Andre Swift had 45 yards on 10 carries against the Bucs. Peterson added 10 yards on four attempts.

Peterson leads the Lions with 541 rushing yards and 149 attempts, and he has six scores. Swift has a team-best seven scores, and has 467 yards on 102 carries.

Receiving: Irv Smith, Jr., caught a pair of scores and finished with six receptions for 53 yards in his hometown. Adam Thielen had eight receptions for 97 yards and a score.

Justin Jefferson totaled 85 yards on six catches, while Tyler Conklin added 31 yards on four receptions.

Jefferson leads the team with 79 catches for 1,267 yards and has seven scores. He needs 47 yards to break Randy Moss' Vikings rookie record.

Thielen ranks third the league with 14 touchdown catches and has the third-most touchdown catches in a season in Vikings history. He has 70 catches for 868 yards.

Marvin Jones, Jr., is Detroit's leading receiver with 68 receptions for 798 yards and seven scores. Tight end T.J. Hockenson has 64 catches for 698 yards and six touchdowns.

Kenny Golladay has only played in five games in 2020.

Minnesota's offense ranks sixth in the NFL with 385.6 yards per game. Detroit is 21st at 345.7.

Defense: The Vikings had their worst outing of the season — and one of the worst in franchise history — against the Saints.

Minnesota allowed 52 points and a franchise-high 583 yards, including 264 yards on the ground.

Alvin Kamara tied a league record with six rushing touchdowns, and Minnesota gave up seven rushing scores overall.

The Vikings gave up 100-plus rushing yards for the 12th time this season. Harrison Hand and Hardy Nickerson had interceptions for the Vikings.

Ifeadi Odenigbo leads the Vikings with 3.5 sacks, while Harrison Smith leads the team with four interceptions.

The Vikings now rank 27th in the league with 391.7 yards allowed per game.

Detroit has allowed 413.9 yards per game, which ranks 31st this season.

Romeo Okwara leads the Lions with 9.0 sacks, while Duron Harmon leads Detroit with two interceptions.

Special Teams: Dan Bailey made two of three extra points Friday. He didn't attempt a field goal.

Bailey is now 14-for-20 on field goals and has made 33 of 38 extra points in 2020.

Britton Colquitt averaged 46.5 yards on four punts. He's averaging 45.1 yards per punt this season with a net average of 36.4.

Lions kicker Matt Prater has made 20 of 27 field goals in 2020, and has hit 36 of 38 extra point tries.

Punter Jack Fox averages 49.1 yards per punt this season with a net average of 44.9.

Jamal Agnew handles return duties for the Lions. He has 156 yards on 12 punt returns (13.0 yards per return), and had a 74-yard score against Tampa Bay. Agnew also has 689 yards on 26 kick returns (26.5 yards per return).

Vikings 2020 Roster in Photos View photos of the Vikings 53-man roster as of December 29, 2020.

On a streak against the Lions

Minnesota has an all-time record of 77-39-2 against Detroit.

The Vikings have also won six straight against the Lions, although five of those wins came when the now-departed Matt Patricia was in charge in Detroit.

That win streak is tied for the fourth-longest in franchise history against the Lions. Here are the longest win streaks for Minnesota against Detroit:

13 games, Oct. 6, 1968 through Sept. 22, 1974

10 games, Oct. 13, 2002 through Dec. 10, 2006

7 games, Nov. 9, 1986 through Oct. 22, 1989

6 games, Dec. 2, 2007 through Sept. 26, 2010

6 games, Nov. 23, 2017 through present

PUBLICATION: Vikings Entertainment Network DATE: 12/30/20

Lunchbreak: The Athletic Proposes Vikings Offseason 'To-Do' List

By Lindsey Young

The Vikings (6-9) have one final game to wrap up the 2020 season.

Head Coach Mike Zimmer has emphasized the importance of giving full effort in Detroit on Sunday, despite the fact that playoffs are off the table for both NFC North teams. And following the matchup, Zimmer will begin turning the page to the 2021 campaign.

It's safe to say – in the wake of a rough, roller coaster of a season – the Vikings will look at what needs to change moving forward. With that in mind, Chad Graff of The Athletic put together an “offseason to-do list” for Minnesota.

Graff covered five different areas, topping his list with improving the defensive line. He said it "might be an easy fix," writing the following:

Of course, [Danielle] Hunter is priority No. 1. If he's capable of returning from surgery to the high level of play he's posted in recent seasons, the Vikings defensive line immediately jumps from among the worst in the league to an average unit. That's how good Hunter is. Consider this: Hunter had 14.5 sacks last season (and the season before, in fact). The entire group of Vikings defensive linemen has 11.5 sacks with one game to play this season. In other words, the Vikings can expect to double their sack output from linemen just by getting Hunter back.

Between The Lines: Breaking Down The Loss To New Orleans and What To Watch For Against Detroit He also discussed the return of Michael Pierce who, after signing with the Vikings in free agency, opted out of the season due to health concerns related to COVID-19.

Beyond Hunter, the Vikings can expect that Pierce would be a significant improvement at defensive tackle, but they'll also likely bring in more competition for the three-technique spot, either via a cheap veteran in free agency or a Day 2 draft pick.

Even if the Vikings get Hunter and Pierce to play next season, it's also up in the air who plays at defensive end opposite Hunter. Ifeadi Odenigbo is a restricted free agent, and D.J. Wonnum, who earned his first career start Friday, will compete for one of the defensive end jobs, too.

This position has been in need of an upgrade all season, and that was never more apparent than in Friday's game against the Saints, when they were poor against the pass and even worse against the run.

Graff additionally proposed ways of improving Minnesota's offensive line, discussed possibilities of what the Vikings safety position group will look like and pondered which veterans from the team will be back in 2021.

Finally, he opined that the Vikings need to "improve the schemes" for next year.

This one is a bit more difficult to quantify, but an important part of any offseason is the coaching staff scouting themselves and searching for ways to improve. For the Vikings, it's not that their overall scheme is flawed, but it does need some fixes.

Jefferson remains PFF's highest-graded rookie heading into Week 17

Minnesota may not have met its team goals this season, but receiver Justin Jefferson certainly put an incredible rookie campaign in the books.

Justin Jefferson's Top Plays From His 104-Yard Day vs. Chicago Heading into Week 17, Jefferson remains the highest-graded rookie by analytics site Pro Football Focus. Anthony Treash wrote:

Week 16 proved to be yet another productive outing for Jefferson. Against New Orleans on Christmas Day, the 22ndoverall picked up [more than] two yards per route run, produced four first downs and averaged [more than] eight yards after the catch.

Marshon Lattimore did lock him up in press-man coverage a few times, but the rookie wideout managed a strong 76.1 PFF grade for the game. That kept his season mark above 90.0. Jefferson is on pace to be just one of two rookie wide receivers in the past 15 years to produce a season-long PFF grade above 90.0 (Odell Beckham, Jr., in 2014).

It isn't out of the question for Jefferson to beat out Beckham for the rookie record PFF grade, as he sits half a grading point below the former New York Giant's mark. Still, it's going to take a monstrous Week 17.

Justin Jefferson Sits Down With Randy Moss, & Other Vikings Rookie of the Year Winners Coming in behind Jefferson is Washington defensive end , who's recorded 6.5 sacks and four forced fumbles in his debut season.

The rest of the list is as follows, from No. 3: T Michael Onwenu (Patriots), T (Buccaneers), RB Antonio Gibson (Washington), WR (49ers), RB Jonathan Taylor (Colts), QB (Chargers), LB Mykal Walker (Falcons) and WR (Bengals). PUBLICATION: Vikings Entertainment Network DATE: 12/30/20

Personal Milestones within Vikings Reach in 2020 Finale

By Craig Peters

Multiple team goals for the 2020 Minnesota Vikings (6-9) are no longer attainable, but multiple players will enter Sunday's season finale at Detroit (5-10) with historical marks within their reach.

Here's a rundown of milestones that players can accomplish on Sunday.

Dalvin Cook

Rushing/scrimmage yards

Cook already has recorded the third-most rushing yards in a single season by a Vikings running back, but he could climb the ladder if he duplicates another mammoth day against Detroit.

Dalvin Cook November Player of the Month Highlights The fourth-year running back has 1,557, which ranks second in the NFL (Derrick Henry has 1,777). He trails Adrian Peterson's 1,760 in 2008 by 204 yards.

Think that's out of reach? Remember, Cook rushed for 206 against the Lions in Week 9 with Peterson watching from the opposing sideline.

Cook also has the second-most scrimmage yards in a single Vikings season (an NFL-leading 1,918) but has no chance of catching Peterson's whopping 2,314 from 2012 that was fueled by his franchise-record 2,097 rushing yards. He still could post the most scrimmage yards in the NFL in 2020 if he fends off Henry (1,891).

Spielman Calls Cook and Jefferson To Inform Them of Their Selections Rushing touchdowns

Cook needs two rushing touchdowns to tie Peterson's franchise record of 18 in 2009. Cook has four games with two or more rushing touchdowns this season, including Week 9 against Detroit.

Scoring

With 16 rushing touchdowns, one receiving score and three 2-point conversions, Cook has scored a team-best 108 points this season, which ranks second in the NFL among non-kickers. Alvin Kamara's six scores against Minnesota on Friday vaulted the Saints running back to 126 points this season.

The 108 points by Cook rank 18th in franchise history for a single season, regardless of position, and are the second- most by a Vikings non-kicker. Chuck Foreman scored the most by any non-kicker with 132 points in 1975 when he totaled 22 touchdowns (13 rushing, nine receiving).

Highlights of Dalvin Cook and Justin Jefferson's Pro Bowl Seasons Justin Jefferson

Receiving yards

Jefferson already has 79 receptions on the year, topping Randy Moss' previous rookie record of 69 catches in 1998.

Now the 2020 first-round pick can top Moss' 1,313 receiving yards from that magical season. Jefferson needs just 47 yards to pass the Hall of Famer that he recently "met" during a virtual chat with prior Vikings NFL/Offensive Rookies of the Year.

Jefferson needs 111 yards to break 's NFL record for receiving yards by a rookie. Boldin recorded 1,377 in 2003. (Bill Groman had 1,473 with the Houston Oilers in 1960, but that was in the League's first season.)

Justin Jefferson Sits Down With Randy Moss, Percy Harvin & Other Vikings Rookie of the Year Winners Averaging 84.5 receiving yards per game, Jefferson ranks third among rookies since 1970 (minimum four games) in the category behind Odell Beckham, Jr. (108.8 in 2014) and Boldin (86.1 in 2003). Moss is fourth all-time with 82.1 receiving yards per game as a rookie.

Adam Thielen

Receiving touchdowns

Thielen ranks third in the NFL this season with 14 receiving touchdowns, the fifth-most receiving TDs in a Vikings season. He needs one more to tie Moss for fourth or two for sole possession of fourth place.

He has caught two touchdowns in six career games, including in four this season, but needs his first career hat trick to tie the all-time Vikings mark.

T-1. Cris Carter 17 in 1995

T-1. Randy Moss 17 in 1998

T-1. Randy Moss 17 in 2003

4. Randy Moss 15 in 2000

5. Adam Thielen 14 in 2020

Every Adam Thielen Catch From His Huge Day Against Dallas Receiving yards

Thielen needs 132 receiving yards for the third 1,000-yard season of his career.

Receptions

With eight catches against the Saints, Thielen tied Sammy White for eighth in franchise history on the career receptions list (393). He needs eight more catches to pass Ahmad Rashad for seventh all-time.

Kirk Cousins

Passing touchdowns

Cousins has thrown a career-best 32 touchdown passes this season. He needs one more to tie Warren Moon (1995), (2000) and Brett Favre (2009) for third-most in a single Vikings season.

A pair of scores would tie him with Randall Cunningham (34 in 1998) for second. Culpepper's 39 in 2004 are the most in franchise history.

Cousins has thrown two or more touchdowns in 11 games this season and has tossed trifectas in seven of those contests.