Prior to a crucial season finale against the Detroit Lions, the Minnesota Vikings had a comparatively clean bill of health going into the postseason, but they lost one of their key players.
Outside linebacker Pat Jones II suffered a knee injury during the game, and Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell revealed that he will be sidelined for a while after the team’s 27-25 victory over the Green Bay Packers on December 29. Jones, who has 7.0 sacks this season, third on the team, will be further assessed on Monday.
According to O’Connell, the damage is to the right knee. “Hopefully, we were able to avert a really serious long-term harm, but until he is thoroughly assessed, I will not know much more. However, anticipating that he will likely miss some time. As I previously stated, I am now unsure of what that looks like.
O’Connell added that they held out Aaron Jones in the win over his former team after he sustained a quad contusion. He looked ready to reenter the game, wearing his helmet on the sidelines if needed in a game that Minnesota led by 17 points entering the final quarter.
Rookie Dallas Turner should see more involvement in Jones’ absence.
The season finale between the Vikings and Lions is flexed to Sunday night football.
In a season finale that will decide the NFC North division championship and the top seed in the NFC playoffs, the NFL announced shortly after the Vikings’ victory over the Packers that their game against the Lions will be flexed to Sunday Night Football this week.
In Week 7, their first encounter was close, with the Lions winning 31-29 thanks to a field goal conversion with 15 seconds left. Detroit has been devastated by injuries, so this second meeting will look different.
Despite the fact that Aidan Hutchinson, the front-runner for Defensive Player of the Year, was already out for the season, injuries have devastated the Lions in the last stages of the campaign. David Montgomery, Detroit is starting running back, is still doubtful about making a comeback this season, and the team has 19 players on injured reserve.
After Detroit allowed the Buffalo Bills to defeat them 48-45 in Week 16, the losses, which were mostly on defense, became apparent. The race for the top seed in the NFC playoffs is now equal as a result of that defeat.
The Lions (14-2) will join the Vikings (14-2) in having 14 victories going into the season finale after defeating the San Francisco 49ers (6-9) on Monday.
In Week 18, the Lions are the early favorites over the Vikings.
The Lions are 2.5 points ahead of the Vikings going into Week 18. With home-field advantage for the crucial game, Detroit has defeated Minnesota four times in a row.
But going into the game, the Vikings were among the NFL’s hottest teams, having won nine in a row. This season, Minnesota, led by Sam Darnold, has scored the ninth-most points in the league.
It looks be a firestorm in the rematch, but the Vikings defense might surprise.
When Minnesota lost to the Lions in Week 7, linebacker Blake Cashman was sidelined due to turf toe. Cashman, who represents the Vikings with the green dot, was conspicuously absent. For a large portion of the game, the Vikings appeared to be lagging behind the Lions, and defensive blunders allowed multiple explosive plays.
The Vikings have the firepower to leave Detroit with the NFC North title and the top seed in the NFC if Cashman and the defense can make the stops when they count. However, it would take a flawless defensive performance to shut out Detroit.
