Minnesota Vikings being devastated by injuries has a silver lining that will help them in a push for a Super Bowl
Every consequence can have an equal and opposite reaction.
The Minnesota Vikings entered the bye week sitting at 3-2 on the season. Arguably, the biggest reason they currently sit with two losses on the season has been injuries.
Over the course of the season, they have lost 22 games due to injury, with 13 of them being on offense.
| LT Christian Darrisaw | 2 games |
| LG Donovan Jackson | 2 games |
| QB J.J. McCarthy | 3 games |
| C Ryan Kelly | 2 games |
| RT Brian O’Neill | 1 game |
| RB Aaron Jones | 3 games |
| ILB Blake Cashman | 4 games |
| S Harrison Smith | 2 games |
| EDGE Andrew Van Ginkel | 3 games |
Having this kind of injury luck always stinks, but you have to deal with injuries every season. When you have a lot of injuries, it brings unintended consequences, along with positives from the same.
Minnesota Vikings’ injury luck could help them down the line
This isn’t an article that says injuries are a good thing. They are far from a good thing, but every team has to deal with them. How you do with those injuries will ultimately define you as a football team.
There have been a multitude of different players who have gotten playing time that wouldn’t have seen it otherwise. Just the offensive line has been hundreds of snaps from backups because of injuries. The projected starting offensive line has yet to play a single snap as a unit.
The offensive line is ready for just about anything you throw at them. There have been 304 offensive snaps this season, and the offensive line has had a lot of diversity.
| RG Will Fries | 292 |
| OT Justin Skule | 221 |
| OL Blake Brandel | 168 |
| RT Brian O’Neill | 162 |
| LG Donovan Jackson | 159 |
| LT Christian Darrisaw | 155 |
| C Michael Jurgens | 126 |
| C Ryan Kelly | 113 |
| OG Joe Huber | 77 |
| OT Walter Rouse | 48 |
When push came to shove against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday morning in London, Fries and four backups played really well in protecting Carson Wentz extremely well to get the game-winning touchdown.
Throughout the rest of the season, the Vikings are going to have more injuries on the offensive line, including Kelly still being on injured reserve for at least three more games. That is going to come back to help the Vikings, as they will be ready to go.
It’s not just on offense where the Vikings have had to deal with injuries; the defense has had its fair share. The two biggest have been Cashman and Van Ginkel. In their place have been Eric Wilson (255 snaps) and Dallas Turner (241 snaps). Their performances have been a little bit up and down, but they are very comfortable in this defense, especially Turner, who needed the snaps with his development.
The Van Ginkel injury has been more impactful in getting players more time, and that has come with the youth on the defensive line. They have prioritized the defensive tackle room in this situation, and they have gotten some real development from the youth on the unit.
| Jonathan Allen | 230 |
| Jalen Redmond | 181 |
| Javon Hargrave | 177 |
| Levi Drake Rodriguez | 132 |
| Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins | 98 |
| Elijah Williams | 9 |
The biggest developmental pieces have been Rodriguez and Ingram-Dawkins, as Redmond had already earned a starting job over the course of his one-plus seasons. You can argue that he was the reason why the Vikings traded Harrison Phillips.
You don’t want injuries, but the experience the young players have gained over the first five games will prove invaluable as the season goes along, and they will be more prepared for any situation that comes their way. It could be just the thing that helps the Vikings win their first playoff game since 2019.
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