Over the last few years, the Minnesota Vikings haven't been able to generate three-score wins very often. In fact, they have just four of them since the 2020 season. All of them have come this season.

It's a really good thing for the Vikings and it boils down to two things: being situational masters and their depth. Injuries are a big part of the game and the Vikings are no exception to that. 

During his normal day after press conference, head coach Kevin O'Connell gave multiple injury updates.

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RT Brian O'Neill

O'Neill left Monday night's game on two occasions with a knee injury he suffered in the first quarter. He did return to the game and missed a total of 14 plays. Even though it's a knee injury, things are looking good for O'Neill playing on Sunday afternoon.

"Obviously, we had Brian with the knee, return to the game. He's sore, but should be able to work through the week, and have him available," said O'Connell.

Having O'Neill in the game is such a huge deal for the Vikings and O'Connell wasn't afraid to say so.

"I think sometimes because of what Cam's been able to do, we forget that we haven't had CD in there who, you know, he's one of our best players, the most impactful players. And I think just the consistency at which Brian has played is a whole separate conversation. Don't think he gets the credit he deserves, just how phenomenal he's played this year. But then there's an entire separate conversation, like I said, about who he is in this building, what he means. As a captain of our team, how many times I turned to him and in moments to communicate and really get the pulse of our team from him, and then in a moment like that, where not once, but twice (come back in), really has some, you know, plays that were on tape. They're pretty scary to watch. And he's able to tape it up and come back in there and just stay in the fight, as he said. And they told me he was gonna, you know, we probably have to start the second half without him, and then more than likely, he'd get back in there and we didn't miss a beat when he came back in so can't say enough about him. Love, love, everything about what he means to me, our offense and our team."

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OLB Pat Jones II

Jones left the game with an injury according to O'Connell. He missed the game against the Atlanta Falcons with a knee injury and has been banged up in prior weeks as well. O'Connell did say that he was available to return, which is a good sign for this week.

Jones has been the unheralded guy for the Vikings, as his role on the defense has been more about springing his teammates loose for big plays than generating them himself.

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CB Fabian Moreau

Moreau didn't leave Monday night's game with an injury, but as it often happens, came in the next day with some soreness. O'Connell identified it as hip soreness and they will monitor him throughout the week and see how he handles things.

The bright side of this news for the Vikings is they saw some good things from Dwight McGlothern in the fourth quarter when he got in on defense. Plus, they are getting healthier overall at the position.

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CB Stephon Gilmore

Gilmore missed his second consecutive game with the hamstring injury he suffered against the Arizona Cardinals. The good news for Gilmore is that he did start practicing on Saturday, albeit in a limited capacity.

O'Connell seemed somewhat optimistic that Gilmore could be back on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, as they are expecting him to begin "working back in." Having him back could be a huge benefit, but will it limit the amount of man coverage they have been running, which has been very successful over the last few weeks?

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DL Jalen Redmond

Redmond has been a huge asset to the Vikings so far this year. He earned a starting spot last week against the Falcons after a great game against the Cardinals. Toward the end of the game, Redmond was removed from the game by the independent doctor.

"Very late in the game, [Redmond] did get identified by the independent and was put into the concussion protocol, but did come in feeling really good today, so he'll go through that protocol throughout the week and hoping to have him available, but that'll be strictly a medical thing as he works through that."

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ILB Ivan Pace Jr.

Luckily for the Vikings, they haven't missed Pace as much as we initially expected, as players like Josh Metellus have stepped up in a big way.

"Yeah, I think it can't be understated, just his role within our defense," said O'Connell about Metellus. "Yes, he's a safety, but he's, I mean, he lines up everywhere, so many, so many different jobs, and the way he handles it, snap to snap is probably the most important thing. Because a lot of guys, you play this, get into a rhythm. You start seeing typically, you know, tendencies and tells. He's got to be able to do those things from two or three different spots, which his football IQ is off the charts. Play style is always there. He's been, he's been really, really good for us. So I think him, and you know, the impact that Jamin Davis has been able to have as well, just physicality, running, running, hit player that's going up to as well.

O'Connell was asked about Pace's recovery and it sounds like he could be on track to potentially return against the Green Bay Packers.

Yeah, he's doing well. He's right on schedule. He'll kind of go through some simulated work with the trainers this week, simulating what he would do in a practice. His timeline of that designation would be, I believe, next week. So hoping he's on schedule with that."

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