Monday, December 26, 2011

It Couldn't Get Any Worse. But It Did. Much Worse.

The first two plays of the second half of last Saturday's Vikings road finale in Washington brought a monumental disaster to the team in this train wreck of a season.

Adrian Peterson took a shot to the knee after a three-yard gain, and left the game with what he later said at the time was a serious injury. An MRI later revealed that AP suffered a torn ACL and MCL, and may very well miss the start of the 2012 season.

The Vikings will talk more about Peterson's injury in a press conference later today. Injuries of this nature normally take up to nine months to recover.

And on the very next play, Christian Ponder was knocked out of the game with a concussion after he was sacked. He did not return, and his status for the finale next Sunday against Chicago remains uncertain.

With these two disasters happening around them, the Vikings showed lots of character, as they went out there and beat Washington, 33-26. The two injured players' replacements, Joe Webb and Toby Gerhart, provided a needed spark. Webb ran for one TD and threw for two more, and Gerhart ran for 107 yards, including one 67-yard run that set up Webb's rushing score.

The Vikings win now means they will not be getting the number one pick. That honestly doesn't matter to me, as they will be getting a top three one for sure. They can now do no worse than 1984, when they went 3-13. They are now 3-12, and face the Bears at the Metrodome to conclude this awful campaign.

And it looks like it would be the last game played in Minnesota, as the Vikings appear to be close to getting a new stadium deal done. It looks like a move to Los Angeles won't be happening. I'm so glad to get this bit of good news, as over the last few months it gave me some idea what it was like for my dad back in 1957 with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

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