Vikings’ ship would sail with loss to Bucs

Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer was asked the dreaded “must-win” question Wednesday - four days before traveling to Tampa Bay to play a Buccaneers team that has the league’s worst defense and the NFC’s worst record (1-5).
Typically, when a coach is asked to declare a “must-win” situation, his team is falling rapidly behind in its division and has recently experienced some blown opportunities.
Check and check. The Vikings are 2-5, three games behind the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers in the NFC North, and have lost to both division leaders. They also are coming off a stunning defensive collapse that handed the Buffalo Bills a 17-16 win in the closing seconds of last Sunday’s game.
So, what does the coach believe? Must win?
“I hate getting into the ‘must win’ things, but it’s important for our football team that we win,” Zimmer said. “It’s probably more important the process of playing well, doing things right, eliminating penalties, the things we did last week that didn’t allow us to win the football game.”
A year ago, the Vikings were 1-6. So not much has changed record-wise since Zimmer replaced the fired Leslie Frazier, who’s now the Bucs’ defensive coordinator. The Vikings are still struggling in three key areas: Getting off the field on third - and, heck, fourth - down, turning the ball over at the quarterback position and protecting the quarterback.
The area that is most concerning would be the latter. The Vikings are last in the league in sacks allowed per pass play. They’ve given up 19 sacks the past three weeks and, overall on the season, left tackle Matt Kalil is tied for last in sacks allowed (eight) and pressures (27).
“Some of it is we are getting beat (on the line) physically,” Zimmer said. “It’s not so much the stunts and the games, I don’t believe. It’s sometimes the protection breaks down because of other factors, if that makes sense.
“I mean sometimes guys get beat, that happens all of the time. Sometimes the protection might be turned the way and a guy turned too far, wasn’t necessarily that he got beat but he went further than he was supposed to go. I can go through a ton of them. One time a guy a stepped on another guy’s foot and it caused him, so there are a multitude of things that happen and to try to pin it on one thing is not, I don’t believe, the right way.”
The Bucs’ defense ranks 25th in sacks per pass play while no defender has more than two sacks. Overall, the Bucs rank last in the league in yards allowed (422.8) and points allowed (34.0) per game.
So while it’s not yet “must-win” time, another loss on this particular weekend certainly will increase the field of those questioning the direction the team is heading.
SERIES HISTORY: 54th regular-season meeting. Vikings lead series, 31-22. The Buccaneers have won the past six meetings, going back to the 2001, the last year the teams were together in the NFC Central. The series is tied 13-13 in games played Tampa.
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NFL Team Report - Minnesota Vikings - NOTES, QUOTES
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer revealed that he coached Sunday’s game in Buffalo with kidney stones. He had missed Friday’s practice to have a “minor” procedure done before returning to the team on Saturday morning.
But it wasn’t until Tuesday that Zimmer had a more extensive procedure done to remove the stones.
“(Tuesday) wasn’t pleasant at all,” Zimmer said. “(Head athletic trainer) Eric Sugarman was talking to the team and I told him to get the video of the procedure that I had done to show the team. I think there would’ve been some guys throwing up or something.”
--Coming out of little Georgia Southern as a triple-option quarterback, rookie running back Jerick McKinnon spent five games as a backup primarily because he wasn’t polished enough as a pass protector.
He has impressed people with his 5.1-yard average per carry and 16 catches, but doesn’t rate nearly as high when it comes to pass blocking. Pro Football Focus ranks him as the league’s worst pass blocking running back, having allowed two sacks and five pressures in 24 snaps as a pass protector.
But he is getting better, having allowed no sacks or pressures in five snaps as a pass protector in Sunday’s game at Buffalo.
“Jerick has played well,” Zimmer said. “I thought he did better in pass protection last week.”
BY THE NUMBERS: 0 - Number of healthy, active backup offensive linemen the Vikings had after center John Sullivan (concussion) and right guard Vladimir Ducasse (knee) left with game-ending injuries with 3:35 left in the first quarter on Sunday. Another injury and tight end Rhett Ellison would have had to play offensive tackle.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “I had to run in and coach was like, ‘Play right guard.’ And I’m like, ‘What? I’ve never done it in my whole life.’” - OT Mike Harris, who later admitted that he did play guard in Pop Warner when he was 10, on having to play guard when center John Sullivan and right guard Vladimir Ducasse were injured on the same play late in the first quarter. The Vikings had only seven linemen active for the game.
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NFL Team Report - Minnesota Vikings - STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
PLAYER NOTES
--CB Josh Robinson, perhaps the most improved player on the roster, left Thursday’s practice early after suffering an ankle injury. He limped off the field on his own and was added to the injury report as having limited participation. Robinson is the team’s No. 3 corner. If he can’t play, that would force rookie Jabari Price to see extended action on defense for the first time this season.
--TE Kyle Rudolph, who has missed the past four games because of hernia surgery, did not practice again Thursday and is still a few weeks from returning to practice.
--OLB Gerald Hodges, who missed last week’s game because of a hamstring injury, returned to the practice field Thursday for the first time since being injured in the Lions game two weeks ago. He was limited in practice. When healthy, he is expected to share reps at weak-side linebacker with Chad Greenway, who returned last week after missing three games because of broken ribs and a broken hand.
--C John Sullivan, who left Sunday’s game with a concussion late in the first quarter, passed every stage of the NFL’s concussion protocol and was limited in Thursday’s practice. He is expected to play on Sunday.
--DE Corey Wootton, who missed Sunday’s game because of a lower back injury, had full participation in Thursday’s practice and is expected to return to the defensive line rotation as a backup on Sunday.
--DT Sharrif Floyd, who played Sunday despite being listed as questionable because of an elbow injury, now has an ankle injury that caused him to be limited for the second straight day on Thursday. If Floyd can’t play, the Vikings have a viable option in Tom Johnson, who has been a head-turner in limited action in the nickel rush packages.
--G Vladimir Ducasse, who left Sunday’s game with a knee injury in the first quarter, returned to full participation in Thursday’s practice after being limited the day before.
--CB Jabari Price was limited again in Thursday’s practice because of a hamstring injury. He played one snap at corner and saw time on special teams a week ago.
--S Antone Exum, one of the busier special teams players, sat out Thursday’s practice after being limited on Wednesday because of an ankle injury.
GAME PLAN: The Vikings’ main priority is protecting rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who has been sacked 13 times the past two weeks. They’ll start by trying to duplicate their running performance against Buffalo’s then-No. 1-ranked run defense (29 carries, 158 yards, 5.4-yard average). If they can do that while protecting Bridgewater and winning the turnover battle like they did last week (4-2), they should be able to beat a weak Bucs team even on the road.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
--Bucs DE Michael Johnson, who is tied for the team lead in sacks with only two, vs. Vikings LT Matt Kalil, who has struggled for most of the season, particularly the past two games. Kalil was punished for 1.5 sacks against the Lions’ Ziggy Ansah two weeks ago and 1.5 more sacks by Jerry Hughes last week in Buffalo.
--Bucs WR Vincent Jackson, who has a team-high 25 catches for 344 yards and two touchdowns, vs. Vikings CB Xavier Rhodes, who has played well with a team-high seven passes defensed but was beaten for two critical completions in Buffalo’s game-winning, 80-yard drive in the final three minutes. Poor technique cost Rhodes from making a better play on the ball on a deep ball to the 2-yard line and also the game-winning 2-yard touchdown to Sammy Watkins with 1 second left. Jackson is a veteran who will test Rhodes’ relative inexperience.