Are the Vikings Still Playoff Contenders with Sam Bradford?

The historical Vikings, in their rich tradition, used holmgangs to settle disputes. The party left standing after the battle was ruled just in its claim.  

The 2016 Minnesota Vikings are exercising their right to a holmgang against the rest of the NFL after acquiring quarterback Sam Bradford. In less than a month, the Vikings morphed from a Super Bowl contender led by Teddy Bridgewater and star running back Adrian Peterson into Bradford's team.      

Despite the adversity, Minnesota should remain a legitimate playoff contender and potential dark-horse candidate to emerge out of the NFC.

How the organization got here is rather amazing, though.

The NFL held its collective breath on Aug. 30, when Bridgewater's knee gave out and the quarterback collapsed on the field. A day later, everyone learned the hard truth: The Vikings' franchise quarterback suffered a dislocated knee, a torn ACL and other structural damage. 

Three days later, general manager Rick Spielman struck a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles to acquire Bradford in exchange for next year's first-round pick and a conditional fourth-round selection in the 2018 draft. 

The move reeked of desperation, but Spielman saw the potential in this year's squad, per The MMQB's Peter King: 

"

I made a bunch of calls. I am not gonna mention teams. But there was blood in the water and teams knew it. The price was too high. I didn’t want to mortgage our future. Some teams asked for a first-round pick and a core young player. I can understand the pick. But we worked too hard over the past three years to put all that time and energy into drafting and developing a solid core of this team. I was taken aback who they were asking for. Players who’d been in the Pro Bowl. I mean, in the off-season you’ve got time. There’s not blood in the water in the off-season. But now there was.

"

The automatic reaction often becomes an overreaction. In this instance, Minnesota appeared to overpay for a marginal starting quarterback in order to keep its playoff hopes alive. 

But value becomes a sliding scale dependent on situation. 

Spielman envisioned how Bradford could fit into the Vikings' system before he completed the transaction, per King: 

"

I watched every game Sam played last year, and the last three games, I thought he was playing as well as anyone I saw last year. I don’t think he’s ever been on a team with a top-10 rushing offense. With 28 [Adrian Peterson] in our backfield, playing at a high level, with the defense we have, Sam’s not gonna have to throw it 35 or 40 times every game.

"

Unfortunately, Bradford no longer has the luxury of turning around and handing the football to Peterson. The future Hall of Fame running back suffered a meniscus tear during Sunday's contest against the Green Bay Packers. 

Peterson will undergo surgery Thursday, and his status for the rest of the season remains undetermined, according to ESPN's Josina Anderson: 

The team also placed offensive lineman Matt Kalil on injured reserve Wednesday because of a hip injury, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press' Chris Tomasson.  

Bradford's path to victory won't be easy. He'll battle under a constant barrage, as Pro Football Focus' Steven Palazzolo noted: 

In just over three weeks, the Vikings have lost their starting quarterback, running back and left tackle. As a result, Bradford's role has dramatically changed.

The talented quarterback isn't stepping into an ideal situation. Instead, Minnesota will ask the Oklahoma product to shoulder a much larger load and carry it at points. 

But the Vikings' roster extends far beyond Bridgewater and Peterson.

Plus, the 28-year-old's opening salvo with Minnesota in Week 2 provided a promising glimpse into the underachieving quarterback's potential. He completed 22 of 31 passes for 286 yards and a pair of touchdowns—including a 25-yard connection with the league's leading receiver, Stefon Diggs. 

More importantly, the seventh-year pro showed an unexpected level of toughness in the pocket and command on the field during his first start.

Not only did he take shot after shot, but he suffered a wound during the holmgang and kept at it, via Sunday Night Football on NBC: 

"There was a couple times he got hit—I thought he was dead," guard Alex Boone said after the game, per USA Today's Tom Pelissero (via NBC's KARE 11 News). "He wasn’t moving, so I had to pick him up. I'm like, 'Sam, don’t be dead.' Next play: bullet. You’re going, 'Jesus, this guy's a beast.'" 

Hall of Fame quarterback and former Viking Fran Tarkenton praised Bradford after his performance, via the Pioneer Press: 

"

He had a terrific game on Sunday with just two weeks of preparation. He played with poise, he was accurate, he completed passes and made good throws even under tremendous pressure. Quite frankly, he made more good throws than even Aaron Rodgers, who I think is the best quarterback in football. Bradford played an outstanding game, and our defense played as magnificently as we’ve come to expect.

"

The immediate rebuttal to Bradford's early success is obvious: Without Peterson, the quarterback won't have the luxury of exploiting a stacked box.

This isn't necessarily true. 

Last year's league-leading rusher missed all but one game during the 2014 campaign because of suspension. The Vikings fared well in his absence, as Bleacher Report's Cian Fahey noted: 

"

Adrian Peterson played one game in 2014. The Minnesota Vikings ranked fourth in rushing DVOA.

— Cian Fahey (@Cianaf) September 21, 2016"

For those not acquainted with advanced football statistics, Football Outsiders describes DVOA as "a method of evaluating teams, units or players. It takes every single play during the NFL season and compares each one to a league-average baseline based on situation. DVOA measures not just yardage, but yardage towards a first down."

Jerick McKinnon and Matt Asiata, the team's backup options, combined for 1,108 rushing yards and nine touchdowns in 2014. Both are still with Minnesota, and the organization signed Ronnie Hillman, the Denver Broncos' leading rusher last season, Wednesday, per Craig Peters of the team's site. 

Bradford also deserves credit for how well he's played over his last eight games. Since the start of last November, the quarterback has been dealing. Over that period, he completed 68.5 percent of his passes for 2,245 yards, 12 touchdowns and only four interceptions.

The 2008 Heisman Trophy winner and former No. 1 overall NFL draft pick hasn't live up to expectations, however. 

During his first four seasons, Bradford completed 58.6 percent of his passes for 11,065 yards, 59 touchdowns and 38 interceptions. In addition to numerous coordinator changes early in his career, he also dealt with multiple injuries.

In 2011, a nagging high-ankle sprain forced him to miss six games. Halfway through the 2013 campaign, Bradford tore the ACL in his left knee. He re-tore the ACL during the 2014 preseason, and the Rams dealt him to the Philadelphia Eagles in the offseason.

The rule of thumb is it takes nearly two years to fully recover from this type of knee injury. As such, the quarterback is just now getting back to full strength, and he's playing the best football of his career.

He'll get help from one of the league's best defenses too. 

Bridgewater and Peterson weren't the only reasons Minnesota was a favorite to capture the NFC North for a second straight season and make a deep run into the playoffs. The Vikings rank fifth overall in total defense and finished 13th a year ago. They have difference-makers on all three levels with defensive tackle Linval Joseph, linebacker Anthony Barr and safety Harrison Smith. 

If Bradford and the Vikings offense falter at some point, Zimmer's D is one of the few that can dominate its matchup. It put that on display this past weekend when Aaron Rodgers and the Packers only managed 263 yards. 

If Peterson doesn't miraculously recover and play again this season, Minnesota shouldn't be overlooked. With Bradford at the helm, the Vikings can still claim the NFC North and revel in their regular-season spoils before partaking in the postseason battle. 

Brent Sobleski covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @brentsobleski.