Minnesota Vikings: What You Need to Know Heading into Week 17

The last football game to be played in the Metrodome in 2013 is meaningless. The end of the Minnesota Vikings' disappointing season concludes with a game against the disappointing Detroit Lions.

The Lions come into the Metrodome to finish off what is perhaps an even more discouraging season. Having lost five of their last six games, they were eliminated from the playoffs following their overtime loss to the Giants at home last week. 

For the Vikings, they have made the most of their second chances. The first time through the NFC North they were 0-3 against the Lions, Bears and Packers, losing by an average score of 36-28. The second time around against division opponents, they have played much better. They tied the Packers 26-26 in Week 12 at Lambeau Field and beat the Bears in Week 13 at home 23-20 in overtime.

If the trend continues, the Vikings should be good for their fifth win of the season. They might have a huge advantage over the Lions. The Vikings have been playing meaningless games for most of the season, while the Lions were just knocked out of the division race just last week.   

It also looks like a game between two lame-duck coaches, as both Leslie Frazier and Jim Schwartz are both expected to be fired after the season. In fact, according to a report from MLive, Schwartz was almost fired last season. 

Division Standings

For most of the season, this has been a three-team battle for the division lead. The Lions' loss to the New York Giants last week finally eliminated them from the mix, leaving the division to be decided by the longest-standing rivalry in the NFL. 

The game between the Packers and Bears is just what the NFL was hoping for when they scheduled divisional games for Week 17.  The winner takes the NFC North and earns a playoff berth.  

Team	Wins	Losses	Ties	Week 17 Opponent
Chicago Bears	8	7	0	vs. Packers
Green Bay Packers	7	7	1	@ Bears
Detroit Lions	7	8	0	@ Vikings
Minnesota Vikings	4	10	1	vs. Lions

With the winner of the division finishing with no more than nine wins, the NFC North is one of the weakest divisions in the NFL.

  

Injury Report

It has been a tough year for the Vikings. It would be great if their injury report correlated to the less-than-stellar performance on the field, but a 1-3 start to open the season indicates otherwise.

The Vikings close out the season without their top two cornerbacks and their top-two tight ends.  They have started games with their third-string running back (Matt Asiata) and with a starting middle linebacker who had been waived only a couple of weeks earlier (Audie Cole).      

Player	Position	Injury	Status	Games Missed
Greg Childs	WR	knee	on the PUP list	15
Zach Line	FB	knee	Injured Reserve	12
Desmond Bishop	LB	knee	Injured Reserve	11
Harrison Smith	S	Toe	Probable	8
Kyle Rudolph	TE	foot	Injured Reserve	7
Josh Robinson	CB	chest	Injured Reserve	5
Chris Cook	CB	knee	Probable	4
John Carlson	TE	concussion	Injured Reserve	2
Xavier Rhodes	CB	ankle	Questionable	2
Matt Asiata	RB	ankle	Questionable	1
Brandon Fusco	OG	knee	Probable	1
Toby Gerhart	RB	hamstring	Probable	1
Adrian Peterson	RB	groin/foot	Questionable	1
Audie Cole	LB	leg	Questionable	0
Chad Greenway	LB	wrist	Probable	0
Cullen Loeffler	LS	hand	Probable	0
Marcus Sherels	CB	shoulder	Probable	0

Out of necessity, the Vikings have promoted six players—some of them multiple times—from the practice squad to the active roster.  With a limit of eight players, the Vikings' practice squad has had as much turnover as the starting quarterback position.     

Player	Position	Date
Rodney Smith	WR	10/17/2013
Chase Ford	TE	10/26/2013
Kevin Murphy	OT	11/7/2013
Joe Banyard	RB	12/14/2013
Robert Steeples	CB	12/14/2013
Justin Trattou	DE	12/21/2013

What Must Improve

The easy answer as to what must improve for the Minnesota Vikings is everything—but what needs to improve the most is the Vikings' pass defense.   

Statistically, they have one of the worst defenses in the NFL. 

Category	Result	Ranking
Passing yards allowed	294.3 yd/game	32nd
Passing TD allowed	36	32nd
Scoring	31.1 points/game	32nd
Sacks	36	19th
Rushing yards allowed	113.7	18th

This offseason, the Vikings will need to find answers at cornerback, linebacker and defensive end. As pointed out above, injuries have decimated the cornerback position, but age seems to have taken its toll on the defensive line. 

The Vikings need to find some youth and depth this offseason for the defense. 

Defensive end Jared Allen and defensive tackles Kevin Williams, both set to be free agents after Sunday's game against Detroit, will be 32 and 34 next season, respectively. Linebacker Chad Greenway will turn 31. 

For Sunday's season finale against the Lions, the Vikings will need to find a way to contain wide receiver Calvin Johnson, who is second in the NFL with 1,492 receiving yards.  

They will also need to find a way to limit the production of running back Reggie Bush, who had 191 combined yards against the Vikings in Week 1. He finished with 90 rushing yards on 21 carries and 101 receiving yards on four catches.

Having a plan to defend the screen pass, would go a long way to accomplishing that.