PurplePTSD: Thielen, Darrisaw Are Out; Several Vikings Questionable For Thursday Night Football

Press release from the PurplePTSD:

December 8, 2021

The Vikings released their final injury report leading up to the Thursday Night Football game. Adam Thielen (as we expected) and Christian Darrisaw have been ruled out. Several more are listed as questionable:

The end result is a considerably deeper Vikings defense. Having players like Barr and Kendricks back makes a huge difference. Moreover, don’t forget that this discussion doesn’t include Patrick Peterson, who has been activated from the Covid-19 list. Big Ben may not be the player he used to be, but they have Chase Claypool, Diontae Johnson, and Najee Harris. In other words, it won’t be easy to slow them down. Mike Tomlin is an excellent head coach. He’ll ensure his guys are ready to roll.

Dalvin Cook may be questionable, but it’ll be very surprising if he actually plays. He suffered a reasonably significant shoulder injury. Rolling with Alexander Mattison is the right thing to do here, folks. I suspect the Vikings are offering a plausible fiction – Cook could play – to simply force Pittsburgh to spend an extra moment or two preparing for the possibility.

The Steelers are navigating a few notable injuries of their own: “Steelers Wednesday injury report: Pittsburgh ruled out cornerback Joe Haden (foot), linebacker Robert Spillane (knee), guard B.J. Finney (back) and defensive end Isaiah Buggs (ankle). None of the four players participated this week.”

Obviously, the Vikings Thursday Night Football game has major playoff implications for both sides. I’m expecting a purple victory simply because this team always defies expectations. As soon as fans resign themselves to a losing fate, Minnesota storms back with a clutch win or two. Why change now?

This press release was produced by the PurplePTSD. The views expressed here are the author’s own.