The Minnesota Vikings will continue to start quarterback Nick Mullens in a crucial divisional showdown against the Detroit Lions.
Despite a sad 27-24 overtime loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Mullens performed well enough to keep his starting job for the second week in a row. In an ESPN story, Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell lauded Mullens’ performance in the inter-conference match.
“I thought Nick did a lot of really good things in the football game on Saturday,” said O’Connell on Monday. “… Nick understands that we must also aim to limit and eliminate those important, critical errors in which we turned the ball over in the red zone with a chance to score twice in the football game. Nick will continue to strive toward that goal, but I believe that with another good week of preparation and building on the great things he did last Saturday, Nick will go out and perform pretty well for us this weekend.”
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The Vikings have three games left to try to clinch a playoff position. All three of the games are against opponents from the same division. Following the Lions, they will host the Green Bay Packers, a team they defeated in Kirk Cousins’ final game of the season. Minnesota will then face the Lions in their final game of the season.
The outstanding play of Minnesota Vikings quarterback Nick Mullens was overshadowed by two interceptions.
Mullens had two touchdowns and over 300 yards on 26 completed passes against the Bengals on Saturday, with two interceptions. One of the interceptions was a contender for the most perplexing turnover of the year, as he managed to throw the ball directly into the chest of the defensive lineman (B.J. Hill) who was attempting to take him down.
Mullens threw a pick-six in a vital period in the game, but it won’t appear on the stat sheet due to an offsides penalty. If it had stood, Mullens would have had a far more difficult time sending the game into overtime.
Mullens was able to get his playmakers involved, which allowed them to compete with the Bengals. Jordan Addison, a rookie wide receiver, got over 100 yards receiving, and standout WR Justin Jefferson had 84 yards on seven grabs in his first full game in 11 weeks.
The Minnesota Vikings have been victims of the “year of the backup quarterback.”
Mullens began the season as the Minnesota Vikings’ backup quarterback behind veteran Kirk Cousins. When Cousins tore his achilles, youngster Jaren Hall took over as the starter because Mullens was out with a back ailment. After an injury, Hall was replaced by journeyman Joshua Dobbs, and Dobbs’ performance earned him the starting job for four games until O’Connell moved to Mullens.
Mullens’ number was called for the starting job for the 18th time on Saturday. This season, he is one of more than 50 quarterbacks to start for an NFL team. This season, more than half of the NFL was forced to play someone who was not their starting quarterback.
While clubs such as the Bengals quickly found a successor in Jake Browning, teams such as the Vikings were forced to play many quarterbacks while looking for a replacement.
Mullens is 5-13 as a starter entering the game against the Lions.
