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Like so much of the NFL, the NFC North is bunched together at the one-third mark of the season. The three-time defending division champion Green Bay Packers found a groove the past two weeks with victories over the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings by a combined 80-27 margin, but the Detroit Lions are still tied with them for first place.
The Minnesota Wild could not have started the season stronger. This game was so good they found themselves acknowledging afterward they probably won't be able to repeat it.
Teddy Bridgewater and many of his Minnesota Vikings teammates will wear pink shoes and ribbons on Sunday in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. To no one's surprise, wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson was wearing the most stylish looking pink shoes at practice Wednesday. But the cause itself is very personal for Bridgewater.
Teddy Bridgewater wants to win, of course, a given when it comes to any NFL player's public commentary. The other stated goal this week? To make that absence from the field a one-game blip. Bridgewater said Wednesday he feels 100 percent healthy after spraining his left ankle in the fourth quarter of his first NFL start, Sept. 28 against Atlanta. The Minnesota Vikings held their rookie quarterback out last week at Green Bay with only three days for him to heal.
Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Tom Johnson practiced with the team as usual Tuesday, following his weekend arrest on misdemeanor trespassing and disorderly conduct charges that his representatives said should be dismissed.
The University of Minnesota is announcing several days of programs to increase awareness of racial stereotyping ahead of next month's Vikings-Redskins football game on campus. University officials have said they're working with the Vikings to keep the Redskins' name from being used when the two teams play at TCF Bank Stadium on Nov. 2. That situation hasn't been resolved yet.
The problems for the Minnesota Vikings with Christian Ponder at quarterback were obvious from the start. Their list of missing players on offense has grown long and increasingly conspicuous. Playing their primary rival on the road in the rain at night with only three days to rest and prepare was already an uphill climb.
Minnesota Vikings free safety Harrison Smith has an injured left ankle that had him with a walking boot and crutches Friday. Smith played through the injury Thursday at Green Bay, but he had the ankle taped several times throughout the night. Coach Mike Zimmer said Friday that Smith had an MRI test that showed no major damage but that it was too soon to determine his availability for the next game. The Vikings host Detroit Oct. 12.
Christian Ponder was embarrassed. Coach Mike Zimmer struggled to find positives. Nothing went right for the Minnesota Vikings in a 42-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night.
At Lambeau Field, you're going to see a lot of die-hard Packer fans. But here in Minnesota, there are those who belong to the Viking World Order. We met up with one of the group's most loyal members -- Sir Diggz. Diggz Garza got into his Vikings gear for our morning show Thursday.
Teddy Bridgewater is the player on everyone's minds, and now, on everyone's jerseys. The latest fan favorite was hard to keep in stock before Thursday's Vikings-Packers game. "Not in my size, otherwise I would've got one." Chad Mostrom said. "I have to call back tomorrow."
Receiver Jarrett Boykin will miss the Green Bay Packers' game against the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night with a groin injury. Boykin hasn't practiced this week. He also missed Sunday's 38-17 win over the Chicago Bears. The absence of Boykin should mean more opportunities for rookies Davante Adams and Jeff Janis in the Packers' three-receiver sets.
Teddy Bridgewater is progressing. But will he be ready for kickoff against the Green Bay Packers on Thursday? It could be a game-day decision. Remember two years ago when Christian Ponder had to give way to Joe Webb in the playoffs? It's ironic that Ponder now serves as the backup. He's waiting in the wings to prove he can still play.
Minnesota Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes is coming off the best game of his brief career. Good timing. Aaron Rodgers is next. Rhodes had five tackles and a career-high four pass breakups against Atlanta's dangerous offense on Sunday, showing why he was selected in the first round of last year's draft.
A little more than six years ago, Matt Ryan made his NFL debut. Now, he's in the top five in the league in most statistical categories for passing, in position to lead the Atlanta Falcons back from a rough 2013 that was the only losing season of his career. Ryan has made the playoffs four times, been on a pair of 13-win teams and reached the NFC championship game once.
Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway will have his streak of 90 consecutive starts end on Sunday when Minnesota hosts the Atlanta Falcons. The Vikings have listed Greenway — who is dealing with a broken rib and broken hand — out for this week's game along with tight end Kyle Rudolph, who had sports hernia surgery on Tuesday.
A federal judge in Minneapolis who has been the arbiter of NFL labor matters for more than two decades has recused himself from ruling on the latest dispute between NFL owners and the players' union.
Five. That's how many times the Vikings' biggest weapon touched the ball on offense against the Saints. Out of Minnesota's 54 offensive plays, Cordarrelle Patterson was targeted on only six. "They matched up with him with who they (the Saints) feel is their best corner," Vikings Offensive Coordinator Norv Turner said. "So that tells you how they feel about him."
Minnesota Vikings right guard Brandon Fusco will need about four months to recover from his upcoming surgery for his torn pectoral muscle. Fusco says he'll have the operation Monday with a specialist in New York. He was hurt while blocking last week in the game at New Orleans.
From the moment the Minnesota Vikings traded back into the first round to take Teddy Bridgewater, it was only a matter of time before he took over as the team's starting quarterback. When Bridgewater makes his first start on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, he will be in line for something even bigger — the new face of the franchise.
We've arrived at the final weekend of the summer, but high school football is just heating up. David McCoy reported on the featured game -- Hutchinson Vs. Orono -- while Mike Max and Frank Vascellaro highlighted the best plays from other games.
Mike Zimmer had waited so long and interviewed so many times to be an NFL head coach that he almost turned down the Minnesota Vikings' request to talk this offseason. Now that he is finally in the top job, it hasn't taken the longtime defensive coordinator long to discover that being a head coach is about so much more than actual coaching.
London Glen's concussion story is all too familiar. "If something was too loud I would start getting a terrible headache," Glen said. "Or if I was in some really bright light I would start getting a headache." The 13-year-old missed nine weeks of school last year after a tough tackle in a seventh-grade football game.
The fallout continues in the aftermath of Adrian Peterson's departure from the Minnesota Vikings. While the team has removed most of Peterson's presence from its website, Peterson is still featured in both the still images and animations for the team's new $1 billion stadium.
