APThe Vikings have slid from 4-1 to 5-4. In their final game before the bye week, they host the Lions, a 2011 playoff team that has climbed out of an early-season hole to get to .500.
Minnesota defensive end Jared Allen knows that his team can’t afford a loss that would drop them to .500.
“Huge. Huge,” Allen said Friday, via 1500ESPN.com. “I’d lie to you if I said it was just another game. It’s absolutely not another game.”
The Vikings already have beaten the Lions in Detroit. The Lions hope to return the favor.
“We’ve got to play and we’ve got to play well,” Allen said. “It’s at home and it’s in our division. We’ve got to come out and we’ve got to put up. That’s the sense of urgency I feel around here. . . . It’s an absolute — I don’t [want] to say ‘must win,’ but it’s one we’ve got to have.”
But does it really matter? Sure, beating the Lions would move the Vikings to 6-4. But with a post-bye slate that goes Bears-Packers-Bears-Rams-Texans-Packers with four of those games on the road, the chances of getting enough wins and enough help (especially since the 4-4 Bucs hold the head-to-head tiebreaker) already are slim.
Lose Sunday, and slim goes to none.
So, yeah, in that regard, it’s huge.
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Sorry Jared but if it’s not a must win, then it is not one that you have got to have.
These articles sound like they’re from the onion
Its a must win game if the Vikings hope to go 6-10, otherwise, its 5-11.
I hope he takes his frustrations out on Matt stafford and his glass shoulder.
We’re not going to the playoffs, and with Percy hurt, Sunday will be tough, but it would be fun to keep the Lions in the basement with all their pre-season hype.
The Lions had preseason hype? Funny, most predicted them to finish 3rd in the NFC North. Keep trying though.
Jared Allen master of sacks and semantics, lol.
They were projected 3rd because the Beats and the Cheese are that good. A good number of predictions saw the Kitty Kats getting the 2nd wild card.
jessethegreat says:
Nov 10, 2012 6:02 PM
I hope he takes his frustrations out on Matt stafford and his glass shoulder.
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Way to Stay classy Viking fan…..
As much as I want the lions to win, wishing major injuries to opposing players is never something you should want to see as a fan.
Inflicting pain, enough to get in the opposing QB’s head is what it’s about. Jared Allen is arguably the best at that part of the game. Wishing serious injury? Better be careful, might get your own players hurt.
It’s make it or break it time for the Vikes….four str8 division games. If they can win two, then they still have a shot at the post season, if not, they’re done.
Jared Allen …media hound…seriously has this guy met a camera and microphone he DID nT like?
34-17 Lions
The Vikes are a upcoming team and the beginning of the season showed their potential. However that being said, the season is a 16 game season and the great teams stay consistent through most of the season. This is a must win for them because the rest of their schedule is not easy. And to jessethegreat: Staffords so called glass shoulder is healed and he throws like it with his Cannon. Ponder only dreams of throwing like that…. This is gonna be a Lions win. This is not the team the Vikes played at the beginning of the year… Ponder will throw his way right into a loss unless AP carries the whole team….
The Vikings have slid from 4-1 to 5-4. In other words, the Vikings have skid back to reality.
By the way, that is now the best Jared Allen pic ever!
I hate to break it to you big guy, but if it’s “one you’ve gotta have” then it IS a must win, you redneck. SMH