As the Vikings prepare for an unlikely playoff play-in game, they were missing one of their most important players from practice.
Actually, they were missing three of them.
Running back Adrian Peterson missed practice due to an abdomen injury, a week after missing some time due to a problem that was listed both as abdomen and groin.
Also out were defensive end Jared Allen (shoulder/illness), along with cornerback Antoine Winfield, who has a fractured hand and a knee injury.
Peterson undoubtedly will play; Frazier already shared that information with Peter King on Sunday, after the Vikings knocked off the Texans. The real question is whether the Vikings are more motivated by trying to help Peterson get the yards needed to overcome Eric Dickerson’s single-season record, or whether the goal is getting to the playoffs.
“I think the biggest consideration has to be winning this game, finding a way to get a win,” Frazier said. “If the record comes along with the win, that would be great, but not at the expense of winning the game. We have to approach this with whatever it takes to get a win, and Adrian wants it that way too. He would love to have the record but he’s the ultimate team guy. He wants to get the win. I hope he gets the record, but even more so I want us to win this game.”
Frazier is right. Even though Peterson is chasing one of the records that some thought would never be seriously challenged, the Vikings are still chasing the Lombardi Trophy that they never were able to win during the 1970s. Though the chances of the Vikings running the table fall somewhere between “slim” and “no way in hell,” the chances become worse than no way in hell if the Vikings don’t have a seat at the postseason table.