With No. 2 Seed Still in Play, Vikings Won't Bench Starters Against Bears in Week 18
The Vikings will wrap up their regular season on Sunday with a road game against the woeful Chicago Bears, who are still in the running for the No. 1 overall pick at 3-13.
Although Minnesota is probably headed for the No. 3 seed in the NFC playoffs and a first-round matchup with the Giants, don't expect to see Kevin O'Connell's team sitting its starters in this game. The Vikings can still return to the 2 seed with a win and a 49ers loss against the Cardinals. So while some veteran players will undoubtedly have their reps managed — something the Vikings have been doing for a few weeks now — fans can expect to see players like Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson in action.
The NFL recently announced the times of every Week 18 game, and Vikings-Bears is a noon kickoff at Soldier Field. 49ers-Cardinals, meanwhile, isn't until later in the afternoon. So the Vikings will go into their game incentivized to win and put pressure on San Francisco.
"I think it would probably be more subtle (changes), just knowing that the 2 seed is still available for us," O'Connell said.
Realistically, it's extremely unlikely that the 49ers will lose to the Cardinals. The Niners have won nine games in a row and have the second-best point differential in the league. They still have a chance at reaching the No. 1 seed if the Eagles lose to the Giants. And they've opened as 14.5-point home favorites over the 4-12 Cardinals, who have lost six in a row and started David Blough at quarterback this weekend.
Still, the Vikings aren't going to assume anything. And regardless, they're motivated to play well against the Bears after putting up a stinker against the Packers. For momentum purposes, bouncing back with a win in Chicago would be a nice way for the Vikings to wrap up their regular season and head into the playoffs.
"We still have a lot to play for just from a momentum standpoint," O'Connell said. "(For) a football team that’s kind of had some highs this year, for sure, and then one of our low moments of the season yesterday, where you’d like to be able to rely on a lot of things we've built here to come back together and make sure we rectify some of the issues."
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