This Vikings Season Has Been Completely Decimated By Injuries

This Vikings season has been completely and utterly decimated by injuries. It's been a rollercoaster ride filled with fun stories and gut-wrenching losses, but nothing has been more impactful than the loss of so many key players. As their season gets close to slipping away, the coaching staff probably deserves more credit than they've received for simply keeping things afloat amid all of this adversity.

This week's news that T.J. Hockenson and D.J. Wonnum suffered season-ending injuries against the Lions only adds to a season of hurt. Here's an incomplete list:

Kirk Cousins suffers a torn Achilles in Week 8
Justin Jefferson misses seven games with a hamstring injury (and most of two others)
T.J. Hockenson, D.J. Wonnum suffer season-ending injuries in Week 16
Cam Akers suffers torn Achilles in Week 9
Marcus Davenport misses all but basically two games with ankle issues
Jordan Hicks misses four games with scary shin injury
Jaren Hall suffers concussion
Brian O'Neill, Alexander Mattison, K.J. Osborn, Christian Darrisaw, Byron Murphy Jr., Ed Ingram among players to miss at least one game

"It’s been different," Kevin O'Connell said this week. "You can say 'next man up' all you want. You can talk about that mentality, and we do live by that mentality because we like to prepare all of our guys. ... We may lose some of our more impactful players, and we’ve got to try to continue to play to win football games. That’s really what this whole year has been about. It’s been significant, and I think our guys have battled. I think we’ve had the right mindset to have guys step up in certain roles and be ready for that opportunity when called upon. It’s just been something you have to work through."

There have been all kinds of storylines throughout this season, from turnovers to quarterback decisions to a defensive resurgence under Brian Flores. Ultimately, though, it's just impossible to overcome not only losing Cousins, but so many other important pieces too.

Sometimes the analysis is as simple as that. This Vikings season isn't over, but it's close. If they're going to bounce back in 2024 and win the division title next year, it'll probably be because they stayed relatively healthy like they did in 2022.

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