Vikings Lose Offensive Linemen Brian O'Neill, Austin Schlottmann to Injury vs. Packers

Both O'Neill and Schlottmann have already been ruled out after getting hurt in the first quarter.

The first quarter of Sunday's Vikings-Packers game at Lambeau Field was a disaster for Minnesota in a multitude of ways.

In terms of the actual results of the action, things couldn't have gone much worse. The Vikings settled for a field goal after a blocked punt gave their offense first and goal at the Green Bay 1, then gave up a 105-yard touchdown on the ensuing kickoff. They watched the Packers return a deflected pass 75 yards for another non-offensive score. And to cap things off, Greg Joseph missed a field goal for the first time since Week 8.

However, none of that is the biggest concern among the developments of Sunday's first quarter. Two injuries to offensive linemen, including one to star right tackle Brian O'Neill, are the more notable story.

Center Austin Schlottmann, who is still filling in for injured starter Garrett Bradbury, was quickly ruled out with an ankle injury after a play near the goal line. Then, on the Packers' long interception return touchdown, O'Neill hurt his calf and was also ruled out after not much time. He was carted to the locker room after spending some time in the medical tent.

With Schlottmann hurt, the Vikings turned to guard Chris Reed as their third-string center. He had previously only played center in the NFL during preseason action. With Bradbury's back injury continuing to linger, it's anyone's guess who Minnesota's center will be next week in Chicago and for the first round of the playoffs.

The O'Neill injury is a brutal blow. He's one of the Vikings' best, most consistent players. And because swing tackle Blake Brandel is on injured reserve, Minnesota has turned to Oli Udoh — their starting right guard last season — at right tackle. Udoh has played 31 regular season snaps at RT, all coming during one game in 2019, his rookie year.

We won't know until after the game if the Vikings have any update on Schlottmann or O'Neill, but it seems entirely possible that one or both injuries could be multi-week issues. If that's the case with O'Neill, it would be a massive loss shortly before the postseason begins.

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