Lanschaften » The passing attack for Minnesota has l

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — argely been fueled this season by Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs Irv Smith Jersey Mens , who have flourished into one of the NFL’s most productive and versatile wide receiver tandems.Kyle Rudolph has again been in mostly a supporting role, often asked to assist a vulnerable offensive line with blocking and rarely the first option while running a route from his tight end spot with more than half of the throws made by Kirk Cousins sent to either Thielen or Diggs.When the Vikings badly needed a spark for their sputtering offense on Sunday in Detroit, Rudolph took full advantage of his rare opportunity as the focal point, a little like a holiday-appropriate red-nosed reindeer tasked with pulling the sleigh through a snowstorm for Santa Claus.“Just my time,” Rudolph said after the Vikings beat the Lions 27-9 to stay in control of the second wild-card spot in the NFC . “You just prepare each and every week as best you can. We’ve got two really, really good receivers on the outside, and today when the ball came my way I just tried to catch it. I can’t tell you why or give you a reason that happened today, other than it’s almost Christmas. Christmas is usually good to me.”The leaping catch he made in the end zone on the final play of the first half wasn’t close to his only contribution, either, as critical as that desperation catch turned out to be. Rudolph was targeted a season-high nine times, and he snagged all of those passes for a career-high 122 yards and just the third two-touchdown game out of the 115, including the playoffs, he’s suited up for.“I take a lot of pride in preparing myself each and every week when these opportunities do come,” Rudolph said. “I don’t always know when they’re going to come in the passing game. I have a lot of other roles that I have to do that I take advantage of them.”The Vikings (8-6-1) still need one more win to secure a second straight year in the playoffs, a feat they last accomplished in the 2008 and 2009 seasons. Otherwise their fate will be in Washington’s hands, with a loss by Philadelphia in that case the only way in. NFC North champion Chicago will visit U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday, with the Bears still playing for a better seed.“We’ve got to empty the bucket Irv Smith Jersey nfl draft , and that’s the way we’ve got to play next week at home,” Rudolph said. “I’m really looking forward to that environment.”Rudolph had seven receptions for 63 yards in the game against Green Bay on Nov. 25 after voicing to the coaching staff a team-success-driven concern about the lack of impact he’d been able to make as a pass-catcher to that point. He had only eight catches for 68 yards combined over the three games that followed, though.With Thielen and Diggs frequently drawing double teams during the second half of the season, and undoubtedly in the playoffs as long as the Vikings continue on, Rudolph’s production is vital for an offense that has been up and down in Cousins’ first year in purple.Since Kevin Stefanski replaced John DeFilippo as offensive coordinator, the Vikings have employed more play-action passes and bootleg rollouts for Cousins, concepts that can only help Rudolph thrive up and down the field.“It just adds another weapon,” coach Mike Zimmer said, adding: “The more guys we can use, the better it is.”Despite such quiet stretches during this season, Rudolph has 60 receptions for 615 yards, both the second highest of his career behind 2016. The longest-tenured player on the offense, Rudolph also has a 77.9 percent catch rate on the throws he’s been targeted on to surge past his previous best of 70.6 in 2014.“He’s a tremendous talent,” Cousins said.If the Vikings beat the Bears (11-4), the probable scenario is the No. 6 seed and an instant rematch in the wild-card round in Chicago.That would change if Seattle (9-6), which opened as 11½-point favorites against Arizona (3-12), loses at home to the Cardinals. Then the Vikings would jump the Seahawks for the No. 5 seed and travel to NFC East champion Dallas (9-6).If the Vikings lose but the Eagles also lose to send them back to the tournament Everson Griffen Jersey , they will face the Bears unless San Francisco (4-11), which began as a nine-point underdog, wins at Los Angeles (12-3).In that case, the Vikings would play the Rams next weekend with the Bears taking the No. 2 seed and the first-round bye.The NFL set the schedule up to maximize the drama, bumping the Bears-Vikings game to the late-afternoon timeslot so it will be played simultaneously with the Eagles-Redskins, Cardinals-Seahawks and 49ers-Rams games. There will be four other AFC games with postseason impact taking place at the same time, too.“I don’t think I want to get in 8-7-1,” Cousins said. “I think 9-6-1 is a better way to earn your way in, and hopefully we can get the job done.” There are just two weeks left in the 2018 NFL regular season, and the number of games that actually matter to fans of the Minnesota Vikings. . .besides their own, naturally. . .is getting lower and lower. Specifically, I’m talking about games that could affect the Vikings’ chances of reaching the 2018 NFL playoffs as one of the two Wild Card teams, as the NFC North title was wrapped up by those darn Chicago Bears this past Sunday.I’ll start by pointing out that, independent of any other game on the schedule, the Vikings will have an 85% chance of making the 2018 NFC playoffs if they defeat the Detroit Lions on Sunday, and just a 33% chance if they don’t, according to the “Upshot” tool over at the New York Times. So Anthony Barr Jersey , the Vikings could do themselves a tremendous favor by simply taking care of their own business on Sunday at Ford Field.This week, there are just two games that matter in the Vikings’ quest to make the postseason, and a third that could play a role as far as potential seeding is concerned. They’re nicely spread out over the course of the weekend, too. Now, to be clear. . .if the Vikings win both of their final two games, it makes no difference what any other team in the NFC does. The Vikings secure themselves a playoff spot with wins over Detroit this Sunday and Chicago next Sunday. However, in the name of potentially decreasing the stress that anyone might have to deal with going into Week 17, it would be nice to see the purple wrap up a spot as quickly as possible.So, here are the games we care about that aren’t taking place in Detroit.Games that matter to the Vikings making the playoffsWashington Redskins at Tennessee Titans (Saturday afternoon, NFL Network)The Redskins are pretty sizeable underdogs in this one. . .the spread was ten points the last time I had a look at it. . .and with good reason. They barely managed to squeak out a victory last Sunday over a Jacksonville Jaguars team that had nothing to play for, and now travel to Tennessee to take on a Titans team that’s in a fight for their playoff lives. This seems like it should be a win for the home team, but given that this is one that the Vikings need, I’m sure it will be a nail-biter. In any event. . .Verdict - Go Titans!Houston Texans at Philadelphia Eagles (Sunday afternoon, FOX)This game will be taking place at the same time as the Vikings/Lions game, so there will be some scoreboard watching going on from the Vikings’ faithful. Houston is fighting for a first-round bye in the AFC. . .they currently occupy the #2 spot in the conference, thanks to the New England Patriots losing last week. . .and they’ll wrap it up if they win out. The Eagles pulled off a huge upset over the Rams last Sunday night in Los Angeles to keep themselves alive. I mean, it’s not like you were cheering for the Eagles anyway Mike Hughes Jersey , but in any case. . .Verdict - Go Texans!How much do these two games affect the Vikings’ playoff chances? Here’s the breakdown based on the various results:TEN win, HOU win: Vikings clinch playoff spot with win over Detroit, 55% to make playoffs with loss to DetroitWAS win, HOU win: Vikings 85% to make playoffs with win, 36% to make playoffs with lossTEN win, PHI win: Vikings 83% to make playoffs with win, 36% to make playoffs with lossWAS win, PHI win: Vikings 68% to make playoffs with win, 18% to make playoffs with lossYes, if the Vikings, Titans, and Texans all win this weekend, the Minnesota Vikings will roll into Week 17 securely in the field for the 2018 NFC playoffs. Any other scenario means that Week 17 will actually count for something. It’s also worth pointing out that the Redskins and Eagles play each other at FedEx Field in Week 17, so they can’t both win out.Game that could, potentially, matter for playoff seeding purposesKansas City Chiefs at Seattle Seahawks (Sunday Night Football, NBC)If the Vikings win and the Seahawks should fall on Sunday night Armon Watts Minnesota Vikings Jerseys , the Vikings would leapfrog the Seahawks into the #5 spot in the NFC, as opposed to the #6 spot (where they are now). As we’ve gone over in previous posts, that could be big considering that the #5 seed would be looking at a trip to play the NFC East champion in the Wild Card round, while the #6 seed is likely guaranteed a trip to Soldier Field. Honestly, it’s probably better to be the #5 seed in that scenario. So, with that. . .Verdict - Go Chiefs!Games that might matter because they could affect the BearsChicago Bears at San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams at Arizona Cardinals (late Sunday afternoon, FOX)The Bears still have a chance to jump into the #2 spot in the NFC, but it would require them to win out while the Rams would have to lose at least one of their final two games. I wouldn’t expect the Cardinals to give the Rams too many difficulties, and the Rams are still fighting for the #1 seed in the conference. The Niners, on the other hand, have made things difficult for teams in the playoff race over the past two weeks, knocking off the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks. A Rams win and a Bears loss would eliminate the possibility of the Bears getting a first-round bye and leave them with little to play for next Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium. So, if you believe in that sort of stuff. . .Verdict - Go Rams and Go Niners!Those are the games that fans of the Vikings need to keep an eye on this weekend. Again, if the Vikings win their final two games, none of the other 30 games that happen in the National Football League over the final two weeks of this season will make any difference, and the purple will be playing in January. These are just some of the other ways that our favorite team can find themselves invited to the postseason party.