As the Minnesota Vikings head to Green Bay for a holiday weekend showdown against the division-rival Packers, they have a chance to wrap up a first-round bye in the upcoming playoffs.
It’s something most of us figured was never going to be a possibility after the starting backfield of Sam Bradford and Dalvin Cook went down to season-ending injuries early in the year.
But here we are. Minnesota heads into Week 16 with an 11-3 record and as legitimate Super Bowl contenders.
As much as we want to focus on what has been a dominating defense this season, it’s the performance of unheralded players on the other side of the ball that has Minnesota thinking championship.
Case Keenum and Adam Thielen represent just the third undrafted quarterback-wide receiver combo in the Super Bowl era to reach the 1,000-yard plateau, per ESPN. The last to accomplish this feat was Tony Romo and Miles Austin with the Dallas Cowboys back in 2009.
Keenum joined the Vikings this year after putting up a horrible performance with the Los Angeles Rams back in 2016. The expectation at that point was that he’d serve as nothing more than a backup to Bradford. And once Teddy Bridgewater returned to the field, Keenum would ultimately be relegated to third-string duties.
Instead, he’s put up an absolutely dazzling season for the Vikings. Keenum heads into Week 16 completing 67.9 percent of his passes for 3,219 yards with 20 touchdowns and just seven picks. Minnesota boasts a 9-3 record in his 12 starts.
For his part, Thielen joined the Vikings as nothing more than training camp fodder as an undrafted free agent out of Minnesota State back in 2014.
After putting up less than 300 receiving yards in his first two NFL seasons, the pass catcher nearly hit the 1,000-yard plateau last season before breaking out big time in 2017. He enters Week 16 having caught 83 passes for 1,191 yards en route to earning a Pro Bowl nod.
While these two might continue to fly under the radar nationally, they are major components to the Vikings’ surprising success this season.