Case Keenum vs. Brett Hundley is not the quarterbacking marquee to lure the masses off the couch but here we were defining the latest Vikings-Packers border battle by this unlikely clash of back-ups.
Anthony Barr flattened Aaron Rodgers like a human rolling pin on Green Bay’s second possession and chased the megastar to the locker room with a broken collarbone. The linebacker also smashed conventional wisdom about how Sunday’s NFC North showdown would play out at U.S. Bank Stadium, and how the division will be decided in the second half of the season.
Rodgers’ sudden demise handed the reins to the unknown Brett in a Favre-ian reversal only a Cheesehead would appreciate and created a power vacuum at the sport’s pivotal position on a day Keenum reasserted his credentials as a gamer.
The Vikings’ scruffy 23-10 win was their second straight in the division. It also signaled they are down for the alley fight this race is shaping up to be, with Rodgers out indefinitely, the Bears rebuilding and the unpredictable Detroit Lions mired in their perpetual identity crisis.
The NFC North is anyone’s for the taking, and the supposedly hexed Vikings might emerge in January with the flag between their teeth after all.
“We’re focused on us,” insisted defensive end Everson Griffen. “We’re not worried about the division. We’re worried about how we compete, how we come together. That’s our No. 1 focus. It’s nobody else.”
There is nobody else who can strike fear into the hearts of defensive backs and coordinators like Rodgers, whom the Vikings might not have to worry about again until 2018.
The Packers already were aching on the offensive line and in the secondary before Rodgers started a parade to the infirmary. Injured Packers were carted off the field as if the driver were getting paid by the body.
It was a messy game all around.
Replay challenges seemed part of every first-half series. Penalty flags flew like leaves in a thunderstorm. The Vikings actually faced first-and-40 following a second-quarter mash-up. Late in the fourth, Green Bay had as many penalties as first downs (eight).
Cosmetic victories are for suckers with the cosmic shift of expectations that occurs when a reliable and lethal player like Rodgers goes on the shelf. Hundley is not the answer for the Packers, whom you can expect to wheel and deal for a viable starting quarterback to try to keep from derailing.
Not when he is telegraphing interceptions like the fourth-quarter loaf he threw to Harrison Smith, who tipped it into his bread basket to pre-order the postgame victory meal.
“Ah, the media darling,” coach Mike Zimmer said proudly as he strolled past the postgame media scrum at Smith’s locker.
“I thought Harrison played great,” Zimmer proffered later for the official record. “He’s smart, he’s tough, he’s physical, he’s instinctive. That was a play they’d run against us in the past. He saw it and made a good play.”
Harry the Hitman contributed 1 1/2 sacks, two quarterback hits and a pair of pass breakups, swarming the football and punishing anyone with their hands on it. He led another ferocious Vikings’ defensive performance.
The unit bullied its way to four sacks and three interceptions, elevating its stature among the NFL’s best with each week’s dominance.
Xavier Rhodes managed a pick despite being virtually ignored again like the dominant shutdown cornerback he has become. Griffen did not get a piece of Rodgers but he bagged a sack for the sixth straight game as a permanent resident in the opponents’ backfield.
Minnesota is undefeated since losing rookie running back sensation Dalvin Cook to a season-ending knee injury two weeks ago. Cook’s coming out as the offensive fulcrum marginalized McKinnon, who seemed destined to be buried in touchback duty as a lonely kick returner.
McKinnon creates havoc in open or tight spaces. But he needs to treat the football more like an heirloom than molten lava lest he fumble his latest chance to impress as a running-catching dynamo to keep defenses honest as they scheme to attack Keenum.
No telling how long Keenum’s pixie dust will last. He was very erratic early and threw his first interception for Minnesota. But he never wavered, made big plays with his legs and strengthened his bond with clutch receiver Adam Thielen.
Keenum improved to 3-2 as a starter in place of Sam Bradford, who for all we know is visiting NASA to have his balky left knee injected with moon dust to treat what appears to be a chronic issue with his twice surgically reconstructed appendage.
There even was a Laquon Treadwell sighting. He surfaced from purgatory to make three receptions, including a dandy one-handed snare that reminded forsaken fans why the Vikings spent a first-round draft choice on him.
They created their own breaks Sunday, including one very big one on Rodgers.
It is up to the Vikings to pull away from the rest of the pack and take an NFC North that is up for grabs.