Perhaps no team around the league has dealt with more injury attrition through the first few weeks of the season than the Vikings.
But perhaps no NFL team is equipped to withstand those injuries, primarily because of the mindset of Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer.
Zimmer talked earlier this month about facing adversity, saying the sun always comes the next day.
Ben Goessling of ESPN.com recently wrote that Zimmer's guidance has kept Minnesota in good spirits following a rash of injuries.
The Vikings are 2-0 and one of three undefeated teams in the NFC, but they'll have a coterie of doubters nearby now that they've lost Adrian Peterson for at least a good chunk of the season because of a torn meniscus. The Vikings put offensive lineman Matt Kalil on injured reserve Wednesday with a lingering hip problem, and they're beginning just their second week with Sam Bradford as their starting quarterback after Teddy Bridgewater tore multiple ligaments in his knee at the end of August.
It increases the degree of difficulty, yes, but in Zimmer's mind, the Vikings' task isn't impossible.
"We're not talking about just an average, run-of-the-mill guy [in Peterson]," Zimmer said. "To me, again, it's all about the team and how the team plays. How the quarterback throws the ball to get us in the right plays, the protections, how the defense plays, special teams. I know everybody is all concerned about we don't have this or we don't have that, but it's a team. That's why we have 53 guys here, so that we can try to win as a team. That's all I've ever done since I've been here."
Bradford cool under pressure vs. Packers
Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford had a strong debut in Minnesota, completing 22 of 31 passes for 286 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Michael Rand of the Star Tribune took a look at Bradford’s stats in Sunday's win over the Packers, noting that the quarterback was especially on point when facing pressure.
In his Vikings debut, though, he fared very well when the Packers were able to penetrate the pocket, which happened too often. Bradford was pressured on 17 of his 35 dropbacks, according to Pro Football Focus. On those plays, he completed nine of his 13 attempts for 89 yards and both of his touchdown passes came when he was getting hit. Bradford had a passer rating of 127.9 on under-pressure plays … it was certainly a good sign that he stood in there and made big throws.
Bradford's passer rating while pressured was actually higher than his 121.2 passer rating for the game.