A surprising playoff-implication Saturday hits Cincinnati when the Bengals host the Minnesota Vikings in a matchup of seven-win teams banking on big things from their backups.
The Vikings (7-6) are coming off a win in the lowest-scoring NFL game of the season, a 3-0 victory at Las Vegas.
Backup quarterback Nick Mullens replaced Josh Dobbs and led Minnesota on a 13-play, 56-yard drive that ended with a 36-yard Greg Joseph field goal with two minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
Mullens earned the start Saturday as the Vikings cling to the No. 6 seed in the conference entering Week 15 with no margin for error. Green Bay leads a pack of five 6-7 teams on Minnesota’s heels.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell doesn’t expect Mullens’ 18th career NFL start to be too big for him.
“I think Nick’s going to have a great opportunity,” O’Connell said. “A tough challenge. Road game, did some very nice things coming into the game the other day in that fourth quarter to help us solidify a chance to win it.”
Two games back of the NFC North-leading Lions in the win column, the Vikings are still alive for the division title. They play the Lions next week and again in the regular-season finale Week 18 at Detroit with a primetime home date with the Packers on New Year’s Eve in between.
The Vikings’ defense was the star last week, led by University of Cincinnati product and Cincinnati native Ivan Pace Jr. The rookie linebacker was undrafted this past spring but was given a chance to excel in the defense directed by defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
Pace earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors after posting a career-high 13 tackles at Las Vegas on Sunday and grabbing the game-sealing interception.
“He’s done a great job. The kid works hard; it’s important to him,” Flores said. “It takes a little while to just get familiar with the NFL game — the speed of it, and the wear and tear that happens to your body throughout the season. I think he’s really feeling good, really feeling confident.
“I’m excited about where Ivan’s progression’s gone, and he’ll hopefully continue to ascend.”
Through 13 games, Pace has 68 tackles (43 solo), an interception, 2.5 sacks, two tackles for loss, two passes defensed and a forced fumble.
Pace turns 23 Saturday and will spend his birthday in his hometown, trying to damage Cincinnati’s playoff hopes.
Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (chest) was listed as questionable Thursday and is expected to play against the Bengals. Minnesota leading rusher Alexander Mattison (660 yards) was ruled out with an ankle injury. Ty Chandler expected to start in the backfield.
Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati’s top receiver and Jefferson’s teammate at LSU, spent the early portion of the week working through heel and ankle issues but was in attendance for Wednesday’s practice.
The last time their teams faced off, Jefferson caught five passes for 71 yards and Chase also caught five balls for 101 yards, including a 50-yard TD pass from Joe Burrow as the Bengals claimed a 27-24 overtime victory in the 2021 season opener in Cincinnati.
This time it won’t be Burrow slinging the ball for the Bengals.
Backup Jake Browning lost his first start but has won consecutive games — beating Jacksonville and Indianapolis — following Burrow’s season-ending wrist injury to steer Cincinnati back into the playoff picture. The Bengals are one of six AFC teams that enter Week 15 with a 7-6 record.
In scoring 34 points in back-to-back games behind Browning, the Bengals have averaged 438 net yards the past two weeks.
“These guys believe in what we’re doing and have done a great job,” said head coach Zac Taylor of his offensive contributors. “We’ve really called upon every resource we have on offense. Everybody has stepped up.”
Browning has the highest completion percentage (79.3) by any NFL QB in their first three starts since 1950. He completed 18 of 24 for 275 yards against the Colts, with two touchdowns and an interception.
Browning was aided by the running back tandem of Joe Mixon and rookie Chase Brown, who caught a 54-yard screen pass and sprinted untouched for a touchdown.
“I feel like we’ve got some good rhythm going,” Browning said. “I thought our O-line had a really good game. No sacks, a couple explosive screens, we ran the ball for 100-plus yards.”
