BIG BEN LOOKS TO STRIKE DOWN VIKES
The Minnesota Vikings have spent the entire season on the edge, with all but one game decided by one score. The NFC wild-card race that was recently so inviting will require extra work to re-enter.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are on the outside of the playoff picture in the AFC, too, similarly facing a difficult schedule down the stretch. Their outlook is a bit brighter, though, thanks to their 20-19 win over rival Baltimore on Sunday.
As random and unpredictable as NFL results can be, the Steelers appear to have cracked the code on these close games that the Vikings are still scrambling to solve.
“Obviously we’d love to have a blowout game and not have to worry about it, but I definitely think you can learn something from the game last week,” quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. “Character can be built, heart can be built, from those games.”
The Steelers are 6-1-1 in decisions by eight points or fewer. The Vikings are 4-7 in those games. They’ll play in Minnesota tonight, with the full expectation of another down-tothe-wire affair.
“I don’t worry about them. I worry about us. I know that we grow from those experiences and grow in the right ways: belief in themselves, each other,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said. “But you’re just faced with different challenges each and
every week. What transpired last week in a positive way might not necessarily manifest itself in the next stadium in that way.”
The end was cruel again to the Vikings on Sunday in Detroit, when the previously winless Lions beat them 29-27 with a last-play touchdown pass to cap a 75-yard drive that began with 1:50 left and with no timeouts.
Seahawks lose Adams
Jamal Adams’ second season with the Seahawks is coming to an early end.
Adams will miss the rest of the season after suffering a torn labrum in his left shoulder, coach Pete Carroll said Wednesday. Adams is expected to undergo surgery today for
the damage he suffered during the first half of the Seahawks’ win over San Francisco, which snapped Seattle’s three-game losing streak.
He had surgery to repair damage to the same shoulder last offseason, although Carroll said this injury is not believed to be as severe as the last one.
Texans waive Cunningham
Outside linebacker Zach Cunningham was waived by the Houston Texans on Wednesday following his second suspension for violating team rules this season.
“We have standards and I didn’t feel like those standards have been met consistently,” coach David Culley said. “I made a decision that was best for the team. This is about the
team. This isn’t about any individuals.”
Cunningham was a secondround pick in 2017 and has been one of the team’s most consistent performers. The Texans signed him to a four-year, $58 million contract extension before last season.
Notable
Justin Fields is set to return to the Chicago Bears’ lineup.
Coach Matt Nagy said the prized rookie quarterback will start when the team visits the Green Bay Packers this week after missing the past two games because of broken ribs.
Recently signed quarterback Jake Fromm took most of the snaps for the Giants as the team practiced at the University of Arizona for Sunday’s game in Los Angeles against the Chargers.