Last season, the only two losses the Minnesota Vikings suffered before Week 18 were on a Sunday-Thursday night turnaround. That short week turnaround is always challenging, and an extra layer is added if there are numerous injury concerns in play.
The Vikings' defense had it worst showing of the season against the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday night, surrendering 37 points and 419 yards of offense that was split almost equally between run and pass. The silver lining is they now have a "mini bye" before taking on the Detroit Lions in Week 9, and some of those injured players can get healthy during that extra time between games.