As the Ravens and Vikings prepare to meet for the first time since 2009 on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium, both teams are coming off tight wins. The Ravens, of course, held off a furious late rally from Pittsburgh to win 22-20 on Thanksgiving night, while the Vikings came back to force overtime at home against the Chicago Bears, ultimately winning on Blair Walsh’s second game-winning field goal attempt of the extra frame.
We all remember that game in 2009 at the Metrodome, right? Brett Favre threw three TD passes to give the Vikings a 27-10 lead early in the fourth quarter, only to see Joe Flacco and Ray Rice lead a huge comeback for the Ravens. Ultimately, Steven Hauschka would miss the would-be game-winner as time expired, and the Ravens fell. Hauschka is currently kicking for the mighty Seattle Seahawks, and holds the second-longest active FG streak in the NFL, behind only….the Ravens’ Justin Tucker.
Ravens fans would like to see a repeat of the last time Minny came to Baltimore though, a 30-23 win in 2005.
One notable absence from practice for the Ravens today was Elvis Dumervil, who injured his ankle against Pittsburgh. If there is one game that “Doom” could miss without too much consequence, it would probably be this one, as the Vikings do the majority of their damage on the ground, via All-Universe RB Adrian Peterson, not through the air (Peterson also missed practice today, but expect him out there Sunday; we’re not that lucky). With Matthew Stafford and Tom Brady coming up in successive weeks, the Ravens would certainly be better off with Dumervil as close to 100% as possible for those contests. It will be interesting to see how much work Doom gets during the week, and subsequently how many snaps he takes Sunday if indeed he is active.
Here are the full injury reports for both teams following Wednesday’s practices:
RAVENS
DID NOT PARTICIPATE: LB Elvis Dumervil (ankle); S Brynden Trawick (ankle)
LIMITED PARTICIPATION: DE Chris Canty (shoulder); CB Asa Jackson (thigh); CB Jimmy Smith (concussion); WR Brandon Stokley (knee); CB Lardarius Webb (abs)
MINNESOTA VIKINGS
DID NOT PARTICIPATE: LB Larry Dean (knee); RB Adrian Peterson (groin); QB Christian Ponder (concussion); CB Josh Robinson (chest); TE Kyle Rudolph (foot); S Jamarca Sanford (ankle)
LIMITED PARTICIPATION: DE Jared Allen (finger); LB Chad Greenway (wrist)
FULL PARTICIPATION: RB Matt Asiata (shoulder); DT Fred Evans (knee); DE Everson Griffen (toe); S Andrew Sendejo (toe)
If you’ve suffered an injury in an auto accident or while at work, give Maryland’s injury lawyers Seigel, Tully and Furrer a call at 410.669.9300 or visit them online at STFLawyers.com. They’re based in Towson, offer free consultations and won’t charge you a fee unless they recover funds for you.
