football

The Minnesota Vikings have now experienced what every other team in the NFL has -- a loss. Calm down Vikings fans, it's only one game against a tough opponent on the road. And I will give credit where credit is due -- the Eagles came up with a solid game plan and played well enough to win the game. But in my eyes, this game is all about the purple shooting themselves in the foot, over and over. Like the Week 1 loss last year to the woeful San Francisco 49ers, this was an uncharacteristic game from this Vikings team. The obvious jumping off point is the atrocious play of the offensive line. We all knew...

The Minnesota Vikings are 4-0. The last time they were 4-0... well, I can't talk about that because it brings up too much pain (cough, 2009). The NFL has surely taken notice of the Mike Zimmer led Vikings, one of the three remaining unbeaten teams. At this moment, they are undoubtedly one of the top three teams in the entire league -- I think the Broncos are best until they prove otherwise and...

In the past two weeks, the Minnesota Vikings faced off against the past two NFL league MVPs. In the past two weeks, the Vikings defense has made both look pedestrian. The Vikings made the pair look like Cleveland Brown quarterbacks. These two quarterbacks are on their way to the HOF (if Cam stays on his current trajectory of greatness), and both looked disheveled, intimated and confused versus the Vikings defense. The two quarterbacks combined for two rushing touchdowns, one passing touchdown, four interceptions, three fumbles and were sacked a total of 13 times. This. Defense. Is. For....

Even if you aren't a football fan, it was no secret the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers squared off in a heated divisional matchup last night in Minneapolis. Not only was this an important game for both teams (and their respective fan bases), but this was the big U.S. Bank Stadium unveiling to the football world. Oh, and on top of that, the Vikings started a quarterback, Sam Bradford, who was on a different team two weeks ago. Even with all that considered, the biggest moments last night were Stefon Diggs emerging as a star in the NFL. Diggs helped the hometown Minnesota Vikings edge the Green Bay Packers 17-14...

Ah, it's that time of year again! The yearly ramp-up before the NFL season begins and the Vikings' trek to Mankato begins. Last year, Minnesota Connected was able to chronicle some of ...

The Vikings headed into Thursday night's 1st round of the NFL draft with the 11th selection. For the first time since 2011, the team ended up with only one first-round pick. Minnesota selected Michigan State junior cornerback Trae Waynes. Waynes becomes the highest drafted cornerback in Vikings history and will pair with 2013's 29th pick Xavier Rhodes on the outside.

"Man, I'm so excited. It's a great feeling. I can't wait to get to Minnesota and start working," Waynes said.

Waynes is no stranger to playing in TCF Bank Stadium, as he played there as a Spartan in 2012 as a redshirt freshman. Waynes started 27 of 36 games...

Now that we've passed a point between the NFL draft and free agency, the NFL is still in charge of capturing the sports fans' attention with the craziest opening to the free agency period that we've ever seen. The Vikings mostly remained out of the headline-making deals (except for ...

"Time heals all wounds," said a wise man once. With the sting of the Vikings Thursday night expedition to Wisconsin receding into the catastrophes gathering dust in Minnesota's collective memory, it is finally time to move on.

Things Worth Mentioning, but not Dissecting

• Christian Ponder, who played last week in Green Bay, did not have a good showing. Let's not beat up the guy for it. Maybe there is a team out there for him, maybe not. Let it go.
• The banged up and under-performing offensive line didn't look great against the Packers. Let's see a few more games before pushing the...

If expectations had been higher, the past few weeks would go down as one of the most painful times in Minnesota Vikings history. Fortunately, even the brightest-eyed and bushiest-tailed fans (like myself) only predicted an 8-8 season before kickoff in St. Louis. Now we can just savor the fact that if our season is on its way to a dark, sad place (like it probably is) we'll get a decent draft pick and won't have to get the let down of just missing the playoffs. The New Orleans Saints executed a textbook two-man high-low tackle on our scrambling Matt Cassel to put yet another foot injury on a Vikings quarterback in recent memory....