The Minnesota Vikings were unable to convert what was shaping up to be an impressive fourth-quarter comeback against the Pittsburgh Steelers, in which they scored on consecutive possessions to set up a potential game-winning drive, into a win on Sunday morning.
Yet quarterback, Carson Wentz was unable to get his team down the field, and ultimately turned the ball over on downs after an incomplete pass to Jordan Addison on 4th and 17.
To make matters worse, Minnesota suffered a pair of injuries on the all-important offensive line, to center Ryan Kelly and long-time right tackle, Brian O’Neill.
Vikings Could Lose Key Offensive Lineman To MCL Injury
And it seems with O’Neill, who went down with a knee injury after a field goal in the first quarter, the team has an idea of what the issue could be, per head coach, Kevin O’Connell.
“Injury wise,” O’Connell said to the media in the aftermath of the 24-21 loss, “Brian O’Neill will have an MRI tonight [for his] knee.”
“I was out there when they evaluated him, don’t want to get too far ahead from the standpoint of what it might be but it sounded like they were talking about his MCL, so that’s one they’ll have to evaluate.”
O’Connell mentioned that the two-time Pro Bowler made a strong effort – despite his potentially serious injury diagnosis – to get back onto the field, but alas he was not able to continue playing.
“I know he was trying to do everything in his power to tape it up and see if he could go; one of the toughest guys on our team, so I know he would have absolutely tried to get back out there if he could. We’ll evaluate him and see where he’s at.”
O’Neill has been a mainstay on the Vikings’ offensive line ever since being selected in the second round of the 2018 draft out of the University of Pittsburgh. Now in his eighth season, the Delaware native has never missed more than three games in any individual season.
Ryan Kelly’s Concussions Starting To Become An Issue
Back to the interior of the offensive line, center Ryan Kelly suffered his second concussion in just over two weeks, after a collision in week 2 against the Atlanta Falcons forced him to sit out week 3’s blowout of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Kevin O’Connell addressed this issue in the presser, adding that any decision with regards to his availability moving forward will be left up to the discretion of the medical staff.
“The health of our players is always the beginning, the end, and the middle of that conversation,” O’Connell continued. “So we’ll totally defer to the doctors and we’ll defer to the protocol. And then ultimately, we’re gonna want to make sure Ryan’s in a good place. That’s not anything I particularly ever want to mess around with, so we’ll be smart. Definitely not my lane to weigh in on those things until we get to that place.”
Further updates will likely come in as the tests come back for both Kelly and O’Neill. But at this point, things are looking far from ideal.
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