Knock on wood if you must, but the Vikings head to Detroit as healthy as any team possibly could wish for in Week 7 of an NFL season.
Linebacker Ben Gedeon (concussion) was the only player listed as out on Friday's injury report. And while Gedeon is a starter, he is a base linebacker whose 63 snaps in four games represent only 15.5% of the 407 defensive snaps this season.
His more versatile replacement, Eric Wilson, has played 163 snaps.
Meanwhile, the only other player given a game status designation is Kentrell Brothers (questionable). Brothers, a leader on special teams, has been battling a hamstring injury.
That means the offensive line should be at full strength with left tackle Riley Reiff (ankle) and right guard Josh Kline (foot) good to go. Reiff left last week's game against the Eagles early while Kline was sidelined for the second time this season.
Also on the injury report but good to go are safety Anthony Harris (quadriceps), linebacker Eric Kendricks (hip), cornerback Xavier Rhodes (hip) and defensive tackle Shamar Stephen (knee)
Surgery for Morgan
Blocking tight end David Morgan's hopes of coming off the physically-unable-to-perform (PUP) list were dashed Friday when the team announced he would have season-ending knee surgery.
Morgan, who has played in 38 games for the Vikings since 2016, was eligible to come off PUP this week.
On to Detroit
Coach Mike Zimmer has said many times how much he admires the Patriots and any other teams that, win or lose, consistently shift their focus immediately to the next week.
Asked if he thinks he's built one of those teams, Zimmer said, "I hope so.
"I asked somebody, 'What was the score last week?' and no one even knew. It's just like, 'It's time to get back to work.' We're focusing on this week and that's really what we're trying to do. We understand how good a team Detroit is and how good we're going to have to play."
That sounds good. And every team says it wants to be that way. So how hard is it to achieve?
"Part of it is correcting the mistakes we made in the last ballgame," Zimmer said. "And making sure we don't let anything lapse in that area. And then making sure guys are on time, they're studying and doing all the things they're supposed to do."
Quote of the day
In three starts vs. his home-state Lions, quarterback Kirk Cousins is 2-1 while completing 77.5% of his passes for 718 yards, five touchdowns, one interception and a 114.3 passer rating. He also has six rushes for 19 yards and another touchdown.
Friday, Zimmer was asked about Cousins returning to his home state and whether the coach has ever noticed guys playing better when they return home as part of the visiting team.
Zimmer kind of shrugged and said, "I hope Cousins does."