Vikings’ Nick Mullens to Start vs. Lions in Week 18 Amid 2024 NFL Playoff Race

Joseph Zucker@@JosephZuckerFeatured Columnist IVJanuary 3, 2024

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Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell announced he’s going back to Nick Mullens as the starting quarterback for Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Detroit Lions.

Mullens replaced Jaren Hall midway through a 33-10 defeat to the Green Bay Packers in Week 17. He went 13-of-22 for 113 yards and a touchdown.

O’Connell was clearly hopeful Hall would provide a spark after Mullens threw six interceptions across back-to-back defeats. In retrospect, leaning on the fifth-round pick looks even more like a sign of desperation.

Hall threw a pick on his second pass against Green Bay and fumbled in the second quarter, which set the Packers up to take a 23-3 lead into halftime. O’Connell gave him the hook after he threw for 67 yards on 10 attempts.

Benching Hall for Mullens in Week 18 is an understandable decision but just continues the game of musical chairs Minnesota has played since Kirk Cousins tore his Achilles.

Jeremy Fowler @JFowlerESPN#Vikings’ wild QB ride after Kirk Cousins’ Achilles injury…

Week 9: Jaren Hall/Josh Dobbs
Week 10: Dobbs
Week 11: Dobbs
Week 12: Dobbs
Week 14: Dobbs/Nick Mullens
Week 15: Mullens
Week 16: Mullens
Week 17: Hall/Mullens
Week 18: Mullens

Mullens threw for 411 yards when the Vikings met the Lions in Week 16, but Minnesota couldn’t overcome his four picks. He was sacked four times as well.

The Lions will have to like their odds the second time around since they’ll know better how to exploit his weaknesses. In particular, he seemed to struggle mightily in the face of pressure from the front seven.

It figures to be another long day at the office for the Vikings.