By Joseph Gunther
The Minnesota Vikings are very likely to be without either of their first two running backs when the season started for the final three games. After giving third string and special teams standout Matt Asiata more than half of the team’s carries in Sunday’s win over the New York Jets at TCF Bank Stadium, head coach Mike Zimmer wants to see the other two running backs on the roster play larger in the last three games of the season.
With Adrian Peterson still waiting to find out the decision on the appeal of his suspension and Jerick McKinnon on injured reserve, the Vikings have Joe Banyard and Ben Tate joining Asiata on the Vikings active roster. Asiata began the season with the Vikings primarily as a special teams player. Banyard was promoted from the team’s practice squad prior to Week 2 and Tate was claimed off waivers from the Cleveland Browns on Nov. 19.
Asiata finished Sunday’s win with 54 yards on 19 carries for a 2.8 yards per carry average (a number only better than Teddy Bridgewater’s 2.3 yards per carry). Tate had 15 yards on three carries and Banyard had just one rush for nine yards. Banyard’s nine-yard carry was the longest run of the day by a Vikings running back and only Jarius Wright’s 23-yard reverse play gain was longer.
“I think (Asiata) probably had a few too many carries,” Zimmer said. “We’d like to get (Tate) a few more carries this week as well, and so we’ll see. Sometimes you just get in the flow of games and things happen. Unless you pre-script it and say, ‘This series, this series.’ Sometimes that’s just the way it goes, but Matt probably got a few too many and those other guys probably got a few too less.”
McKinnon was placed on season-ending injured reserve after running for 538 yards in 11 games. He had a medical procedure on his lower back that will keep him out the next two months.
“It had been bothering for a little while,” Zimmer said. “He did come back and play a couple of games and then the two weeks and we just decided that it was time. It needed to be fixed, and we just couldn’t prolong it any further.”
The Vikings are expected to go into next season with McKinnon as the primary ball carrier, but the depth behind him is still a mystery. The Vikings coaching staff already has enough information on Asiata and should use the final three games to determine Banyard and Tate’s future with the team.
Felton scores first touchdown
Jerome Felton entered Week 13 with 97 career NFL games played and no touchdowns. Then in the win over the Jets, he got his first career touchdown. But, it was not how the seventh-year fullback expected.
Felton, originally taken by the Lions in the fifth round of the 2008 draft, coming to help Johnson cross the goal line for the receiver’s second touchdown of the game. However, he was hit and the ball popped out just before the goal line. Felton jumped on the loose ball to avert disaster for the Vikings.
“It popped our right there and I was just able to dive on it,” Felton said. “It’s kind of a cheap touchdown, but I’ll take it.”
Felton, known for his blocking and not ball carrying skills, has seen his role in the offense reduced since the team changed coordinators in the offseason. Even though he is seeing less time on the field, players on the team know how valuable he is.
“He doesn’t get enough credit around here,” Bridgewater said. “I know he just scored his first career touchdown (Sunday), but he doesn’t get enough credit. He’s the guy in there doing the dirty work, opening holes and taking on linebackers.”
Felton earned his first Pro Bowl appearance when he helped Peterson run for 2,097 yards and earn league MVP honors in 2012. His diminished role might cost a second appearance in the all-star game this season.
For more Vikings news and updates, visit Vikings Central.
Joseph Gunther is an avid fan of Minnesota sports, including football, hockey and baseball. He covered a wide variety of sports while attending Hastings College in Hastings, Neb. While at Hastings College, he was a part of the first collegiate media group to broadcast a national tournament via television, radio, internet and newspaper at the 2004 NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball Tournament. He grew up in the Twin Cities playing three years of varsity football in high school. Joseph is a freelance writer covering all things NFL. His work can be found on Examiner.com.
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