With the high-flying Philadelphia Eagles entering the Metrodome Sunday, the Vikings are going to be extremely short-handed in the offensive and defensive backfields.
Adrian Peterson will not have the chance to regain the NFL lead in rushing from his Philadelphia counterpart Lesean McCoy, as he was deactivated by Minnesota due to a mid-foot sprain suffered last week against Baltimore.
Making matters worse for the Purple, backup running back Toby Gerhart will also miss the contest due to a hamstring injury.
Gerhart, who had come on strong lately in relief duty of AP, also suffered his injury against the Ravens, a game in which he had 89 yards and a touchdown.
Getting the bulk of the work on the ground for Minnesota will be second-year back Matt Asiata, who has three career carries. Joe Banyard, who was signed to the 53-man roster from the practice squad earlier this week, is also likely to see action.
Defensively, starting cornerbacks Chris Cook and Xavier Rhodes will both miss Sunday as well.
Rhodes is battling an ankle injury, while Cook will sit with a knee issue, leaving Marcus Sherels, Shaun Prater, and Robert Steeples as the top Vikings corners with Josh Robinson officially out for the season after being placed on injured reserve earlier this week.
Meanwhile, the only piece of good news in the secondary came in the shape of Harrison Smith, as he was activated from the injured reserve-designation to return list Saturday.
It was not known if Smith would play Sunday, but at last check was on track to see the field for the first time since his Week 8 turf toe injury.
