It hasn’t mattered what day of the week Minnesota has played on this year, the result has been pretty consistent.
If there was a thought that having a short week would help Minnesota’s play, history tells us to think again.
Here are the three Thursday games Minnesota has played since Thursday Night Football became a thing in the mid-2000s.
Dec. 21, 2006: Green Bay 9, Minnesota 7.
Yuck. That scoreline really does say a lot about Minnesota’s inaugural Thursday night matchup.
But just to bring the point home, the Vikings managed just 104 total yards and a whopping zero offensive points.
It was an ugly night at Lambeau, and the only touchdown the Purple scored was on a Fred Smoot interception return off Packer quarterback Brett Favre.
Vikings starting quarterback Travarias Jackson threw for 50 yards that game, and posted a QBR (measured 0-100) was 2.0.
Sep. 9, 2010: New Orleans 14, Minnesota 9.
In a rematch of the 2009 NFC Championship game which the Vikings lost to New Orleans 31-28 in overtime, a significantly worse game ensued to open the 2010 NFL season, with the Saints out-uglying the Vikings 14-9.
The game featured a blocked extra point after Minnesota scored their only touchdown. Quickly moving on…
Oct. 25, 2012: Tampa Bay 36, Minnesota 17.
At least the other two were close.
This one, coming just over a year ago, wasn’t really even as competitive as the final indicates, as Tampa was in control throughout.
Doug Martin piled up 214 total yards, and throwing for 262 yards and three touchdowns was none other shunned Minnesota quarterback Josh Freeman.
Thursday is not Minnesota’s day. A small sample size, yes, but representative nonetheless. A common theme appears to be lack of scoring for the Vikings, putting up just 26 offensive points in the three games.
We’ve heard you need to score to win, though those rumors may be unsubstantiated.
There was also a midweek game in 2010 on a Tuesday for the Purple, with their game against Philadelphia being pushed two days back because of a winter storm. That game they won, with Joe Webb making his first career start at quarterback.
If Minnesota can get their Thursday clash with Washington bumped up to tomorrow, watch out RG3.
