Bills could exacerbate Vikings' turnover, sack issues

While answering a question Wednesday about his receivers dropping passes, one of the many issues that are plaguing the Vikings, coach Mike Zimmer interrupted himself after remembering he wanted to share a more telling statistic.

"I have an interesting stat for you," he said. "The two games we've won we've had no turnovers and no sacks. The two games we've lost we've had 10 turnovers and 20 sacks. Or the three games we lost, I guess. It kind of tells you where it's at right there."

Zimmer's numbers were a little off. The Vikings have actually lost four games, giving up 22 sacks in those four games. But the sentiment of the stat still carries weight, especially the part about the turnovers.

Whenever the Vikings allow a bunch of sacks, and especially if they are giving away the football as if they're playing a one-sided game of hot potato, their chances of winning aren't going to be very good.

"It's an unfortunate situation. I can't pinpoint one specific thing that's happened," receiver Greg Jennings said of the turnovers. "Being in this league for the time that I've been in it, if you're losing the turnover battle, you're going to lose the game."

And when you're getting blown out in the turnover battle … well, it's no surprise the Vikings were outscored 59-13 by their division rivals from Green Bay and Detroit the past two weeks.

The Vikings have thrown nine interceptions this season, more than any other team in the league, and only four teams have committed more turnovers than their 10. They have forced just five takeaways, giving them a negative-5 turnover differential that ranks 27th in the NFL.

Linebacker Chad Greenway practiced fully on Wednesday, a sign that he could return this weekend. It was the first time he has opened the week on the practice field since breaking a rib and his left hand in Week 2.

Greenway's potential return could come at a good time. Gerald Hodges, who has started in his place the past three weeks, missed practice after tweaking his hamstring vs. Detroit.

Also sitting out practice were defensive end Corey Wootton (lower back), cornerback Jabari Price (hamstring) and tight end Kyle Rudolph (sports hernia surgery).

Teddy Bridgewater was sacked eight times by the Lions, and said he deserves a share of the blame. Asked if he could have gotten rid of the ball quicker on any of the sacks, the rookie replied, "The majority of them."

Bridgewater made a point to pop his head into the offensive line meeting room the day after the loss and let his protectors know that he wouldn't be pointing any fingers at them.

Rookie running back Jerick McKinnon made his first NFL start against the Lions and played well, rushing for 40 yards on 11 carries and leading the team with six receptions.

Matt Asiata, whom McKinnon replaced as a starter, had only two carries for minus-5 yards. But Zimmer said he wants to make sure Asiata is more involved in the offense than that.

"I just like Asiata," Zimmer said. "He's got some physicality. He's played well this year. … Matt's an extremely dependable guy and I anticipate that when he carries the ball he's going to get some yardage."

While Bridgewater, outside linebacker Anthony Barr and even a pair of seventh-round picks in Price and nose tackle Shamar Stephen have played meaningful roles as rookies, third-round defensive end Scott Crichton has been active for only one game and fifth-round guard David Yankey has yet to suit up.

Zimmer likes what he is seeing from those two in practice but noted that every young player develops at a different rate.