RandBall: Vikings face nightmare of a must-win game with suspect O-line

As a parent of young children, I am fond of saying that our family does not take vacations.

We take trips, and there is a difference.

A trip has some of the same elements of a vacation: You travel to a destination and spend time engaging in activities together. But you also deal with meltdowns, unfamiliar bedtime routines and other stressors.

A vacation is unforgettable and recharges you. A trip is memorable, but often there’s a secret relief when it’s over because of the stress that comes along with the good memories.

The Vikings certainly never viewed their two weekend excursion to Europe as a vacation, but they also probably imagined a closer-to-ideal scenario with team bonding, sightseeing and a couple of victories.

They are instead most certainly on an NFL trip. Their offensive line plan has melted down. They are in an unfamiliar place. They have already lost once. And now they face a must-win game Sunday as this nightmarish trip draws to a close, as I talked about with La Velle E. Neal III on Friday’s Daily Delivery podcast.

They will have to try to move the ball against a top-notch Browns defense while putting three backup linemen on the field. Donovan Jackson, Ryan Kelly, Michael Jurgens and Brian O’Neill were ruled out on Friday’s final injury report.

What’s the British equivalent of uff-da?

Those three, plus Christian Darrisaw and Will Fries, will try to protect backup quarterback Carson Wentz. He was pummeled last week in a 24-21 loss to the Steelers that wasn’t close for most of the game.

Skill position players are important, but the real NFL battles are won in the trenches.

Just ask the 49ers, who were without their starting QB and three top pass-catchers but still upset the Rams on Thursday because backup QB Mac Jones was kept mostly clean by an intact offensive line and sacked just once in 49 pass attempts.

Heck, just ask the Vikings. They went 2-0 last year and 2-1 this year without starting receiver Jordan Addison.

The points produced by both offenses Sunday might more closely resemble a British “football” score than an American football score.

But make no mistake: The Vikings must win this game. The difference between 3-2 and 2-3 at the bye, with the gauntlet of games coming up afterward, is the difference between a viable path to the playoffs and an unrealistic hope.

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