Vikings notes: Offensive line patches it together after getting hit by injuries

When changes on the Vikings offensive line were discussed last week, backup tackle Mike Harris playing guard likely wasn't one of the scenarios.

Harris didn't think so either. He said Monday he never had played guard in high school, college or the NFL — until filling in on an emergency basis in a 17-16 loss to the Bills in Buffalo on Sunday.

"Probably since Pop Warner [football], 10 years old — that's the last time I played guard," Harris said.

The Vikings didn't have a choice once center John Sullivan and right guard Vladimir Ducasse suffered injuries with less than four minutes left in the first quarter. Backup guard Joe Berger replaced Sullivan at center, while Harris, the last active offensive lineman available, filled in for Ducasse for the remaining 51 snaps on offense.

"I thought he did well," Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. "He competed well. He did some good things."

Rookie running back Jerick McKinnon still gained 103 yards on 19 carries without Sullivan and Ducasse. Zimmer said Sullivan will go through the concussion protocol this week, and Ducasse will get an MRI on his injured knee.

The Vikings were the first team to rush for more than 100 yards against the Bills, who had the top rush defense in the NFL leading up to the game. The pass protection remained inconsistent. Rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was hit eight times, including five sacks.

The Bills offense targeted cornerback Xavier Rhodes on two of the final three offensive plays of the game, including a 2-yard touchdown catch by rookie Sammy Watkins. After reviewing the tape, Zimmer said Rhodes had inside help in the end zone and should've covered more near the sideline, where Watkins made the touchdown catch.

"It's one of the things that we've been working on him with understanding the formation, understanding where he's got his help in the red zone, understanding where he's at on the field," Zimmer said. "And that has been a process for us in the red zone quite a bit defensively, and really offensively too."

Rhodes also allowed a 28-yard reception to Chris Hogan that got the Bills to the Vikings 2 with five seconds left. The second-year cornerback was in good position to make a play in front of Hogan, who wrestled the ball away from Rhodes.

"[Rhodes has] played very, very well the last four or five ballgames, and there are a couple of situations there at the end that he needs to realize where he's at," Zimmer said. "I think all of those things are going to come from experience of being in these situations, understanding the clock and the timeouts, the field position and everything else."

The Vikings are 2-5, losing their past three games, but Zimmer won't change his expectations seven games into the season.

Zimmer said he'll continue to carry a week-to-week mentality while bringing along a young secondary and a young quarterback in Bridgewater.