Who would be Vikings' next, next, next man up at quarterback?

Garrett Gilbert, of all people, could end up owning the historical quote that frames for future generations what the 2021 NFL playoff push was like when a persistent pandemic started running up the score on its reserve/COVID-19 list.

"I think it's next, next, next man up," said the 30-year-old journeyman quarterback before adding that he actually didn't know, "How many 'nexts' " are needed to describe these unprecedented times.

Gilbert became the leading example of uncertainty on a Thursday night before Week 15.

He was giving his daughter a bath somewhere near Foxborough, Mass. His wife interrupted with news that her husband, a practice squad player with the Patriots, had 25 or so messages from the Washington Football Team.

Bing, bang, boom, Gilbert's plans to fly to Indianapolis to stand on the Patriots' sideline were scrapped. He was being summoned to Washington to squeeze in a practice before heading to Philly to start in a game two days later between two teams fighting for the NFC's seventh playoff seed.

It would be a second career start for a guy who was now with his ninth team in eight years, including a one-year stint with the Orlando Apollos of the Alliance of American Football.

Turns out Gilbert would get some extra hours to prepare when the NFL moved three games because of COVID-19. Cleveland's game was moved from Saturday to Monday; Washington's was moved from Sunday to Tuesday.

That gave NFL fans two nights of watching two teams play without their top two quarterbacks. Cleveland's Nick Mullens, signed as a practice squad player in September, went first and darn near beat the Raiders until former Vikings kicker Daniel Carlson delivered a staggering 48-yard body blow to Cleveland's playoff hopes at the buzzer.

Next up was Gilbert on Tuesday Night Football. Unlike Cleveland, which went with its somewhat experienced third-stringer when Baker Mayfield and Case Keenum went down, Washington looked elsewhere rather than give practice squad players Kyle Shurmur or Jacob Ta'amu his first regular-season NFL snap when Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen went down.

So, technically, if you include the bypassing of Shurmur and Ta'amu, Gilbert became Washington's next, next, next, next, next man up after opening-day starter Ryan Fitzpatrick went down early with a hip injury. All because he threw three passes in one game while Scott Turner, Washington's current offensive coordinator, was his quarterbacks coach in Carolina in 2018.

Two Eagles fumbles early in Tuesday's game gave Gilbert a 10-0 head start. Then a Philly ground game averaging 214 yards the past seven games steamrolled Washington 27-17.

A day later, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer was asked what he'd do if he had his top two quarterbacks succumb to the reserve/COVID-19 list on a game day. Kirk Cousins, the league's most durable quarterback this side of Tom Brady, is famously — or infamously, depending on your side of the fence — unvaccinated. Backup Sean Mannion and his two starts in seven seasons are vaccinated.

"Well," Zimmer said, "I think Sean [Mannion] would be OK. He's been vaccinated."

Sorry, Zim, but we asked you to pick as your Door No. 3 either rookie Kellen Mond or a more experienced guy off the street or from another team's practice squad.

"That won't happen to us," Zimmer said with a smile. "Sean will make it."

Later, Zimmer was asked if that meant the team was doing something different with Mannion since, obviously, vaccinated players are testing positive alongside the unvaccinated, albeit their path back from the reserve/COVID-19 list is much less restrictive.

"We haven't, no," Zimmer said. "Well, we had Sean, like a week ago was virtual. But since the protocols have been kind of relaxed [as of last Monday], I think it just is what it is."

Last Monday, a record 47 players went on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa and yet another starting quarterback, Detroit's Jared Goff, were the headliners of the day. Dalvin Cook hit the list Thursday.

So if it is what it is and it doesn't stop, some of these playoff races might be decided by a whole lot of "next men." Too many. Just ask Cleveland and Washington.