A trio of Hall of Fame quarterbacks, all of whom have a connection to the Vikings, have been named as finalists for the NFL's All-Time Team.
The league recently announced that Fran Tarkenton, Brett Favre and Norm Van Brocklin are among the 22 players vying for 10 spots.
Tom Brady and Joe Montana have already been named to the team. The rest of the group will be unveiled at 7 p.m. (CT) Friday on NFL Network.
Tarkenton played in Purple from 1961-1966, and from 1972-1978, and was the NFL MVP in 1975.
At the time of his retirement, Tarkenton led the league in passing yards (47,003), passing touchdowns (342) pass attempts (6,467) and completions (3,686). Tarkenton currently ranks 12th all-time in passing yards and 10th in passing touchdowns.
He was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986 and became an inaugural member of the Vikings Ring of Honor in 1998.
Favre played just two seasons for the Vikings, but did so after playing 16 seasons for the Packers. He helped lead Minnesota to the 2009 NFC title game.
Favre went into the Hall of Fame in 2016, and he ranks fourth all-time in both passing yards (71,838) and touchdowns (508).
Van Brocklin never played for the Vikings, but he was the first head coach in team history (1961-66) after an illustrious career wwith the Rams and Eagles. Van Brocklin was enshrined in 1971.
The Vikings are already well-represented on the NFL's All-Time Team, which will consist of 100 players and 10 coaches. It is selected by a 26-person panel made up of coaches, team and front office executives, former players and media members.
Hall of Famers John Randle and Alan Page were selected to the NFL's All-Time Team last month along the defensive line. Guard Randall McDanielis also on the team as an offensive lineman.
Legendary wide receiver Randy Moss was also selected among 10 players at his position. Kicker Jan Stenerud, who finished his career in Minnesota, also made the cut.
Cronin: Cook's absence hindered Vikings offense
The Vikings offense was missing perhaps its biggest piece Monday night, as Dalvin Cook was on the sideline with a shoulder injury.
The absence of the Pro Bowl running back — who has rushed for 1,135 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2019 — was felt all over.
Backup Alexander Mattison also missed the game with an ankle injury. His 462 rushing yards were also missing from the equation.
ESPN Vikings writer Courtney Cronin said the Vikings offense looked out of sorts without the duo that has combined for 1,597 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns.
Cronin wrote that without the threat of two viable running backs, Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins and the offense couldn't get into its normal flow.
It's possible that the Vikings were saving their big, explosive plays by way of play-action for the playoffs, should they see the Packers again, but the fact that Cousins attempted just one play- action pass in the first half and finished 2-of-5 for 14 yards and an interception on such throws was jarring.
While teams don't necessarily need to establish the run to set up an effective play-action attack, the Vikings didn't even attempt to dial it up against the Packers. The reasoning for that could be the fact that without Cook, it's hard to sell the threat of the run. The other thing to keep in mind was how good the Packers were at sniffing out bootlegs during their Week 2 meeting with the Vikings. Minnesota quickly became one-dimensional, and did it to itself.
The combination of Mike Boone and Ameer Abdullah managed 55 yards on 15 attempts.
Minnesota's offense struggled for the majority of Monday night, as the unit tallied a season-low 139 yards on 53 plays, averaging just 2.6 yards per play against the Packers.
Cronin wrote:
Minnesota has never missed Cook more than it did on Monday and may appreciate him even more after realizing what its offense looks like when he's not there.
