EAGAN, Minn. — Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell announced Wednesday that Nick Mullens will start for Minnesota in the Week 18 regular-season finale at Detroit Sunday.
The Vikings (7-9) are returning to Mullens a week after starting rookie Jaren Hall against Green Bay.
Mullens relieved Hall, who was making his second career start, to open the second half with Minnesota trailing by 20 points in an eventual 33-10 loss that reduced the Vikings chances at earning the final NFC Wild Card spot.
Detroit (11-5) has already clinched the NFC North (established 2002) for the first time in franchise history and is currently the No. 3 seed. The Lions could still move up to No. 2 with a win and losses later Sunday by the Cowboys and Eagles.
View photos of the Vikings 53-man roster as of Jan. 7, 2024.
3 WR Jordan Addison
78 T Hakeem Adeniji
78 T Hakeem Adeniji
33 LB Brian Asamoah II
33 LB Brian Asamoah II
54 LB Anthony Barr
54 LB Anthony Barr
5 CB Mekhi Blackmon
23 CB Andrew Booth Jr.
23 CB Andrew Booth Jr.
56 C Garrett Bradbury
56 C Garrett Bradbury
64 T Blake Brandel
64 T Blake Brandel
90 DL Jonathan Bullard
90 DL Jonathan Bullard
24 S Camryn Bynum
24 S Camryn Bynum
55 OLB Andre Carter II
55 OLB Andre Carter II
32 RB Ty Chandler
32 RB Ty Chandler
6 S Lewis Cine
6 S Lewis Cine
71 T Christian Darrisaw
71 T Christian Darrisaw
52 DL Sheldon Day
52 DL Sheldon Day
42 LS Andrew DePaola
42 LS Andrew DePaola
15 QB Joshua Dobbs
15 QB Joshua Dobbs
21 CB Akayleb Evans
21 CB Akayleb Evans
16 QB Jaren Hall
16 QB Jaren Hall
30 FB C.J. Ham
30 FB C.J. Ham
58 LB Jordan Hicks
58 LB Jordan Hicks
99 OLB Danielle Hunter
99 OLB Danielle Hunter
67 G Ed Ingram
67 G Ed Ingram
81 WR Lucky Jackson
81 WR Lucky Jackson
25 S Theo Jackson
25 S Theo Jackson
18 Justin Jefferson
18 Justin Jefferson
91 OLB Pat Jones II
91 OLB Pat Jones II
1 K Greg Joseph
1 K Greg Joseph
2 RB Alexander Mattison
2 RB Alexander Mattison
44 S Josh Metellus
44 S Josh Metellus
12 QB Nick Mullens
12 QB Nick Mullens
86 TE Johnny Mundt
86 TE Johnny Mundt
7 CB Byron Murphy Jr.
7 CB Byron Murphy Jr.
34 TE Nick Muse
34 TE Nick Muse
26 RB Kene Nwangwu
26 RB Kene Nwangwu
75 T Brian O'Neill
75 T Brian O'Neill
84 TE Josh Oliver
84 TE Josh Oliver
17 WR K.J. Osborn
17 WR K.J. Osborn
40 LB Ivan Pace Jr.
40 LB Ivan Pace Jr.
97 DL Harrison Phillips
97 DL Harrison Phillips
4 WR Brandon Powell
4 WR Brandon Powell
76 T David Quessenberry
76 T David Quessenberry
62 G/C Chris Reed
62 G/C Chris Reed
G Dalton Risner
66 G Dalton Risner
93 DL Jaquelin Roy
93 DL Jaquelin Roy
65 G/C Austin Schlottmann
65 G/C Austin Schlottmann
22 S Harrison Smith
22 S Harrison Smith
50 DL T.J. Smith
50 DL T.J. Smith
11 CB NaJee Thompson
11 CB Najee Thompson
95 DL Khyiris Tonga
95 DL Khyiris Tonga
59 LB Nick Vigil
59 LB Nick Vigil
20 S Jay Ward
14 P Ryan Wright
14 P Ryan Wright
Mullens will be starting for the third time this season and appearing in his fifth game. He opened Minnesota's Week 16 home game against Detroit, as well as the week before at Cincinnati.
The Vikings logged a plethora of explosive plays against Detroit, with Mullens throwing for 411 yards on 22 completions, but also suffered four interceptions. Mullens tried to rally a comeback, but his deep pass to Justin Jefferson on first-and-10 from the 30-yard line was intercepted at the 5 with 49 seconds remaining.
For the season, Mullens has completed 70 of 104 passes (67.3 percent) for 910 yards with five touchdowns and six interceptions. His passer rating is 86.6.
Kickoff is at noon (CT).
Minnesota needs the following to happen to make the playoffs:
Win at Detroit
and
Arizona win against Seattle (3:25 p.m. CT)
and
Chicago win at Green Bay (3:25 p.m. CT)
and
Atlanta win at New Orleans (noon CT) OR Carolina win against Tampa Bay (noon CT)
