As Carson Wentz stood at the podium on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium, the Vikings’ quarterback shook his head as he went over some of his mistakes that cost Minnesota in the 28-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
He was then asked how he planned to get his body ready to compete roughly 96 hours later when the Vikings traveled to play the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday at SoFi Stadium.
“It’s a great question,” Wentz said. “The recovery starts immediately.”
As he continued with his answer, Wentz voiced his displeasure with such a quick turnaround, making it clear that he doesn’t believe the NFL should ask players to play games roughly 96 hours apart.
The idea of the NFL having a primetime game on Thursday initially debuted in November 2006 as a way to increase eyeballs leading up to the playoffs. The coverage expanded in September 2012 to make it more or less a regular occurrence.
Though most players across the NFL would rather do away with it completely, they all seem to understand they don’t have a choice in the matter.
“It is what it is,” Wentz said. “It’s part of the business.”
As soon as Wentz stepped down from the podium on Sunday, he went to ice his body in trainer’s room, particularly the injured left shoulder that has been bothering him for the better part of a month. The next 72 hours were a blur for Wentz as he dove headfirst into the game plan on Monday, participated in a pair of walkthroughs on Tuesday and boarded a flight on Wednesday.
To fully understand how condensed that schedule actually is, it’s important to know the routine players go through between games.
If the Vikings are operating under normal circumstances, for example, they will have players come in on Monday before giving them off on Tuesday to recharge their batteries. There will then be a lighter practice on Wednesday, a more intense practice on Thursday, a walkthrough on Friday, and a flight on Saturday if the Vikings are traveling for the upcoming game.
The quick turnaround on a short week is a total departure from how the Vikings are used to preparing.
“It’s a little bit difficult,” receiver Justin Jefferson said. “We really can’t recover as much as we want to.”
As a way to mitigate some of the stress, head coach Kevin O’Connell decided not to have any practices at full speed. He opted for walkthroughs instead to keep the Vikings as fresh as they can when they play the Chargers.
“We know it’s going to be here before we know it,” O’Connell said. “We’re doing everything we can to turn over our players.”
That included resources available at U.S. Bank Stadium and TCO Performance Center alike. Whether it was basic treatment like time in hot tub or cold tub, or more advanced treatment like deep tissue massages, the players had the tools they needed to get themselves feeling good again.
“We’re blessed to have the facilities we do,” O’Connell said. “We had guys immediately from the time I broke down the team starting to do something.”
After initially being listed as a limited participant on Monday as he worked through some soreness, Wentz was able to be a full participant on Tuesday when he talked to reporters. He was asked at the time how his body was feeling and noted that he still had 48 hours before kickoff.
“I’m feeling fine,” Wentz said. “We’re using every minute we have to recover and get ourselves physically and mentally ready to go.”
The process of the Vikings getting themselves ready will continue until kickoff against the Chargers. It’s a grind both physically and mentally for everybody to get themselves turned over in time.
“We’re not the only ones doing it,” Wentz said. “Obviously they have a short week too.”
That doesn’t make it any easier.
“I don’t think anybody goes from playing on Sunday to playing on Thursday and actually feels good,” Wentz said. “It’s more, ‘How good can I get myself feeling?’”
Briefly
The final injury report for the Vikings did a good job showing the effects of the short week as left tackle Christian Darrisaw (knee) and right tackle Brian O’Neill (knee) were both listed as questionable despite being able to finish the game against the Eagles. The other players that were questionable included quarterback J.J. McCarthy (ankle), running back Aaron Jones (hamstring), and running back Zavier Scott (wrist). The only players ruled out were fullback C.J. Ham (hand) and edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel (neck).
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