5 Bold Predictions: Minnesota Vikings vs. Indianapolis Colts – Preseason Week 2

Minnesota’s starters will play, but not as much as you think

When the NFL reduced the number of preseason games, it sent a jolt through the routine of football fans. The second preseason game was usually a build off the first game where starters would play an extended amount of time before a regular-season “dress rehearsal” the following week. But with the three-game schedule, Vikings fans want to know how long their starters will play this week.

The answer? Not much.

In Thursday’s press conference, Zimmer said his team didn’t buy into the “dress rehearsal” game under the old preseason schedule and was noncommittal toward how much his starters would play. While he also lamented not having the 20 starters that sat out last week’s game against Denver take part in warmups, he also has to know it doesn’t make sense to run everyone out there.

Minnesota is a team on the wrong end of the fountain of youth. With several players in their late-20s and early-30s, Zimmer may believe they don’t need much game action to be ready for the regular season. In addition, the Vikings saw just how thin their roster was last week, and another injury could be catastrophic.

A better option for Minnesota would be to run the same players that struggled last week in an effort to build confidence and evaluate what they have. If that’s their main goal, we probably won’t see the starters for more than a couple of series.