EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Less than two years ago, the Minnesota Vikings were one play away from the , with a talent-rich roster that made them the unquestioned class of the NFC North.
Fast forward to 2011, and they are limping through a second straight miserable season, with the gap between them and the rest of the division widening by the day.
The Vikings lost 45-7 at Lambeau Field on Monday night to drop to 2-7. They have lost nine straight games to division opponents, including a combined score of 84-17 in trips to Chicago and Green Bay this season.
"Just disgusted," defensive end Jared Allen said Monday night. "I mean 45-7, are you kidding me? I haven't lost this bad since I don't know when. I don't know. We've got some issues we've got to get cleaned up. We've got to play better. They throttled us out there."
To make matters worse, the Vikings lost cornerback Antoine Winfield to a season-ending clavicle injury. Winfield will have surgery this week, further decimating a secondary that was already short-handed.
Cornerback Chris Cook is not with the team while he works through legal issues stemming from domestic battery charges and safety Husain Abdullah's status for is in doubt because of a concussion.
Frazier said the Vikings plan to bring in some players for workouts to fill the void, including veteran cornerback Benny Sapp.
Notes: Long snapper Cullen Loeffler injured his rotator cuff, but Frazier said the team would give it a few days before deciding if they needed to bring in someone off the street. ... Linebacker Erin Henderson had a "slightly strained hamstring" and will be evaluated as the week goes on. ... Quarterback Christian Ponder had X-rays on his left hand after he got stepped on, but those came back negative and he is expected to be fine, Frazier said.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
