EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Less than two years ago, the Minnesota Vikings were one play away from the Super Bowl, 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 Sunday's game against Oakland 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
