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Dalton Risner gets start for Vikings up front with Ezra Cleveland inactive

Dane Mizutani, Pioneer Press
·2 min read

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Dalton Risner got the start at left guard for the Vikings against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field.

It is the second straight start for Risner as Ezra Cleveland continues to miss time with a foot injury.

Though it’s unclear if Risner will hold on to the starting spot when Cleveland returns, he’s looking to force the Vikings into a tough decision.

After signing with the Vikings last month as a free agent, Risner has been biding his time in practice, trying to overtake either Cleveland or Ed Ingram on the interior of the offensive line. He finally got his opportunity last week and helped the Vikings impose their will up front on the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night.

If Risner is able to string together a few solid performances for the Vikings, he could be looking at more playing time in the near future.

The other inactives for the Vikings against the Packers included running back Kene Nwangwu, linebacker Brian Asamoah, cornerback NaJee Thompson, tight Nick Muse and offensive tackle Hakeem Adeniji

Akers finds end zone

It’s pretty clear that Cam Akers has some juice. That much has been apparent since the Vikings traded for the 24-year-old running back last month.

That said, Akers has remained firmly behind fellow running back Alexander Mattison on the depth chart as he learns the intricacies of the offense.

That didn’t stop Akers from scoring his first touchdown with the Vikings on Sunday afternoon. He powered his way into the end zone from the 6-yard line and finished with 19 rushing yards in the game.

Meanwhile, Mattison finished with 31 rushing yards, while still getting a bulk of the carries.

Ward lines up offsides

It appeared the Packers had missed an opportunity to put up some points as kicker Anders Carlson hit the upright on his 35-yard field goal.

Instead, the Vikings gifted their biggest rivals a second chance as safety Jay Ward lined up offsides on the missed field goal.

On his next attempt, Carlson nailed a 30-yard field goal, bringing the score to 10-3 at halftime.

The interesting wrinkle for the Vikings was the fact that Ward got called for the same exact thing in a preseason game.

Lowry suffers groin injury

After making a big fumble recovery last week, defensive tackle Dean Lowry suffered a groin injury on Sunday afternoon. He did return to the game.

On the other side of the ball, receiver K.J. Osborn left the game briefly after absorbing a tackle in the open field. He returned to the game and ultimately finished with 99 receiving yards.

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