EAGAN, Minn. -- The Vikings will give quarterback Nick Mullens his second consecutive start in Sunday's key divisional game against the Lions, coach Kevin O'Connell announced Monday.
Mullens completed 26 of 33 passes for 303 yards and two touchdowns in the Vikings' 27-24 overtime loss Saturday to the Cincinnati Bengals. He threw two interceptions in the second quarter to end scoring threats, but largely adhered to coach Kevin O'Connell's philosophy of getting the ball downfield to wide receivers. Rookie Jordan Addison caught six passes for 111 yards and both scores, while Justin Jefferson snagged seven passes for 84 yards in his first full game since Week 4.
"I thought Nick did a lot of really good things in the football game on Saturday," O'Connell said Monday. "... Nick knows that we also need we need to try to limit and eliminate those critical, critical errors where we turned the football over in the red zone with the chance for points twice there in the football game. Nick will continue to work toward that, but I think with another good week of preparation, and building upon the positive things he did last Saturday, my expectation is that Nick is going to go out and play really well for us this weekend."
Mullens opened the season as the Vikings' No. 2 quarterback behind Kirk Cousins, but he was on injured reserve because of a back injury when Cousins ruptured his right Achilles in Week 8. The Vikings started rookie Jaren Hall once and then newcomer Joshua Dobbs for four games before turning to Mullens, who had been activated from injured reserve Nov. 18.
Saturday was the 18th start of Mullens' NFL career. His teams are 5-13 in those games.