But now he has an expiring contract, an 0-7 career record in the playoffs, and is bound for a second straight absence from the postseason.
Cincinnati holds an under-.500 record and is a longshot for anAFC Wild Card spot, so a fast start and early lead would be an ideal recipe for success for the Vikings. He suffered a dislocated knee and a torn ACL when he went down during a noncontact drill at practice just two weeks before the 2016 season was set to begin.
McCarthy is reportedly under contract in Green Bay through the 2018 season.
The Bengals will go into Sunday looking to shake off that gloomy atmosphere.
The run game - on offense and defense - was a departure for what has become the Vikings "normal" in 2017.
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The rookie batsman could score only two runs off 10 balls before stepping onto his stumps while facing Kiwi pacer Trent Boult . Hope only made 15 before falling to Southee, while Roston Chase scored 12 before he was cleaned up by Colin de Grandhomme.
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Running backs Latavius Murray and Jerick McKinnon combined for 37 touches and 242 yards from scrimmage for the Vikings (11-3), who were given quite the reprieve on the schedule a week after their eight-game winning streak ended at Carolina in the last of three consecutive road trips. The Bengals nearly never go outside the organization to make a hire, which is why it will be interesting to watch their coaching search take place.
Stewart also scored three touchdowns on the ground after the Vikings had limited their first 12 opponents to six combined rushing scores.
The Vikings have averaged 132.2 rushing yards per game and allowed an average of 60.7 rushing yards per game this season. It's a game where the Bengals will enter as big underdogs.
Bridgewater's second pass of the day was dropped by Michael Floyd, and the quarterback finished with a passer rating of 0.0. Minnesota can make it No. 20 with a victory Sunday against the Bengals.
For the first time in 15 years, the Bengals are going to have to conduct a coaching search, which is always an adventure in Cincinnati and that's mainly because of the way the team's ownership is structured under Mike Brown.
