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After missing last week's game against the Steelers with a sore right shoulder, it was assumed that Jake Plummer would return this week against the Vikings.
Wrong.
After all, we're dealing with the NFL team that plays in Denver, where any player could tear an ACL at any time, and all the coaches love “fibbing” about it. Plummer's ACL is fine (we think), but his sore foot is going to keep him out of this week's game, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.
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Plummer first injured his foot as part of a three-injury game against the Chiefs
two weeks ago. In addition to the foot, Plummer banged his knee and aggravated
his right shoulder.
The absence of Plummer means Steve Beuerlein will start his second straight game. Last week, Beuerlein completed 17 of 28 passes for 172 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. He played well enough to beat the struggling Steelers at home, but he’ll have to up the level of play to beat the undefeated Vikings at Metrodome. NFL Tickets
By the way, you can forget about Ashley Lelie this week, as Beuerlein is all about throwing to Rod Smith.
Last week, Beuerlein threw three balls in the direction of Lelie, who caught one of them for five yards. Smith, meanwhile, was targeted eight times, catching four of them for 71 yards and his first touchdown of the year. NFL Tickets
Until Plummer returns, look for big numbers out of Smith and little numbers from Lelie. Shannon Sharpe is good to go regardless.
We look for Beuerlein to hover around 200 yards and two scores this week, making him a decent bye-week/injury replacement.