Jeff Fisher calls Rodney Harrison’s cheap shot accusations ‘absolutely absurd’

Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was diagnosed with a concussion after being elbowed in the head by Rams defensive back Lamarcus Joyner in the fourth quarter of Minnesota’s 21-18 victory.

The QB passed the first test in the NFL’s concussion protocol and early indications are he’ll be allowed to play Sunday. As Bridgewater began his slide, meaning he was giving himself up, Joyner spun his body and threw his left shoulder into Bridgewater’s head, thus driving it into the turf.

In a grind-it-out affair that saw Teddy Bridgewater get knocked out of the game with a concussion, solid defense plus 125 yards rushing from Adrian Peterson helped propel the Vikings past an evenly matched Rams team.

“There’s a history there of their defensive coordinator, I’ll leave it at that”, Zimmer said of Gregg Williams, the Rams’ defensive coordinator who spent a year out of football as punishment for orchestrating a pay-for-pain bounty system in New Orleans. He said Joyner made a decision to hit Bridgewater before he initiated the slide. “This is how we’re built to win right now”. But the National Football League has no set time-frame. It appeared dirty but watching the replay I honestly feel, my opinion, that he didn’t target him. Rams coach Jeff Fisher curiously called for a 2-point conversion, a run off right guard by Gurley out of the pistol formation that the Vikings stuffed for no gain.

INJURY NOTES: LB Audie Cole, who started at middle linebacker in place of injured rookie Eric Kendricks (ribs), fracture his ankle in the fourth quarter Sunday and is out for the season.

“I think a good lesson to be learned from this is control your emotions immediately after the game and go back and look at the tape before you jump to conclusions”, Fisher said.

Asked if he felt the Rams played dirty, Zimmer said simply: “Yes”.

With a week 10 matchup against the Bears coming up, the Rams still have plenty of time to make up ground and still an opportunity to win the NFC West as they are just two games back in the division as well. And I’ve been in those situations as a player. “Greg made a few outstanding kicks and we just kept fighting. “(The official on the play involving Hayes) said (the quarterback) doesn’t get protection out of the pocket.

Replays did not necessarily support Joyner’s account. “When you’re trying to take cheap shots and possibly blow out our quarterback’s knee, it’s a little too far”. “It was a no-brainer going into this week that they were going to (use hard counts)”, Fisher said.

Bridgewater, who was replaced by former Rams backup Shaun Hill, finished 13 for 21 for 144 yards. He said he “didn’t like” William Hayes hitting Bridgewater low late in the third quarter, a move that wasn’t penalized.

But seven of their last eight regular-season games are against teams in the playoff hunt, including two against the Packers.

The Vikings have put aside past concerns about winning on the road during their current winning streak, but their chances to beat the Raiders are tied to Bridgewater’s status.