Can Matt Cassel Snatch the Minnesota Vikings QB Job?

Can Matt Cassel Snatch the Minnesota Vikings QB Job?, The fractured rib that will keep Christian Ponder glued to the sideline this week has granted backup Matt Cassel a golden opportunity to steal away the starting quarterback job for the Minnesota Vikings.

The Vikings official Twitter account announced the temporary quarterback change Friday morning. On Thursday, we examined how Ponder could eventually lose his starting gig by continuing his maddening inconsistency. Cassel will now have an opening to take it for himself.

If Cassel takes care of the football and the Vikings are able to secure their first win of the 2013 season against the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday, going back to Ponder following the bye will become a hard sell for head coach Leslie Frazier.

The Vikings are currently calling Cassel's start a result of a medical situation, and head coach Leslie Frazier said he "doesn't foresee" a quarterback controversy, per the Vikings official site.

Comments made by Ponder on Friday back up that sentiment, as he told Brian Murphy of the St. Paul Pioneer Press that the location of his fractured rib would have made playing through the injury a dangerous endeavor.

The biggest risk was a health issue, the placement of the rib near my heart," Ponder said. "So we made the decision based on what's best for me and my health and what's best for my team. It stinks."

Ponder will hate the decision even more if Cassel plays well against the Steelers. Call it the Brian Hoyer dilemma, which the Vikings unfortunately know all about.

Just last week, Hoyer took over for an injured Brandon Weeden and led the winless Cleveland Browns to a come-from-behind win over the Vikings. Hoyer threw three interceptions and finished with a sub-70.0 passer rating, but he also tossed three touchdowns, including the game-winner to Jordan Cameron with under a minute remaining.

Just like that, Hoyer won himself another start in Cleveland—and the possibility of nailing down the starting job for the rest of the season.

Cassel has a similar opportunity across the pond in London.

To convince the Vikings to sit Ponder, who should be healthy after next week's bye, Cassel will first need to show he's a different quarterback than the one who stunk up the joint over his last two seasons in Kansas City.

Over his final 17 starts with the Chiefs, Cassel completed less than 60 percent of his passes and threw 16 touchdowns to 21 interceptions. As a result, Kansas City went just 5-12 in games he started since 2011, including 1-9 over his last 10.