Kevin McDermott sent the long snap back for Dan Bailey's field goal

Kyle Rudolph Jersey , a three-point play for the Minnesota Vikings that became anything but routine.Bailey's kick, his first field goal attempt with the Vikings, banked off the right post at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and bounced in during the second quarter against the Rams in the game last week.The real drama, though, was taking place on McDermott's finger."I was just kind of like, 'Huh. That doesn't look right,'" the sixth-year long snapper said.McDermott's left pinky had become caught in an opponent's facemask, and a tip of it was painfully torn off. He ran off the field to find the team's athletic trainers, and into the locker room he went for medical attention.Meanwhile, backup tight end David Morgan began anxiously warming up on the sideline. Morgan had performed this emergency long snapper duty last season after McDermott hurt his shoulder in a frigid game against the rival Packers."He told me last year in Green Bay he was terrified," special teams coordinator Mike Priefer said.The first practice snap sailed over punter Matt Wile's head."And I got real nervous," Priefer said.Morgan quickly settled in, though, and successfully executed snaps for an extra point and a punt. By that time, McDermott was stitched up and Linval Joseph Jersey , with a heavy wrap on the damaged digit, ready to resume his responsibility before halftime. He gave Morgan a hug on the sideline as a thank-you for his help."First thing Kevin said to me was, 'Hey Prief, I lost half my finger,'" Priefer said. "I said, 'All right, congratulations. Here's what we have to do to win this game.'"Wile, who's also the holder for Bailey's kicks, was naturally pleased by Morgan's short-notice snaps. But he, like everybody else wearing purple, was more than happy to have McDermott back in action."I was very appreciative of the fact that he came back out to play, because it always does take some time to get used to a new snapper," Wile said.For McDermott, who's been with the Vikings since 2015, the game against the Rams provided quite the memory despite the 38-31 defeat."Normally special-teamers only get noticed when we have a bad game or something like that Kirk Cousins Jersey , so I think I found the loophole," he said. "You have to lose an appendage. But it was, I guess, funny in a way."McDermott didn't miss any practice time this week, though he was one of 12 players listed on the injury report. Punt returner Marcus Sherels was ruled out again with a ribs injury, as was cornerback Trae Waynes with a concussion and defensive end Tashawn Bower with an ankle injury.With defensive end Everson Griffen out indefinitely for mental health treatment, Danielle Hunter and Stephen Weatherly are the only two defensive ends the Vikings will have on Sunday at Philadelphia. Rookie defensive tackle Jalyn Holmes played defensive end in college, and linebacker Anthony Barr has taken plenty of turns at defensive end in practice this season.Running back Dalvin Cook was listed as questionable to play against the Eagles because of a hamstring injury that limited him against the Rams and kept him out the week before that against Buffalo. It’s never been easier to score in the NFL.At the midpoint of the season, the league is on pace to set records for most points, touchdowns and touchdown passes in a single season. Teams have scored 6,440 points, 736 touchdowns and 473 TDs in the air through Week 9.The increase in offensive production follows the lowest-scoring season this decade. Teams averaged 21.7 points per game in 2017. That’s up to 24 points this season. A total of 12 teams are averaging at least 27.5 points per game led by the Chiefs (36.3), Saints (34.9) and Rams (33.2).There are several reasons scoring has soared. A combination of new rules and rule adjustments over the past few years favor offenses. The league has banned helmet-to-helmet contact, implemented a defenseless receiver rule and a body-weight rule against players making sacks, outlawed low hits on quarterbacks and emphasized illegal contact penalties.There’s also been an influx of innovative Adrian Peterson Jersey , offensive-minded coaches — Sean McVay, Doug Pederson, Kyle Shanahan — and talented young quarterbacks — Patrick Mahomes, Carson Wentz, Jared Goff, among others.Five quarterbacks — Mahomes, Goff, Matt Ryan, Ben Roethlisberger and Aaron Rodgers — are on pace to throw for 5,000 yards. That only happened nine times previously in league history. Ten QBs have a passer rating over 100, double the total last season.Games are not only featuring more scoring but there’s been plenty of close, down-to-the-wire action. Seventy-one games were decided by one score, eight points or less. That’s the fifth-most through nine weeks. Thirty-seven games have been decided by a field goal, which was fourth-most at this point. Ten games have reached overtime and 36 teams have rallied to win or tie after trailing in the fourth quarter or overtime.Close, high-scoring games are exciting for fans John Randle Jersey , especially the millions who spend billions of dollars to play fantasy football. All of it is good for the league’s television ratings, which are up after declining in 2016 and 2017.More folks are also watching by live streaming. According to a recent study from Conviva, a real-time measurement platform, NFL live viewing was up 72 percent in plays and 83 percent in viewing hours over the same time frame last year.Conviva’s data shows mobile NFL plays were up 95 percent and prime-time NFL saw 109 percent growth in plays and 97 percent growth in viewing hours.Here’s a look inside the numbers from the first half:PASSING KING: Drew Brees broke Peyton Manning’s record for career passing yards last month. Brees has 72,781 yards passing and counting. Manning had 71,940.KICKING KING: Adam Vinatieri broke Morten Anderson’s record for most points and most field goals. Vinatieri has 2,550 points and 573 field goals. Anderson had 2,544 points and 565 field goals.THE 500 CLUB: Brees and Tom Brady joined Manning and Brett Favre as the only players to throw 500 TD passes. Brees has 506, one more than Brady. Manning had 539 and Favre had 508.PATRICK THE GREAT: Mahomes has 29 TD passes and 3,185 yards passing yards, the most in both categories through the first 10 games of a player’s career. He also has thrown for at least 300 yards in eight straight games, one away from setting the record he currently shares with Andrew Luck.THIELEN’S CHASE: Adam Thielen became the first player to have eight 100-yard receiving games to start a season, tying Calvin Johnson for the longest streak of such games. The former undrafted wide receiver has 78 catches for the Vikings. He’s on pace to challenge Marvin Harrison’s single-season record of 143.GURLEY GETS IN: Todd Gurley has 16 touchdowns — 12 rushing and four receiving — for the Rams. He’s on pace for 28. The record is 31 by Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson.KIRK COMPLETIONS: Kirk Cousins became the first player to complete at least 30 passes in four consecutive games. Before the season, Cousins became the first player to sign a fully guaranteed contract when the Vikings gave him $84 million for three seasons.FIRST MISS: Justin Tucker had made all 222 extra points in his career before he missed one at the end of Baltimore’s 24-23 loss to New Orleans in Week 7. He hadn’t missed any kick 33 yards or shorter in 300 tries his career.