Vikings Week 14 Preview: Offensive Matchup
Adam Patrick
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Not much time to breathe for the Vikings this week as they only had three days to prepare for their Thursday night matchup against the Arizona Cardinals. Minnesota’s offense is coming off a game against the Seattle Seahawks in which they scored as many points as did the fans watching them in the stands last Sunday.
Zero.
Coincidentally, the Cardinals (10-2) are coming off their Week 13 game against the St. Louis Rams in which they held the Rams to a grand total of three points. The Vikings (8-4) may have to find other, less conventional, ways to score points against one of the NFL’s top defenses on Thursday night,
Minnesota’s offense (bottom) and the Cardinals’ defense (top) show up on the opposite ends of the league’s rankings, but how do each unit’s individual position groups stack up against each other?
Offensive Line
Yeesh. Is it bad when 14 weeks into the season the Vikings offensive line seems to be playing worse and worse as each week goes by? Yes, yes it is very bad indeed.
During their 38-7 loss to the Seahawks, Minnesota gave up four more sacks to bring their season total to 35 and leave them with the 7th most in the NFL so far. Right now, the Vikings probably could not protect a bag of Werther’s from a hoard of old ladies let alone their own quarterback.
Arizona’s pass rush is not as talented as the Seattle’s is this season, but that does not mean that they do not cause problems for opposing offenses.They are averaging just over two sacks per game and around seven quarterback pressures per game as well.
On paper, it seems like an easier matchup for Minnesota’s offensive line this week. But then again, the word easy has not been associated with this unit unless it refers to letting opposing defenses get to their quarterback.
Passing
To say that Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is experiencing a slump during the past five games seems like a bit of an understatement. He has been struggling majorly for the past five weeks and it has come at a time when Minnesota needs him to step up the most.
With more and more defenses loading up the box to stop Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, more pressure has been put on Bridgewater to perform well. Throwing for more interceptions than touchdowns and under 150 yards three times in the past five games would not be what one would call “performing well”.
It is unsure what the exactly the root of Teddy’s recent struggles has been, but it will not get any easier against one of the best pass defenses in the league on Thursday. The Cardinals defense has forced the third most interceptions (17) in the NFL this season and allowing opposing quarterbacks to complete only 57.9 percent of their passes as well.
This may be Bridgewater’s toughest game of the entire season. But if he performs well, it just may be the confidence booster he needs to improve his play for the remainder of the season.
Rushing
Two weeks ago, Peterson ran for 158 yards and two touchdowns against the then top ranked rush defense in the NFL in the Atlanta Falcons. Fast forward to the following week and Peterson runs for a measly 18 yards on just 8 carries against the Seahawks.
It is quite clear that Minnesota’s offense is built around Peterson and the success he has running the ball. In 2015, the Vikings are unbeaten when he carries the ball 20 or more times during a game.
So it was quite perplexing when Minnesota seemed to abandon the run in the first half against Seattle still knowing that Peterson is more than capable running better as the game goes on. The Vikings did fall behind early in the game, but is that enough of a reason to virtually eliminate the player who has literally carried this offense all season long?
Whatever Minnesota’s reasoning was, they need to quickly figure out how to make sure Peterson is a focal point of Thursday night’s game no matter what. Although, the Cardinals will be a very tough challenge as they currently rank fourth in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game (89.0).
Receiving
After a hot start at the beginning of the season, Vikings rookie wide receiver Stefon Diggs has cooled down the past few weeks. Opposing defenses are giving more attention to Diggs and making sure he does not get the ball in his hands to make plays.
Led by cornerback Patrick Peterson and safety Tyrann Mathieu, expect Arizona’s defense to give Diggs similar attention on Thursday. The Cardinals pass defense has been very good all year at stopping opposing receivers. They have not allowed an opposing receiver to catch for over 100 yards in the last three games and have only allowed it to happen twice all season long.
With Arizona likely to take Diggs out of the picture, other Vikings receivers need to step up and get open for Bridgewater. However, this has not happened all year so why would it happen against the Cardinals and their stout pass defense?
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This game could not have come at a worse time for Minnesota. With injuries knocking out a third of their defense combined with a struggling offense, the probability of a Vikings win this week seems lower than it has all season.
There will be a lot of inexperienced players on the field for Minnesota’s defense and inexperience usually leads to mistakes. The Cardinals are too good of a team to not take advantage of their opponent’s mistakes and it should propel them to a victory over the Vikings.
Minnesota’s only hope seems to lie on the shoulders of Peterson and his performance. If he can get going early, the Vikings could end up proving some doubters wrong on Thursday night.
Prediction: Cardinals 30, Vikings 16