20 Brief & Essential Facts: Dolphins-Vikings
Dustin Baker
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Each week, VikingsTerritory details 20 statistical or interesting facts about the upcoming Minnesota Vikings game. This week’s edition involves the Miami Dolphins, who are 3.5-point underdogs facing the Vikings in Week 6.
The game is on October 16th, 2022, at noon CST at Hard Rock Stadium.
These are the 20 random facts to know about Dolphins-Vikings:
1. The Dolphins pass defense is dreadful, ranking 32nd in the NFL per passing defense DVOA. The Vikings should throw the ball over the field in Miami. If they don’t, they’re doing something wrong.
2. Skylar Thompson, the Dolphins QB3 who will start on Sunday, tallied 26 rushing touchdowns at Kansas State. He’s not very fast, but he does move around a lot — and score touchdowns.
3. Sunday’s game will be just the second time the Vikings have played against Tyreek Hill. Hill torched Minnesota for 140 yards and a touchdown during their first matchup.
4. Through five games, the Vikings offensive line ranks 12th-best leaguewide per Pro Football Focus. Whoodathunkit?
5. The Vikings have been outscored 33-6 in the 3rd Quarter through five games. That’s the third-worst 3rd Quarter point differential in the NFL. They take a nap in Quarter No. 3.
6. Patrick Peterson and Camryn Bynum as the only two Vikings defensive personnel to play every snap in 2022. They have not come off the field.
7. The Vikings don’t play another division game for about two months.
8. Justin Jefferson is on pace for 1,860 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.
9. When Sunday’s game kicks off, Adam Thielen will have played more games for the Vikings than Adrian Peterson.
10. The Vikings haven’t started 5-1 or better since 2016. They missed the postseason that season but started 5-1 in 1992, 1996, and 2004 while later reaching the playoffs.
11. C.J. Ham has been utilized on 13% of the Vikings offensive snaps through five weeks of 2022. In a Mike Zimmer offense, Ham was usually on the field 35% of the time.
12. Because Minnesota was 12 for 15 on 3rd Down versus the Bears, they went from fifth-worst to seventh-best via 3rd Down conversion percentage — in one week.
13. Through five weeks, the Vikings have passed the ball sixth-most in the NFL and ran the ball sixth-least.
14. Garrett Bradbury currently has a 72.0 pass-blocking grade from PFF. Last year, his grade was 43.7.
15. The last time Kirk Cousins didn’t throw a touchdown pass in a game was Week 2 of 2020 at the Colts.
16. Miami has two former Vikings players affiliated with its current roster: Teddy Bridgewater and Jaylen Twyman.
17. The Vikings haven’t beaten the Dolphins in Miami since 1976. 46 years.
18. Minnesota is 41-21-3 (.653) all-time against rookie QBs.
19. Quarterbacks in their first-ever start, like Skylar Thompson, are 8-8-2 (.500) against the Vikings in franchise history.
20. Since 2020, Kirk Cousins leads the NFL in 4th Quarter touchdown passes (14) with the score margin within eight points.
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Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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