Flashback Friday: Vikings Defeat Raiders in 2019 + Prediction
The 6-6 Minnesota Vikings and 5-7 Las Vegas Raiders are set to face off Sunday at Allegiant Stadium.
Flashback Friday: Vikings Defeat Raiders in 2019 + Prediction
Minnesota is coming off the bye week and will get Justin Jefferson back. However, they heartbreakingly lost their last two games. The last one especially was rough — losing at home to a struggling Chicago Bears team.
Las Vegas is also on a two-game losing skid — a huge game for both teams.
The last time these two teams faced each other came in 2019 at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Raiders at the time belonged to Oakland.
Kirk Cousins went 15/21 for 174 yards and a touchdown. Dalvin Cook rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Irv Smith Jr caught three passes for 60 yards. Adam Thielen caught three passes for 55 yards and a touchdown.
On defense, Eric Wilson had a game-high 11 tackles and two sacks.
For Oakland, Derek Carr went 27/34 for 242 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. Darren Waller caught 13 passes for 134 yards. Jordy Nelson caught four passes for 36 yards and a touchdown.
On defense, Karl Joseph recorded a team-high eight tackles.
Minnesota won 34-14, improving to 2-1 on the season. They finished the season at 10-6 and advanced to the second round of the playoffs.
“Good things usually happen when you play with great effort,” coach Mike Zimmer said.
Minnesota trails the all-time series 10-6.
Besides Minnesota losing the past two games, the Green Bay Packers are also catching up to them in the wildcard standings. They are also 6-6, with Minnesota holding the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Every game the rest of the way is very critical. If the playoffs started today, they would be the sixth seed. Making the playoffs with Kirk Cousins suffering a season-ending injury last month and Jefferson missing the past seven games will be impressive, but it is still disappointing how they lost the past two games and starting 1-4, even with both of their star players.
This is another very winnable game. The last two were as well. It could very well go either way.
A loss would not end their playoff hopes by any means, but it would definitely make things tougher. They still have two games left against the division-leading Detroit Lions and one more against Green Bay. Neither three games will be easy.
Prediction: Raiders win 24-20
You must be logged in to post a comment.