3 Vikings Who Need Bounce Back Games vs. 49ers
The Minnesota Vikings conquered the New York Giants on Sunday, squashing Brian Daboll’s team to the tune of a 28-6 triumph.
3 Vikings Who Need Bounce Back Games vs. 49ers
The team executed on all cylinders to start the season and now faces a mightier opponent on Sunday in the San Francisco 49ers.
The 49ers haven’t found a win in Minnesota since 1992, currently involved in a bizarre drought of seven consecutive losses at the Metrodome and U.S. Bank Stadium.
To defeat San Francisco, these three players will need bounce back performances after wee bit of struggles in Week 1.
3. Ryan Wright (P)
Wright notably bungled one punt; it’s just that nobody really cared because Minnesota led the ballgame cover to cover in Week 1. When it was all said and done last weekend, Wright’s 42.0 yards per punt average ranked second to last in the NFL behind Carolina Panthers punter Johnny Hekker.
Of course, Wright’s average fell to Hades because of one lousy punt.
He’ll have a shot to fix it really soon versus the 49ers.
2. Garrett Bradbury (C)
Dexter Lawrence dominated Bradbury and the Vikings’ interior defensive line last Sunday. This should no longer be startling: the result will never be different when Bradbury faces a dominant interior defensive lineman like Lawrence. It happens twice annually with the Green Bay Packers + Kenny Clark and transpired again Sunday when Bradbury hoped to keep Lawrence at bay.
It’s just not his credence to effectively compete with the best iDLs in the sport. They habitually toy with him.
Similar to the next guy on the list, though, Bradbury never has trouble with run-blocking, so classic Bradbury showed through in Week 1.
Thankfully, Lawrence doesn’t play for the San Francisco 49ers. He’s the best nose tackle in football.
1. Ed Ingram (RG)
Here’s the rub on Ingram, a third-year Viking: the man is a splendid run blocker, but his pass protection is hapless. In fact, on Sunday, Ingram somehow produced a 9.3 PFF pass-blocking grade — and that’s not a typo. The Giants interior defensive linemen dominated Ingram, but much like Wright’s mistake above, fans didn’t lament the performance too loudly because Minnesota never lost control of the game.
However, Ingram’s 63.9 run-blocking mark from PFF significantly boosted his overall grade.
Like Bradbury, his assignment against the 49ers is slightly more favorable than what the Giants offered.
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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. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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