What Minnesota Vikings Fans Need to Know Ahead of Preseason Week 3 vs. the Tennessee Titans
This weekend marks the end of the NFL preseason.
For the Minnesota Vikings, it means they will head out on the road for the third and final week of the preseason schedule and take on the Tennessee Titans, marking the second time that Tennessee has been on Minnesota’s preseason schedule during Kevin O’Connell’s tenure as Vikings head coach.
Heading into this preseason finale, here is a look at what Minnesota Vikings fans need to know about the matchup and its potential roster ramifications.
How to Watch the Minnesota Vikings This Week
The Vikings and Titans will kick off their preseason Week 3 matchup at 7 p.m. on Friday, August 22 at Nissan Stadium. The game will be broadcast on CBS and can also be streamed via NFL+ in the NFL app.
Titans/Vikings History
The Titans and Vikings have met a grand total of 15 times during the regular season with the Vikings leading the all-time series with a 10-5 record against Tennessee. Of course, this preseason matchup won’t have any impact on the standings, but it is worth noting that these two teams met in Week 11 of last season, and the Vikings won that game by a score of 23-13.
Vikings Spotlight Player: DT Elijah Williams
The Minnesota Vikings have three surefire starters on the defensive line in Jonathan Allen, Javon Hargrave, and Harrison Phillips, but it remains to be seen exactly who will get the spots behind them. That question was further complicated after Levi Drake Rodriguez suffered an injury in the first preseason game and has not been back on the field since.
As a result, Elijah Williams has a chance to solidify a roster spot for himself over the next couple of days. Williams, a Morgan State alum, has not gotten any playing time at the NFL level until this summer, but he has made the most of his time with the Vikings, recording seven tackles and a pair of QB hits during the first two preseason games.
If Rodriguez were to start the 2025 campaign on IR, Williams very well could be next in line to snatch a roster spot with another strong performance on Friday night.
Titans Spotlight Player: OLB Oluwafemi Oladejo
All eyes have been on QB Cam Ward, who was selected first overall by the Titans in this spring’s draft and seems to be in line for the starting job for Tennessee come Week 1.
The Titans have another high profile rookie, though, whose role on the team isn’t quite as clear. OLB Oluwafemi Oladejo was selected by Tennessee with the 52nd overall pick out of UCLA. The hope was that the young pass rusher could put a spark in a defensive unit that tied for the third-fewest sacks in the NFL last season (32).
It has been a bit of a bumpy road for Oladejo to start his NFL journey, though. So far, he has recorded six tackles and a single tackle for loss through two preseason games, and the Titans have him listed as a second-stringer behind Arden Key and Dre’Mont Jones. Perhaps a strong performance this Friday can earn him more snaps heading into the regular season.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, ESPN, and The Football Database helped with this article.
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