This week the Vikings return to the road as they return to Sunday Night Football.
The Vikings will be traveling to Carolina this week to face the struggling Carolina Panthers.
Can they keep up the momentum?
Two weeks ago the Vikings fell apart against Arizona. They played their worst game of the season as a team. Last week they bounced back and played brilliantly against a very tough Cincinnati Bengals team. Can the Vikings keep up their momentum and roll through Carolina?
On paper this shouldn’t be much of a game. The Vikings are cruising through teams this year while the Panthers have struggled to a 5-8 season. The Panthers have recently benched QB Jake Delhomme in favor of young quarterback Matt Moore, and they have a league high 10 guys on the Injured Reserve list. They will be facing the NFL sack leaders in the Vikings, and they’ll be doing it without a couple of their starting offensive linemen.
Not only that, but the Panthers don’t have a lot to play for. At 5-8 they really don’t have a shot at the playoffs this year. The Vikings, on the other hand, are 1 win away from clinching their second straight NFC North crown, they’re still fighting for a first round bye, and with a little (unlikely) luck and some losses from New Orleans, there’s still an outside shot at home field advantage.
-Contain Julius Peppers
Julius Peppers is a beast. He might be the most dangerous pass rusher that the Vikings have faced so far. Chances are Bryant McKinnie won’t be able to contain Peppers himself, so the Vikings will probably throw a lot of tight ends and running backs at him, too.
If Peppers gets pressure on Favre, it could lead to sacks, or worse… bad throws. Favre is having a great year as far as interceptions goes, but while he still only has 6 on the season, 3 of those have come in the last 2 games. Don’t get me wrong… I’m not worried about Favre’s play, but I think teams have started to realize that they can’t watch for Peterson and only Peterson to beat them, and that they have to go after Favre as well.
-Continue to run the ball
Last week the offense was incredibly balanced… 36 run plays to 30 passing plays. With the way that the Vikings roster is built, that’s really the ticket to a good offense.
Having Percy Harvin back this week should make things a little easier, too. Hopefully the Vikings will get him mixed into the running game a bit, like they have in his last couple of games.
My Prediction
I predict the Vikings will win just about every week, but I expect this game to be along the lines of the Lions game or the Seahawks game. I give the win to Minnesota 35-17. I think Favre will have a good game with 2 TDs and no picks, and Jared Allen will get to the QB a couple of times.
Related posts:
- IT’S GAME TIME – Week 16 Preview: The Minnesota Vikings at The Chicago Bears
- IT IS GAME TIME – Week 2 Game Preview – Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions
- IT’S PLAYOFF GAME TIME – Minnesota Vikings Game Preview – The Vikings vs The Cowboys
- IT’S GAME TIME: Week 1 Game Preview, Minnesota Vikings at Cleveland Browns
- IT’S GAME TIME – Week 12 Preview: The Minnesota Vikings vs the Chicago Bears
