Sporting Sota
Fansided

Minnesota Vikings @ Atlanta Falcons: Preview, Keys to Victory and Prediction

By Drew Mahowald

facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 5
Next

Sep 28, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd (73) goes against the Atlanta Falcons offensive line in the third quarter at TCF Bank Stadium. The Vikings win 41-28. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Preview

Vikings offense vs. Falcons defense

Last week, we saw what happens to the Minnesota Vikings when teams shut down the NFL’s leading rusher, Adrian Peterson, and get ahead on the scoreboard. Teddy Bridgewater was very solid at the quarterback position, there’s no doubt about that, especially considering the horrendous offensive line play he was dealing with.

Again this week, I expect the game plan to be to establish Peterson early, because it’s been so important to the offense’s success this season. However, it appears as if it could be tough going for Peterson and Co. as the Falcons are the top rushing defense in the NFL both in total yards allowed (87.9 yards per game) and yards per carry allowed (3.6). Defensive tackles Ra’shede Hageman (a former Minnesota Gopher) and Paul Soliai have combined to wreak havoc in backfields all season, and should give Minnesota’s interior offensive linemen fits.

More from Adrian Peterson

If the Vikings’ offensive line can get a good push and get Peterson and the 3rd ranked running game going, this team should have success moving the ball. On the other hand, if the ground attack can’t get going, Bridgewater and the 30th ranked passing attack would need to have success Atlanta’s 18th ranked pass defense.

If the offensive line doesn’t protect Bridgewater any better than they did last week, having success in the passing game against any opponent is literally impossible. Bridgewater was running for his life on nearly every dropback last week. It was brutal, and I could describe it in many more colorful ways but I’ll refrain.

On the bright side, the Falcons defense has the fewest sacks in the NFL this season (12), so Minnesota’s offensive line should bounce back…right?

Bottom line here–whether the ground game gets going or not, this is a very important game for the offensive line. It’ll be tough for the Vikings to win this game if this unit doesn’t drastically improve its performance from last week.

Falcons offense vs. Vikings defense

Defensively, Minnesota will have to deal with the vertical passing attack led by Matt Ryan that ranks fifth in the NFL. Minnesota’s secondary was pretty poor last week against a Green Bay passing attack that has been weak as of late. If the secondary doesn’t improve its play from last week, the Vikings could be in for a long day against Ryan and this offense.

Moreover, the Vikings’ pass rush had surprisingly little impact against Aaron Rodgers last week. Part of this is due to Rodgers’ brilliance, but it’s still discouraging to see this unit regress as it did. This week, the Vikings face a Falcons offensive line that has allowed the least amount of sacks in the NFL.

More from Sporting Sota

As is the story with any quarterback, but especially with Matt Ryan, pressure on the quarterback can create turnovers and give the Vikings good field position.

Atlanta may not have to rely on their passing attack so much if they can get some production from their running attack, which has been successful this season with Devonta Freeman leading the way. However, it appears as if Freeman will sit this Sunday’s game out with a concussion, leaving rookie Tevin Coleman as the lead runner. Coleman’s 3.9 yards per carry this season is somewhat underwhelming, and it would be surprising to me if Coleman had a big day against a respectable Vikings defense.

The bottom line defensively is this: The Vikings defense needs to prevent the big play from happening and make sure the rushing attack isn’t what beats them.

Next: Vikings

Home/Adrian Peterson