Minnesota Vikings vs Washington Redskins: Reunion

Vikings bounce-back

That loss to the Bears in Week 4 was the turning point for the Minnesota Vikings. At that point, they were 2-2, suffering both losses inside the division. Most of the criticism was directed at their quarterback - Kirk Cousins. He had a really bad outing at Soldier Field, where it seemed like they can't get anything done in the passing game. Since then he was nothing short of spectacular. Throwing for nearly 1000 yards in the last three games, completing over 75% of passes, scoring 10 touchdowns (and only 1 interception) and surpassing 138.4 Qb rating in all three games. The offense was averaging 36 points.

Playcalling seems to be more balanced out, comparing to the run-heavy one from the begging of the season. Stefon Diggs targets increased to the number that he deserves. And everything is running pretty smooth now. They have one problem though. Adam Thielen was injured in their last game and wasn't able to recover on a short week. If they keep it up this way, they will eventually overtake Green Bay in a position of a division leader and might emerge as one of the contenders in a stacked NFC conference.

Re-defining run-heavy

After Jay Gruden got fired, interim HC Bill Callahan said that they want to run the ball more. It was an unusual statement, considering that they were already a run-oriented offense. But he obviously meant it. because they ran the ball more than 50% of the time in both games where he was a head coach. We'll see if they can repeat those percentages going forward. Especially in a game where they are a 15-point underdog and are expected to play from behind most of the game. Previous two games might have presented us with some skewed numbers because they had a big lead for most of the Miami game and played in wet conditions vs San Francisco and were within the touchdown for most of the part. Their workhorse Adrian Peterson is questionable with an ankle injury. He was optimistic about being ready for the game, but to me, it's quite obvious that he is not 100% and wants to force himself into the game versus his former team.

Their injury report is quite lengthy. Bunch of defensive back are on there including Josh Norman, DeShazor Everett, Montae Nicholson...Not a great position to be in, going against a red-hot Vikings passing attack. Chris Thompson is also out, meaning that we'll see some new faces in Washington's backfield.

Vikings vs Redskins best bet

As I mentioned, the percentage of run plays being called by the Redskins' interim head coach might be misleading. I don't think they can stay close to the Vikings for very long, which will force them to open up offensively. And when that happens, I like Terry McLaurin to make some noise. Although Minnesota's defense is one of the best, he already proved that he can beat some of the best corners in the game. Xavier Rhodes is not playing on his usual Pro-Bowl level this year, while Trae Waynes simply can't keep up with him. Considering how aggressive their corners usually are with their bump and run technique, he could make a big play downfield (or two) in this game.

Kyle Rudolph was not involved very much into Vikings passing game in the first 5 weeks of the season. But he managed to double his yardage in the last two games. Reasons for that are all the play-action plays being called. Tight ends pretend that they are blocking and then sneak out for a reception. Considering how good they were at doing it, I'm don't think they are abandoning it anytime soon. With many Washington's safeties on the injury report and their linebackers being a liability in coverage, I like Rudolph to catch some balls tonight.

The third bet will be on Alexander Mattison, the backup running back. The rookie out of Boise state showed some potential so far this year. The line is set around his average, but it should be higher. Skins' run defense is allowing 4.4 yards per carry, meaning they are average at best. With a potential blowout here, Minnesota will look to run the ball in the second half, but I don't think Cook will be doing all the work. They need their No.1 back to be fresh and ready for more important games. Mattison getting a couple of carries more than his average 8 will be enough to cover this line.