The Minnesota Vikings start a three-game road stretch starting in Jacksonville Florida to face off against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Now the Jaguars are in the middle of an ugly, ugly season even though they were promised a turnaround things could continue to get ugly as Trevor Lawrence will likely be out so that means Mac Jones will be taking over at quarterback. Mac Jones is not set up for success as Christian Kirk suffered a season-ending injury in week 8 and their other two star receivers and top three running backs are all beat up as well.
The offensive line could be struggling after they traded left tackle Cam Robinson to the Minnesota Vikings ironically, and Ezra Cleveland is sidelined by an ankle injury. It’s a rough time to be a Jags fan but maybe an even rougher time to be a Jaguars player, as they all seem to be beat up and hurt this season struggling to keep any of their star players healthy. A backup behind a shaky line is a recipe for disaster especially against a Vikings defense that leads the NFL in pressure rate.
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The Minnesota Vikings need to come out hot and rally some points early on in the game. The Vikings were able to move the ball on offense in the first half against the Indianapolis Colts but they couldn’t convert it into points, unlike most games this season like the early lead in Green Bay or the big lead the Vikings got early on the Jets in the London game. The Vikings also need to mix up the run and the pass considering the Jaguars are bad against both. The Jags rank 31st overall in defense, 31st against the pass, and they’re ranked 16th against the run but have been worst in run defense over the past two weeks.
This should be a good opportunity for Aaron Jones to top the century mark for the second time this season, as well as Cam Akers to get in some, carries too after his impressive performance against the Colts, it’s a good idea to save wear and tear on Aaron Jones whenever possible. Running the ball will set up the play-action pass game for Sam Darnold, who should have a big day throwing to his outstanding group of receivers. As long as the offensive line does a better job at protecting Darnold The Vikings should have another good day on offense.
The Viking’s offensive line has allowed 26 sacks (8th most in the league) and they’ll be tested again Sunday and need to improve after coming off of a rough game against the Colts.
Vikings Defense Needs To Continue To Be Dominant
Another huge factor in this game is the Vikings being able to take advantage of the Jaguars’ beat-up offense, and if Blake Cashman is back, the Vikings should be at full power on defense. Even though Ivan Pace missed practice on Wednesday with a knee problem he was back at practice on a limited basis on Thursday and shows signs of playing on Sunday. As long as the Vikings can stop the run and pressure the quarterback no matter if it is Lawrence or Jones they need to stop the run and get after whoever plays quarterback for the Jaguars.
The Vikings also need to win the turnover battle, they currently lead the NFL in interceptions with 13 and are second in takeaways with 17. Jacksonville has the fewest takeaways in the league with 5, but the Vikings have 13 giveaways which is fifth most in the league, so Sam Darnold needs to be more careful with the football when throwing downfield after his two back picks last week trying to force the ball to Hockenson and Jefferson.
The Vikings need a huge win here to stay close to the 7-1 Lions who currently hold first place in the NFC North, so look for the Vikings to have a big game against one of the league’s worst defenses, which will set up the defense to force several turnover and have a field day. To keep up with everything going on around the NFL go to GridIronHeroics.com and follow me on X(Twitter) @Crain_Sports1.
