Vikings vs. Chiefs Quick Preview

The Vikings must win on Sunday against Kansas City to keep a miserable season from becoming a complete unmitigated disaster. At 0-3 there probably isn’t much hope left of a playoff run…and if they fall to 0-4 you can remove the “probably.” The good news is, this game sets up pretty well for the Vikings. Kansas City’s secondary has been decimated by injuries, they are without their top offensive weapon Jamaal Charles and their quarterback Matt Cassel has been arguably the most disappointing in the NFL so far – yes, even more disappointing than Donovan McNabb. The Vikings need to take advantage of this situation by getting on top early.

But wait…getting on top hasn’t been the problem has it? Staying on top in the second half has been the issue. Well there’s only one way to fix that: Donovan McNabb playing better. Hopefully all that work in practice this week on those mechanical problems McNabb claims he doesn’t have will pay dividends. Bill Musgrave can help in this area by not calling any more pass plays for Jim Kleinsasser or 4th down run plays for Toby Gerhart. The Vikings aren’t going to pull themselves out of this tailspin by feeding their blocking tight end or #2 running back. They have weapons, now they just have to figure out how to use them. I hope Percy Harvin and Adrian Peterson have big games, not just because I want the Vikings to win but because I’m sick of hearing about how those guys aren’t getting the ball enough. It would also help to get Visanthe Shiancoe and Bernard Berrian more involved so it won’t seem like we’re carrying a bunch of deadweight on the roster.

Defensively, they just need to keep doing what they’ve been doing. There have been some second half let-downs but a lot of that is on the offense for not being able to stay on the field. The Vikings certainly have a good enough D to handle the woeful Chiefs offense providing they can stay disciplined and not kill themselves with penalties and missed tackles. If they play defense like they did against the Lions for most of the game and muster a little more offense especially in the second half, the Vikings should emerge from this game with a win…and a glimmer of hope.

Like The Viking Age on Facebook.
Follow Dan Zinski on Twitter.