The Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers are facing off this Sunday after each team won their opening game in Week 1 of the 2017 NFL season.
For the opening game of the season, last Monday’s matchup with the New Orleans Saints could not have gone much better for the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings defeated the Saints 29-19 and it did not look difficult at all.
This week, Minnesota travels to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers who also won their kickoff game last Sunday over the Cleveland Browns. Pittsburgh got the victory thanks to their defense racking up a total of seven sacks and wide receiver Antonio Brown finishing his day with 11 catches for 182 yards.
It looks to be a tough matchup for the Vikings. But if they can play like they did in Week 1, it is hard to envision them coming out of Sunday’s game with a loss.
When Minnesota does take the field against the Steelers this week, who on the Vikings’ roster should be watched a little bit more closely than the rest of their teammates?
Xavier Rhodes, CB
In Minnesota’s matchup with Pittsburgh, Rhodes will likely be the guy to stalk Antonio Brown all over the field on Sunday. Even if Brown lines up in the slot for a few plays, expect the Vikings corner to be lined up right across from him.
Rhodes is really beginning to get a reputation around the NFL of being a true shutdown cornerback.
During Minnesota’s game last Monday, he held talented New Orleans wide receiver Michael Thomas to just five catches for 45 yards. In the first three quarters, Thomas had only three catches for 28 yards.
So saying Rhodes shut him down seems like a pretty valid statement.
Kai Forbath, K
In a matchup of two teams that like to run the ball and play stout defense, Sunday’s game between the Vikings and the Steelers figures to be a close one. So any opportunities to put points up on the scoreboard for Minnesota this week need to be taken advantage of.
Including extra points.
Forbath made all three of his field goal attempts against the Saints last week, but he only converted on two of his three extra point tries. His miss did not make a difference versus New Orleans, but another one on Sunday could be the difference between a win or a loss for the Vikings in Pittsburgh.
Ben Gedeon, LB
The rookie linebacker saw his first regular season NFL action last week for the Vikings and only ended up playing for a total of 16 snaps on defense. If fellow Minnesota linebacker Anthony Barr cannot suit up this Sunday, Gedeon may see his snaps take a dramatic increase.
Barr has been sitting out practice this week due to an apparent hamstring injury and his status for this week is now up in the air. Gedeon would likely be the guy to take over Barr’s role in the defense since the Vikings’ other backup option, Emmanuel Lamur, is also dealing with a hamstring injury.
If he does end up starting for Minnesota on Sunday, hopefully Gedeon can make people forget the fact that he is just a rookie.
Sam Bradford, QB
To say that Bradford’s excellent performance last week was a surprise would be a bit of an understatement. Some thought he could possibly have a good game against the Saints, but 346 passing yards and three touchdowns? No one could have predicted that (Oh wait, I did).
Will Bradford cool down in Week 2 or will he make the Steelers his latest victim? His chance for a repeat of his performance from last week will likely be a little tougher on Sunday.
Pittsburgh’s defense held the Browns and rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer to just 222 passing yards in Week 1 and their ability to stop the pass in 2016 was slightly above average. However, Bradford is no rookie.
Next: Top 5 takeaways from the Vikings' Week 1 win
The Minnesota quarterback has never faced the Steelers in his NFL career, so perhaps he will introduce himself to the franchise on Sunday with a nice multiple touchdown performance.