What will the Minnesota Vikings need to do in order to defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3 of the NFL season? Here are the keys to victory!
Last week, the Minnesota Vikings weren’t able to defeat the reigning AFC North Champion Pittsburgh Steelers on the road, but another test stands before them in Week 3 as they prepare to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Led by quarterback Jameis Winston and a strong passing attack, Minnesota will have their hands full at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday, September 24, 2017 trying to slow down an offense with many great weapons.
Meanwhile, the Vikings will be doing their best to re-establish their offense after struggling against a swarming Steelers defense last week.
What will the Minnesota Vikings need to do in order to get a win in Week 3 of the 2017 NFL season? Here are the 5 biggest things the team will need to do to get a victory over Tampa Bay on Sunday starting with shutting down a BIG weapon.
#1. Mike Check
It’s no surprise that the biggest concern for the Vikings defense should be Tampa Bay wide receiver, Mike Evans. The 6’5″ target will be looked at often by quarterback Jameis Winston and is a nightmare for most defenses.
That’s where Xavier Rhodes comes in for Minnesota. Paid to be their shutdown guy, Rhodes did an excellent job against Antonio Brown in Week 2 and Michael Thomas in Week 1, but neither of them offers the same challenges that Evans does.
Not only does focusing on taking away Evans become a challenge, but then the team must try to stop speedy deep threat DeSean Jackson from breaking big plays on the opposite side of the field.
The Vikings will need to force the Buccaneers to become one-dimensional as a team, and that also means another part of the defense will need to step up in a huge way if they want to contain Tampa Bay’s offense.
(All statistics courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise noted)
#2. No Trespassing
Speaking of making Tampa Bay one-dimensional, that also means they will need to make stops at the line of scrimmage. But that won’t be an easy task against a Buccaneers team that has a solid ground attack.
In Week 2 of the NFL season, Tampa picked up 117 yards on the ground against the Bears, who have a middle of the road rush defense this season. Meanwhile, the Vikings rank 11th in rushing yards allowed per game at 81 yards per contest.
The player who will likely get the biggest workload carrying the ball for the Buccaneers is Jaquizz Rodgers. Rodgers is coming off a game where he had 19 rushing attempts for 67 yards and a touchdown against Chicago.
The real surprise for Vikings fans might be Peyton Barber, who will get a share of carries for Tampa Bay and is more the type of running back that Minnesota struggles with stopping since he is bigger and heavier than Rodgers.
#3. Break On Through
Tampa Bay’s rush defense looks amazing through their first game of the season. After a week 1 bye, the Buccaneers crushed the Bears at the line of scrimmage, allowing only 20 yards on 16 carries in the game.
Not only that, but Chicago only picked up one first down on the ground during the entire contest. It is clear that taking away the run is a top priority for Tampa Bay and Minnesota will need to do whatever it can to get going.
This week, rookie running back Dalvin Cook said in interviews that he needs to get off to a faster start in games and that couldn’t be more appropriate of a statement to make than in Week 3 against Tampa Bay. With a solid group of run blocker
With a solid group of run blockers and the possibility of Sam Bradford not being under center, Minnesota will need to lean on their running game to pick up first downs and control the game. If not, this could be a long, long game.
#4. Who’ll Stop The Rain
Last week, flags were flying so much from the hands of referees in Pittsburgh that fans of both the Vikings and Steelers were probably starting to think that it was raining yellow penalty markers.
Pittsburgh was penalized 10 times for 72 yards while Minnesota was flagged 11 times for 131 yards. No matter how you look at it, earning that many flags is an unacceptable act from either team if they are looking to win a football game.
It’s likely that head coach Mike Zimmer has been preaching discipline to his players this week in order to avoid unnecessary penalties that put the team in more challenging situations against Tampa Bay.
While sometimes penalties happen and that’s understandable, it’s ones like the taunting penalty from Mackensie Alexander and the 4th down encroachment call on Brian Robison that Minnesota needs to eliminate heading into this week.
#5. Protect The Quarterback
It feels a little too familiar to be writing about the Minnesota Vikings need to protect their quarterback. Last season, this was a key to victory for nearly every game of the season, with the squad very rarely achieving it.
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The good news is that this week the line is healthy and there are capable players up and down the unit. The bad news is that they were healthy last week and got demolished by a smothering Steelers defense.
Nick Easton might be coming off his worst game as a pro, but that should give him a reason to want to bounce back. Rookie center Pat Elflein continues to develop as well. Veterans Joe Berger, Mike Remmers and Riley Reiff should be the cornerstones of the unit.
More bad news is that even though Tampa Bay got just one sack against Chicago, they are a team that knows how to bring pressure and win battles at the line of scrimmage, as shown by their 6 tackles for a loss in Week 2.
Next: Week 3 NFL picks and predictions
What do you think are the keys to victory for the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2 of the 2017 NFL season when they take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.