TVA Predictions: Will it be five wins in a row for the Vikings this week?

Adam Carlson:

Vikings win 31-23

Any time the Minnesota Vikings take on the Washington Redskins, fans should be glued to their televisions. This is a team that the Vikings have historically had problems putting away, and this season will be no different. Still, on paper, this is a good matchup for Minnesota.

Offensively, the Vikings are facing off against a Redskins defense that is middle of the road in yards allowed (18th), pass yards allowed (17th), and rushing yards allowed (17th). However, opponents have only scored six rushing touchdowns on Washington and had three runs of 20 or more yards.  In the passing game, the Redskins have allowed 12 passing touchdowns and completions on 60.9% of throws this season.

What does this all mean? Well, the Redskins aren’t a team that focused on stopping one aspect of a team’s offense. They can be attacked through the air or the ground, and Minnesota will likely balance out that attack. Plus, Washington isn’t the best at taking away the football, with two more turnovers than takeaways this season.

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Expect a big game from Adam Thielen and Jerick McKinnon this week. Their shifty ability will be key in picking up yards after the catch and together they will account for almost 200 yards of offense.

On defense, the Vikings will frustrate the Redskins on 3rd downs. Washington is already in the bottom half of the league in converting 3rd downs and will be up against the second-best unit in the NFL at stopping those situations. Even though he’s struggling with a foot injury, expect Everson Griffen to keep his sack streak going. He and Danielle Hunter are going up against banged up or backup offensive tackles this week and should be licking their chops.

As a whole, expect the Vikings to win this game. Even though their recent track record after a bye week hasn’t been great, they should be favorites this week and win the game something like 31 to 23 and get two takeaways in the road victory.