One of the NFL’s most feared pass rushers could play a major role in playing spoiler to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
Entering the Week 3 matchup with the Buffalo Bills, everybody expected that game to end up as an easy victory for the Minnesota Vikings. As 17-point favorites at home, Minnesota had a better team on paper and the Buffalo had looked completely clueless in defeats against Baltimore and the Los Angeles Chargers.
Of course, things didn’t work out as many had scripted as the Bills effortlessly jumped out to a 27-0 lead in the first half en route to a 27-6 laugher. That left many asking what happened to Vikings.
One of the main reasons for the collapse was the matchup between Riley Reiff and Jerry Hughes. The former first-round pick had shown signs of life since being picked up by Buffalo in 2013, but was an average player at best with a dwindling sack total since recording 20 in his first two seasons in Buffalo.
Hughes took the soul of Reiff, who allowed a whopping 12 offensive pressures against Hughes and the rest of the Buffalo defense, and the Vikings offense never could get going in a game they should have dominated.
Coming into this week, the Vikings have another opponent that they should defeat on paper. The Arizona Cardinals are worst in the league with 1,054 yards of total offense this season and putting rookie quarterback Josh Rosen on a long field could be enough to let the Vikings’ stout defense take over the game.
However, the defense may never get that chance if the offensive line can’t do its job protecting Kirk Cousins from Chandler Jones.
Jones has fallen off the radar due to the Cardinals’ play, but he remains one of the best edge rushers in the NFL. After leading the league with 17 sacks last season, he’s recorded a sack in four of Arizona’s five games this season for a total of four on the season.
In the past, Jones has been able to make his mark in previous matchups with the Vikings. In 2014, he was front and center in a 30-7 win for the New England Patriots with a pair of sacks, and three quarterback hits on Matt Cassel. Although in a lesser role, he also played a key role in keeping things close the last time Arizona came to U.S. Bank Stadium in 2016 with a sack in a 30-24 Vikings victory.
With a history like that, the Vikings will sure to keep an eye on the former Syracuse star, but it may be easier said than done with Reiff missing practice this week due to a lingering foot injury. That may lead to struggling right tackle Rashod Hill filling in while rookie Brian O’Neill slides over on the right side.
If the Vikings aren’t able to contain Jones, it will make the jobs of Patrick Peterson and Budda Baker easier against the second-ranked passing offense in the league. It could also turn a game in which the Vikings should win handily into a tougher game than they expect — or worse — another upset loss at home.