7 reasons why the Vikings will beat the Raiders in Week 3
By Adam Patrick
Minnesota’s run game can’t be stopped
Most figured the Vikings rushing attack was going to much better this season than it was in 2018. But it’s hard to imagine that many predicted Minnesota’s run game to perform as well as it has during their first two contests of the year.
After gaining an impressive 172 yards on the ground in Week 1 against the Falcons, the Vikings piled up another 198 rushing yards in their matchup with the Packers last Sunday. Minnesota’s 370 rushing yards are the most the team had through the first two weeks of a season since 1966.
Attempting to stop the Vikings’ ground game this week will be the Raiders. So far this season, Oakland’s ability to stop the run has arguably been the best part of their defense.
However, the Raiders are coming off a year in which they finished with the NFL’s third-worst run defense. So let’s not act like Oakland actually has a chance at containing Cook on Sunday, because they don’t.