What are some stats to know about the Minnesota Vikings matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 14?
The Minnesota Vikings are a .500 football club (6-6). This is an extremely fair indicator as to how the team has “felt” in 2020. The first six weeks were mired by follies, turnovers, ineptitude, and misfortune. The Vikings had two games that had no silver linings — at Indianapolis and versus Atlanta — while the other contests before the bye offered glimpses of hope. Particularly, the Vikings probably “should have” beat the Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans. Quarterback Kirk Cousins orchestrated fourth-quarter, lead-changing touchdowns in those games, but the usually-sturdy defense ruined the fun.
After the team’s bye in Week 7, a different team debuted at Lambeau Field. Dalvin Cook imposed his will on the Packers, and the defense started to rev the engine. Indeed, Minnesota’s schedule lightened up in the second half of the season. In large part because of that, the Vikings have won five out of their last six games. The team went from the No. 2 slot in the 2021 NFL Draft to the seventh-seed in the NFC playoff hunt.
For Week 14, the purple and gold return to a docket of tough competition. The Buccaneers will host the Vikings on Sunday, a Bruce Arians-led team that owns a 7-5 record fresh off a bye week. It will be the Vikings most difficult matchup since Week 8 in Green Bay.
Let’s have a look at a few things to know about this matchup between the Vikings and Buccaneers matchup.
Minnesota would move into No. 6 seed with a win in Tampa Bay
Minnesota cannot afford to lose more than one more game in 2020 if they want to have a firm chance at an entrance into the postseason. Purple eyes will be on the performance of the Arizona Cardinals as they must lose any time that the Vikings do (at least as a grand total by season’s end).
Toppling Tampa Bay is a mighty undertaking. This game presents the “one game” that Vikings are most likely to drop during the remainder of the season. If they find a way to win, however, Minnesota really plants its buttocks in the driver’s seat. The Vikings-Buccaneers tiebreaker would break in favor of Minnesota whereas Tampa Bay’s playoff aspirations would be thrust into jeopardy. Tom Brady and Co. would then cheer for the Vikings to lose just as Minnesota roots against the Cardinals.
A win in Tampa would temporarily secure the sixth-seed in the NFC for the Vikings. Per fivethirtyeight.com, Minnesota’s probability to achieve playoff football would rise to 72%.
Minnesota has never defeated a team led by Tom Brady
Only one quarterback in NFL history has been more dominant against the Vikings from a win-loss perspective than Tom Brady. That is Russell Wilson. The Seahawks, led by Wilson, are 7-0 versus the Vikings since 2012. As a consolation prize to this nauseating metric, Peyton Manning also never played on a team that lost to Minnesota. His Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos were 4-0 in matchups with the purple and gold.
Brady has been victorious five times versus the Vikings. Of course, all of these games involved the New England Patriots and Bill Belichick, so an asterisk can denote that tidbit. In five games, Brady has thrown 10 touchdowns to two interceptions. And, the Patriots under Brady never beat the Vikings by less than seven points.
Finally solving a 43-year-old (!!) Brady would act as an “about damn time” sentiment for the Vikings ownership and fanbase. Unless playoff seeding allows for it, this may be the last time the Vikings see Brady as a starting quarterback.
YOU LIKE THAT!
If events go pear-shaped early on for the Minnesota Vikings in Florida, it is not beyond Kirk Cousins’ reach to hoist the team on his shoulders and rally back. Why? Because he’s done it before. Slightly over five years ago, in fact.
When Cousins trademarked his patented catchphrase “YOU LIKE THAT?!?” in 2015, his opponent as a member of the Washington Football team was the Buccaneers. Sure, this game was in Landover, Maryland, but the helmets on the other side of the line of scrimmage had pirate flags on them.
Cousins’ first season as a starter was 2015, and in Week 7 of that season, the Washington Football team stormed back from a 24-0 second-quarter deficit. Cousins was masterful in the contest scripting four total touchdowns as the Football Team rallied to a 31-30 triumph.
It’s in Cousins’ cellular memory to fight back in Tampa Bay if the Buccaneers hop out to an early lead.
Tampa Bay is the best run-stopping defense in the business
And, this is nothing new. The 2019 Buccaneers were outstanding versus the run, but nobody realized it because the team’s quarterback was handing out interceptions like samples at Costco.
For the second consecutive year, Tampa Bay is the NFL’s top rushing defense. Last season, the Buccaneers allowed 73.8 rushing yards per game to opponents. That number is 74.2 yards per game this year. Let that be a lesson in consistency for teams looking to emulate Tampa’s success.
This tendency presents a problem for the Vikings. Admittedly, Minnesota runs the football to set up the pass. Truth be told, head coach Mike Zimmer would love nothing more than to run the ball 50 times against a team and leave the battle with a 20-7 or so victory.
That will not be on the menu this weekend. Dalvin Cook will likely be bottled up, and the aforementioned Kirk Cousins will need to throw the ball proficiently to nudge the Vikings to a 7-6 record.
Justin Jefferson — statistical pace and visions of OROY
A man named Bill Groman playing for the Houston Oilers holds the NFL record for most receiving yards in a rookie season. The year was 1960, and Groman — who passed away in July — notched 1,473 receiving yards in 14 games. Catching passes from Hall of Famer quarterback George Blanda, Groman created an unholy 105 receiving yards per game mark.
Justin Jefferson currently has 1,039 receiving yards. To surpass Groman, Jefferson will be required to maintain a 108.8 yards per game pace — a tall order.
If Jefferson does this, he will likely win the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award. The other Justin [Herbert] was the solid frontrunner for the honor until recently. Herbert’s Chargers now have a 3-9 record. If that gets too much more out of hand, the OROY voters likely won’t hand an illustrious award to a player so upside down with wins and losses.
5 facts about the Minnesota Vikings we wish weren’t true
What are some unflattering statistics about the Minnesota Vikings from the past few years that are, unfortunately, truly valid?
The 21-year-old Vikings wideout must continue his impressive pace for the last four games of the season and avoid “shutouts” if the OROY trophy is to remain in his purview.