Washington (1-6)
at
Minnesota Vikings (5-2)
Washington (1-6) at Minnesota (5-2) – On the surface, this looks like a complete mismatch.
When you dig a little deeper, however, Washington may have a chance to at least keep this one fairly close. After all, they held the 49ers to a pedestrian 9 points last weekend, and did not allow a single touchdown. They have played their two best games in their past two games, which is a good sign.
That said, however, Washington is still 1-6 for a reason. And let’s face it: the Vikings are especially tough at home. They are very much in the running for the NFC North division title, being only one game behind the Packers. Clearly, this game means a lot to them, because they can reach a record of 6-2, with a looming date at Kansas City to face, before they can get a nice break to rest up and get healthy.
For Washington, this game is already mostly about pride. They likely have no realistic chance of recovering enough to make a playoff push. For Minnesota, they feel themselves on the cusp of ranking among the elites in the league, and surely want to prove it. They cannot afford to lose this one, which is a home game against a weak team that, by all rights, they should beat. They need this win to maintain their hot pace to this point, and to keep applying strong pressure on the Packers.
The Vikings have a tough defense, a solid running game, and a capable quarterback. Again, they always seem to play their best when in the comforts of home, which they will be here. And again, they just have too many weapons and advantages to really justify not playing very well in this game, and to pull off a win. Hell, if they play their best, they likely will pull away fairly early in this one. So if the Vikings do what most people expect them to, this one should be pretty much over before the fourth quarter begins, to be frank.
My pick: Minnesota
No comments:
Post a Comment