Inside The Vikings

Three Keys To Victory Against The Raiders

What do the Vikings need to do to get to 2-1?

Will Ragatz

Three Keys To Victory Against The Raiders
Three Keys To Victory Against The Raiders /

There's no place like home.

Coming off an emotional letdown in Green Bay, the Vikings are excited to return to the raucous environment of U.S. Bank Stadium this weekend.

To bounce back, stay undefeated at home, and get to 2-1 on the season, they'll have to take care of business as 8-point favorites against Jon Gruden's Oakland Raiders. The Raiders began their season with a win over the Broncos, but unsurprisingly couldn't keep up with the Chiefs in Week 2.

Last Week 3, the Vikings returned home from a wild game at Lambeau Field to take on an inferior AFC opponent and were promptly embarrassed by the Bills. Here are three things the Vikings can do to make sure history doesn't repeat itself.

1. Limit the Raiders' three offensive weapons

The Vikings would love to get back to the formula that worked for them in Week 1: Play so well on defense that the offense doesn't need to do a whole lot to win the game. If they can frustrate Derek Carr and the Raiders' offense all afternoon and get past the 21-point threshold that has almost always resulted in a win under Mike Zimmer, they'll be in a good spot to pull out a victory.

Shutting down the Raiders' offense starts with keeping impressive rookie running back Josh Jacobs in check. Jacobs eclipsed 100 yards from scrimmage and scored two touchdowns in Week 1, then ran for 99 yards on just 12 carries last Sunday, highlighted by a 51-yard burst down the right sideline.

Jacobs only had 300 touches over 3 seasons at Alabama while splitting work with various other backs, so he has plenty of life on his legs. His combination of power, balance, and acceleration could give the Vikings problems, especially if they're without Anthony Barr and/or Ben Gedeon. With no Gedeon last week, the Vikings gave up 150 yards from scrimmage to Aaron Jones.

In the passing game, Carr has two clear top targets. WR Tyrell Williams and TE Darren Waller have combined to catch 53 percent (24 of 45) of Carr's completions for 62 percent of his passing yards. Williams, a talented 6'4" receiver, will see a lot of Xavier Rhodes, who was excellent against Julio Jones and merely average against Davante Adams. The more concerning threat might be Waller, the Hard Knocks star who presents a lot of matchup issues at 6'6" and 255 pounds. He's caught 13 of 15 targets in two games, and the Vikings gave up nine catches to Austin Hooper in Week 1.

2. Hit on some deep passes

The plan on offense will obviously be to continue feeding Dalvin Cook, but this could be a tough spot for him to have another huge game. The Raiders are allowing just 2.8 yards per carry so far this season, which is tied for fourth in the league. They held the Chiefs to just 31 rushing yards on 22 attempts.

Of course, they did give up 400+ yards and 4 touchdowns to Pat Mahomes. All four of Mahomes' touchdown passes were from at least 27 yards out. The Vikings need Kirk Cousins to take and complete at least a few deep passes to Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen against the Raiders' burnable secondary. Against the Packers, there were a number of plays in which Cousins either neglected to take a shot to an open receiver or took the shot and missed it. He has to be better across the board on Sunday, and hitting some deep balls – especially in play-action – should help open things up for Cook.

3. Put the game away early

Speaking of following the formula that worked against the Falcons, the Vikings would love to jump ahead right from the start. They've talked all week about starting faster on both sides of the ball after failing to do so against the Packers. Jump out to an early lead, and the combination of Cook, the Vikings' pass rush, and the home crowd at US Bank Stadium will make it very difficult for the Raiders to mount a comeback.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

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