Inside The Vikings

Vikings-Chiefs Preview: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Vikings need to do to leave Kansas City with a win?

Will Ragatz

Vikings-Chiefs Preview: Three Keys to Victory
Vikings-Chiefs Preview: Three Keys to Victory /

The second half of the NFL season is upon us, and the Vikings are hoping to continue their winning ways as the calendar turns to November.

A tougher second half schedule begins in front of the raucous crowd at Arrowhead Stadium. Even with Patrick Mahomes looking unlikely to play, the Vikings will need to execute at a high level to steal this game on the road.

In case you missed any, here's all the preview content from this week:

Finally, here are three keys to victory for the Vikings.

1. Don't get burnt by the Chiefs' speed

Even though it looks like Matt Moore will be the Chiefs' quarterback, that doesn't mean their offense isn't extremely dangerous. Last weekend against the Packers, Moore did everything he was asked to do, throwing for 267 yards and 2 touchdowns without an interception. More importantly, the Chiefs still have the mind of Andy Reid and the speed of their playmakers.

Reid's offense against Zimmer's defense will be an epic chess match between incredible football minds. But Reid may have advantages to exploit. In Tyreek Hill, Mecole Hardman, and Sammy Watkins, Reid has a trio of lightning-fast receivers that he can scheme the ball to in space. You don't need Mahomes to do this:

That was the rookie Hardman, who might be just as fast as Hill. That could pose problems for Vikings corners like Xavier Rhodes and Trae Waynes, whose games aren't built on top-end speed. Add in the mismatch that all-world tight end Travis Kelce creates in the middle, and this will be a major challenge for Zimmer and the Vikings defense. Can they pressure Moore into turning the ball over?

2. Let Dalvin eat, especially in the passing game

Kirk Cousins and Stefon Diggs have been on fire in recent weeks. Adam Thielen has a chance to return and play in this game. And yet, the Vikings' offense needs to be entirely focused around feeding Dalvin Cook (and Alexander Mattison) in both the running and passing game.

To say the Chiefs struggle to stop the run would be an understatement. They're allowing 145 rushing yards per game, third-most in the NFL. Last week, they only gave up 67 rushing yards to the Packers' Aaron Jones...because Jones was too busy catching seven passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns.

Cook has shown this season that he can be very dangerous as a receiver. He has three games with at least five catches. Given how often the Chiefs blitz on defense, using Cook as an outlet for screens and dump-offs could be highly productive on Sunday.

3. Don't let the crowd noise become a factor

With all due respect to the Lions and Giants, the Vikings have only played two games in truly hostile road environments so far. They lost both of those games (to the Packers and Bears). The environment at Arrowhead Stadium is on another level than even Green Bay or Chicago.

It gets LOUD. The Vikings know the challenge that noise presents. Any little mistake caused by noise could be catastrophic.

"It's right up there with any stadium in the league, as far as noise," Cousins said. "Our job is to focus on communication, avoiding pre-snap penalties, making sure everybody in the huddle is understanding what we're doing, at the line of scrimmage understanding what we're doing. We gotta communicate, whether it's protections, run game – there's a lot of communication that goes on, both in the huddle and at the line of scrimmage, and we've gotta be spot on. We can't afford to have a single slip-up and have it waste us a play."

For the Vikings to win their fifth straight game, they'll need to be locked in.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

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