Something has to give in this football game tomorrow.  The Vikings are 0-4 outside this season as they have been outscored 121-90.  The Jaguars are only 1-4 at home this season and they have been outscored 120-98.   The Vikings will come out doing what they do best tomorrow and that’s running the football.  They are averaging 139.4 yards rushing per game and 4.5 ypc while the Jaguars allow 113.2 yards rushing per game and 4.3 ypc.  Adrian Peterson (1,100 yards rushing, 4.9 ypc, 7 TDs) should have little problem putting up 100+ yards rushing in the game tomorrow.  If the Jaguars overplay the run then Gus Frerotte will attack them downfield with play action.  Bernard Berrian might have a huge game against a defense that is allowing 215.0 yards passing per game and QBs have a rating of 93.8 against the Jags.

The Jaguars will likely attempt to run the football with Fred Taylor, Maurice Jones-Drew and David Garrard but they will have to fight for every yard as the Vikings only allow 73.9 yards rushing per game and 3.1 ypc.  The Vikings are vulnerable to the passing game but David Garrard doesn’t have a go to man that scares them.  The Jaguars might also have trouble blocking when Garrard drops back as the Vikings have 26 sacks this season while the Jags have allowed 26.

PREDICTION:  MINNESOTA VIKINGS 23, JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 13

The Vikings just kept one step ahead of the Texans in the game last Sunday.  They did it by running the ball very effectively with Adrian Peterson rushing for 139 yards on 25 carries (5.6 ypc).  The Vikings finished up with 177 yards rushing on 35 carries (5.1 ypc) and that was a huge reason for this victory.  Gus Frerotte completed 11 of 18 passes for 182 yards with 3 TD passes and 1 interception.  The interception was returned for a TD by CB Jacques Reeves (44 yards) of the Texans.  Bernard Berrian only caught 2 passes in this game but they went for 104 yards with a TD (49-yarder).  The Vikings’ defense was again had issues with stopping the passing game as the Texans rolled up 327 yards passing.  In the end though this was a nice win for the Vikings that improved them to 4-4 on the season just one game behind the Bears for the lead in the NFC North.

The Houston Texans come into this game on a roll as they have won three games in a row but two of the games were against the winless Lions and Bengals.  The Vikings will pose a much tougher threat to the suddenly hot Texans.  The Vikings only allow 70.7 yards rushing per game and 2.9 yards per carry so Steve Slaton might not find much running room against them.  But, if Matt Schaub has time to throw the football the Texans should be able to put some points on the board in this game.  Andre Johnson has 593 yards receiving in his last four games and the Vikings allow 219.4 yards passing per game so the Texans will be exploiting this matchup as much as possible.  Kevin Walter and TE Owen Daniels are also good weapons in the mid-range game for the Texans.

The Vikings will come out running the football against the Texans to attempt to control the clock.  Adrian Peterson (684 yards rushing, 5 TDs) should have a big game against a Texans’ Defense that is allowing 119.6 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry.  The Vikings must protect Gus Frerotte from DE Mario Williams (7 sacks) if he’s going to have time to throw the ball downfield to Bobby Wade and Bernard Berrian.

PREDICTION:  MINNESOTA VIKINGS 30, HOUSTON TEXANS 27