The Vikings are 3-2 under Leslie Frazier as the head coach of the Vikings as they are playing really well right now.  They beat the Lions 24-10 in the first meeting between these two teams but that was in Minnesota and a long time ago.  The Lions have won three games in a row as they are playing their best football of the year right now.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Vikings have the ball:  With Joe Webb under center again I look for the Vikings to have a conservative offense.  That means the Lions better get ready to deal with Adrian Peterson.  Peterson will be taking dead aim at a Lions’ D that is giving up 128.3 yards rushing per game and 4.6 yards per carry.  Webb also likes to take off running out of the pocket and he’s really good at that.  If Peterson gets rocking in this game look for Webb to use some playaction to take shots down the field to Percy Harvin.

When the Lions have the ball:  The Vikings never gave Lions’ QB Shaun Hill a chance when he played for them so he will be looking to stick it to his old team.  The Vikings are likely going to blitz more than usual in this game because Hill will be able to make some big plays down the field if he has time to throw the ball.  The Lions have been running more lately but the Vikings’ front seven should be able to stop them.

PREDICTION:  LIONS 20, VIKINGS 17

27-year old linebacker Chad Greenway is a tackling machine for the Minnesota Vikings.  He has played in 14 games for the Vikings so far this year and he has 136 tackles, 14 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 2 passes defensed, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery.  Greenway has now played in 62 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 446 tackles, 17 passes defensed, 6.5 sacks, 7 forced fumbles and 5 interceptions (one returned for a TD).  Greenway was the 17th overall pick of the 2006 NFL Draft out of Iowa.  He missed his rookie season due a torn ACL but he has more than made up for his lost time as he is one of the best linebackers in the NFL.

I must admit, I’m shocked at how easily the Vikings when into Philly and spanked the Eagles on their own field.  Rookie QB Joe Webb looked good tonight as he completed 17 of 26 passes for 195 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 6 times for 31 yards (5.2 ypc) with a TD run.  Adrian Peterson led the way on the ground for the Vikings in this game with 118 yards rushing on 22 carries (5.4 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Percy Harvin (7 rec, 100 yards) and Visanthe Shiancoe (3 rec, 32 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Vikings tonight.  The Vikings finished up with 161 yards rushing on 31 carries (5.2 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 26 passes for 176 yards. 

The defense was outstanding for the Vikings in this game as they were really decking Michael Vick a lot in this game.  CB Antoine Winfield was the man tonight as he led the way for the Vikings’ D with 9 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 QB hit and a forced fumble (Michael Vick) that he recovered and returned 45 yards for a TD!  LB Chad Greenway (9 tackles), DE Jared Allen (4 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 2 QB hits and 1 fumble recovery) and safety Husain Abdullah (interception) also had big contributions on D for the Vikings in this game.  The Eagles finished up with 107 yards rushing on 22 carries (4.9 ypc) and they also completed 25 of 43 passes for 224 yards.  The Vikings are now 6-9 on the year with this outstanding victory.

The Vikings have been simply awful the last two weeks as they have lost to the Giants & Bears by a combined score of 61-17!  With rookie Joe Webb starting at QB this game could get ugly fast.  The Eagles have won three games in a row including a miracle over the Giants last weekend.  They could be in for a letdown and that’s the only real chance the Vikings have of winning this game.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Vikings have the ball:  The Vikings hope to have Adrian Peterson in this game.  The Vikings need to pound the ball on the ground with Peterson, Toby Gerhart and QB Joe Webb against a Eagles’ D that is allowing 103.3 yards rushing per game and 4.0 yards per carry.  If they get a running game going then they can let Joe Webb take some shots down the field off playaction.  But if the Eagles stop the Vikings’ running game it’s going to be a long, long day.  That’s because the Eagles have 35 sacks and 23 interceptions already this year.

When the Eagles have the ball:  The Vikings are going to need to rush Michael Vick from the outside and contain him in the pocket.  The Vikings only have 24 sacks this year so Vick should have time to throw the ball.  The Vikings’ safeties have had trouble covering WRs deep this season and that just doesn’t bode well this weekend against DeSean Jackson & Jeremy Maclin.  The Vikings have a solid run defense as they have only allowed 101.5 yards rushing per game and 3.9 yards per carry so far this year so they will have a fighting chance of controlling the Eagles’ running game behind Lesean McCoy and Michael Vick.

PREDICTION:  EAGLES 34, VIKINGS 3

25-year old WR Sidney Rice got off to a late start this year due to hip surgery.  He’s trying to make up for lost time.  Rice has played in 5 games so far this year and he has caught 16 passes for 264 yards (16.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  With the QB play the Vikings have been getting, Rice’s numbers actually don’t look that bad.  Rice is coming off a huge 2009 season in which he played in all 16 games catching 83 passes for 1,312 yards (15.8 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  Rice has now played in 47 games in his first four years with the Vikings and he has caught 145 passes for 2,113 yards (14.6 avg) with 18 TD grabs.  Hopefully Rice will stay healthy the last couple of weeks and be rested up and ready to rock in 2011.

The Vikings have placed starting LG Steve Hutchinson on the Injured Reserve List ending his season due to a broken thumb.  The 33-year old Hutchinson played in 11 games (all starts) for the Vikings this year.  Hutchinson has now played in 75 games (all starts) in his first five years with the Vikings.  23-year old rookie Chris DeGeare will replace Hutchinson in the starting lineup.  He has played in 6 games (3 starts) so far this year for the Vikings.  The Vikings need the 5th round pick out of Wake Forest to step up the last couple of weeks of the season.

The Vikings have signed 25-year old QB Rhett Bomar off the New York Giants’ practice squad.  Bomar is a big, strong guy at 6’2″, 225 pounds and he will serve as the Vikings’ #3 QB this week.  The Vikings hope to not have to use him against the Eagles because it’s going to be hard for him to pick up the Vikings’ playbook that quickly.  Bomar will likely be auditioning for a job for 2011 with the Vikings the last couple of weeks of 2010.

The Vikings got punished in the cold last night by the Chicago Bears.  The Vikings were pretty awful in all three phases of the game last night.  They made the mistake of kicking the ball to Devin Hester a couple of times.  Hester returned a kickoff 79 yards and a punt 64 yards for a TD in this game.  Brett Favre made a surprise start last night for the Vikings and he completed 5 of 7 passes for 63 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT before leaving the game after a hard sack.  Rookie Joe Webb didn’t look too good.  Webb completed 15 of 26 passes for 129 yards with 0 TD passes and 2 pretty bad INTs.  He did look good running the ball though with 38 yards on 6 carries (6.3 ypc) with a TD run.  Adrian Peterson decided not to play last night so Toby Gerhart got the start and he looked pretty good.  Gerhart carried the ball 16 times for 77 yards (4.8 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 18 yards (6.0 avg).  WR Percy Harvin (5 rec, 72 yards, TD) and TE Visanthe Shiancoe (6 rec, 41 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Vikings last night.  The Vikings finished up with 114 yards on 24 carries (4.8 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 33 passes for 159 yards.

Safety Husain Abdullah (8 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss), LB E.J. Henderson (8 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss), LB Chad Greenway (7 tackles) and CB Asher Allen (3 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) led the way for the Vikings’ D last night.  The Bears finished up with 104 yards rushing on 33 carries (3.2 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 24 passes for 189 yards.  The Vikings are now 5-9 on the year.

The Vikings got brought back down to Earth in Detroit last weekend when the Giants thumped them 21-3.  But they are still 2-1 under new head coach Leslie Frazier and they can be a spoiler if they can beat the Bears on Monday Night.  The Bears lost 36-7 in the snow last weekend to the Patriots at Soldier Field.  The Bears are 1 game ahead of the Packers in the NFC North so they need this game.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Vikings have the ball:  Rookie 6th round pick Joe Webb is going to make his first NFL start on Monday Night Football.  To relieve him of some pressure, I look for the Vikings to run the ball a lot in this game.  It won’t be easy though as Adrian Peterson only rushed for 51 yards the first time around against the Bears.  The Bears are only giving up 87.9 yards rushing per game and 3.7 yards per carry.  I have a feeling that Webb is going to make some big game altering mistakes in this football game.

When the Bears have the ball:  The Bears are also likely going to be conservative in the play calling on Monday Night.  The Vikings are only allowing 3.9 yards per carry so far this year so Matt Forte & Chester Taylor are going to have to earn every yard they get.  The Vikings need to get after Jay Cutler who has been sacked 43 times this year as he makes mistakes when rushed.  I look for the Bears to keep the passing game of the very short variety in this game.

PREDICTION:  BEARS 20, VIKINGS 7

The Vikings have placed 27-year old QB Tarvaris Jackson on the Injured Reserve List with a case of turf toe.  Jackson played in 3 games for the Vikings last season and he completed 34 of 58 passes (58.6%) for 341 yards with 3 TD passes and 4 INTs (63.9 QB Rating).  Jackson also carried the ball 9 times for 63 yards (7.0 ypc) this year.  Jackson has now played in 36 games in his five years with the Vikings and he has completed 354 of 603 (58.7%) for 3,984 yards with 24 TD passes and 22 INTs (76.6 QB Rating).  Jackson also has carried the ball 119 times for 535 yards (4.5 ypc) with 4 TD runs for the Vikings.  This might be the end for Jackson with the Vikings as he will be a free agent after this year is over.