The Minnesota Vikings have lost all four of their games so far this year, but only by an average of 4.8 points per game.  The Cardinals are also limping into this game on a 3- game losing streak.  Something has to give this Sunday and here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Vikings have the ball:  The Vikings are going to try to feed the ball to Adrian Peterson (376 rushing yards this year) and I think it’s a smart move.  The Cardinals are giving up 105.5 yards rushing per game, but only 3.6 yards per carry, so Peterson will have to fight for every yard he gets this Sunday.  The Vikings started to throw more to the TEs (Visanthe Shiancoe and Kyle Rudolph and it would be smart for that to continue against the Cardinals this weekend.  That allows Donovan McNabb to get rid of the ball quickly, which helps mask things for the O-Line which has already given up 10 sacks so far this year.  The Vikings have to get the ball in Percy Harvin’s hands at least 10 times this weekend either running or catching the football.

When the Cardinals have the ball:  The Cardinals are going to come out throwing the ball, probably attacking down the field with CB Antoine Winfield (neck) likely out of this game for the Vikings.  DE Jared Allen and the rest of the D will have to put a lot of pressure on Kevin Kolb, because if he has time to throw the ball…..he’s going to be effective.  Larry Fitzgerald is Kolb’s favorite receiver, so it would be smart of the Vikings to double cover him all day long.  WR Early Doucet, TE Todd Heap and TE Jeff King are also likely to get a few looks each from Kolb in this game.  The Vikings are only giving up 76.3 yards rushing per game (3.3 yards per carry) so far this year, so they are hoping to be able to stop Beanie Wells cold in his tracks.

PREDICTION:  CARDINALS 21, VIKINGS 17

The Vikings have lost three big first half leads this year, as new head coach Leslie Frazier seems overmatched as far as halftime adjustments go.  The Chiefs finally showed signs of life last week in a 20-17 loss at San Diego last weekend.  Here’s a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Vikings have the ball:  The Vikings need to feed the rock to Adrian Peterson for all four quarters if they want to win this football game.  The Chiefs are giving up 123.0 yards rushing per game, so the holes are going to be there for Peterson to exploit.  He is in line to have a HUGE game.  The Vikings are likely going to have to pass the ball some in this game and they should have success as long as the O-Line keeps OLB Tambi Hali out of their backfield.  The Vikings need to get the ball in Percy Harvin’s hands both running and catching passes in this game as the Chiefs will likely have trouble dealing with his speed.  The Chiefs are giving up 260.3 yards passing per game, so Donovan McNabb should have a decent game if he has anything left in the gas tank at all.

When the Chiefs have the ball:  The Chiefs likely want to get the running game going with Thomas Jones and Dexter McCluster.  Good luck with that as the Vikings are only giving up 67.3 yards rushing per game and 3.1 yards per carry so far this year.  The Vikings are giving up 299.3 yards passing per game so far this year, but they also have 9 sacks, so Matt Cassel is not going to likely have much time to throw the ball this Sunday.  The Vikings are likely going to double cover Dwayne Bowe and dare Matt Cassel to throw the ball to someone else.

PREDICTION:  VIKINGS 23, CHIEFS 17

The Vikings have jumped out to halftime leads in both of their first two games before fading late.  The Lions are also a fast starting team, so this is going to be a very interesting game right from the start of it.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Vikings have the ball:  The Vikings are going to need to control the clock in this game.  That means that they will be giving the ball a lot to Adrian Peterson, and when he gets tired to Toby Gerhart.  The Lions are giving up 103.5 yards rushing and 4.6 yards per carry, so the Vikings should be somewhat effective on the ground.  The Vikings really need to get the passing game going or the Lions are going to cheat the safeties up to stop Peterson.  That means that Donovan McNabb is going to have to get rid of the ball quickly while still being careful as the Lions already have 4 interceptions while only giving up 1 TD pass.  The Vikings need to get the ball in Percy Harvin’s hands this weekend because he’s the only real playmaker on offense besides Adrian Peterson.

When the Lions have the ball:  The Lions are a pass first team but they still run the ball, so the Vikings’ D is really going to be tested this weekend.  Matthew Stafford hasn’t been sacked this year and he already has 599 yards passing and 7 TD passes, so the Vikings’ secondary is going to have their hands full.  The Vikings hope that DE Jared Allen can get a good rush on Stafford and force him into making a mistake or two.  That will be easier said than done.  Stafford will be throwing the ball all over the field to WRs Nate Burleson, Calvin Johnson and rookie Titus Young, so the corners are going to be busy for the Vikings this Sunday.  They likely won’t have much help over the top either as the safeties will have to deal with TEs Brandon Pettigrew and Tony Scheffler.  The Vikings’ LBs and D-Line are also going to have to contain the speedy RB Jahvid Best who has rushed for 129 yards (3.5 ypc) and he has caught 10 passes for 108 yards (10.8 avg) so far this year.

PREDICTION:  LIONS 27, VIKINGS 17

The Vikings and Buccaneers will battle in Minnesota this Sunday as they both will be trying to get their first win of 2011.  The Vikings will need to get the offense going this Sunday as they only had 187 total yards (159 yards rushing and 28 yards passing) against the Chargers last Sunday.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Vikings have the ball:  The Vikings are going to come out running with Adrian Peterson in this game.  He should have success against a Bucs’ D that gave up 126 yards rushing last week against the Lions.  The Vikings are going to have to pass a lot more than they did last week though to keep the Bucs’ defense semi-honest.  CBs Aqib Talib and Ronde Barber are the strength of the Bucs’ D and they will likely be checking Percy Harvin and Bernard Berrian.  That might get Donovan McNabb to look more at throwing underneath to Michael Jenkins and TEs Visanthe Shiancoe and Kyle Rudolph.

When the Buccaneers have the ball:  The Vikings are going to look to take Bucs’ RB LeGarrette Blount out of the game to make Josh Freeman throw the ball around.  Blount is a bruiser but the Vikings only gave up 77 yards on 27 carries (2.9 ypc) to the Chargers’ backs last weekend.  CB Antoine Winfield will likely be covering Mike Williams this Sunday in an effort to slow him down.  Safeties Husain Abdullah and Jamarca Sanford will have to stop Kellen Winslow this Sunday.

PREDICTION:  BUCCANEERS 23, VIKINGS 20

The Minnesota Vikings made a lot of changes in the off-season.  It will be interesting to see how quick this team will jell.  Here is a look at the matchups for the first game of the season against the Chargers:

When the Vikings have the ball:  The Vikings can’t afford to get into a shootout with the Chargers.  With that in mind, look for Adrian Peterson to get a lot of work in this game.  He will have to fight for every yard though as the Chargers have a pretty tough front seven on defense.  If they can establish the running game, it will make things easier for Donovan McNabb to take some shots down the field off of play action to Bernard Berrian and Percy Harvin.  McNabb will also have nice targets in Michael Jenkins and TEs Visanthe Shiancoe and Kyle Rudolph on shorter passes.  The pressure will be on the Vikings’ O-Line to open up holes for Peterson and to give McNabb enough time to throw the ball.

When the Chargers have the ball:  The Vikings don’t match up too well with the Chargers’ offense.  The Chargers are going to attack DTs Remi Ayodele and Letroy Guion with RBs Ryan Mathews and Mike Tolbert on inside runs.  The Vikings need to get good pressure on Philip Rivers on passing downs, or they are going to be in trouble.  OLB Chad Greenway and DE Jared Allen need to have big games chasing down Rivers for the Vikings to have any chance of winning this game.  WRs Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd have huge size advantages on Vikings’ corners Antoine Winfield and Cedric Griffin and Rivers likes to throw the ball high to them.  The safeties are also going to have their hands full with TE Antonio Gates.

PREDICTION:  CHARGERS 27, VIKINGS 17

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

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

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 sucked last night.  Maybe it was because the game was played in Detroit or it could have been that they were flat because Brett Favre didn’t play.  No matter what the reason is….the Vikings looked like crap on both sides of the football.  Tarvaris Jackson has been whining about not getting a chance.  Last night he got the start and he completed 15 of 30 passes for 118 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 8 yards (2.0 ypc) in this game.  Rookie Joe Webb completed 2 of 5 passes for 8 yards and he also carried the ball 1 time for 16 yards in his NFL debut last night.  Adrian Peterson could only muster 26 yards rushing on 14 carries (1.9 ypc) last night.  WRs Sidney Rice (5 rec, 60 yards) and Bernard Berrian (5 rec, 30 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Vikings.  The Vikings finished up with 61 yards rushing on 22 carries (2.8 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 35 passes for 103 yards.

CB Asher Allen (11 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception), LB E.J. Henderson (9 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 2 QB hits) and CB Frank Walker (INT) led the way for the Ravens on D in this game.  The Giants finished up with 213 yards rushing on 28 carries (7.6 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 37 passes for 182 yards.  The Vikings are now 5-8 on the season.

The Vikings are 2-0 under new head coach Leslie Frazier as they have outscored the Bills & Redkins by a combined score of 55-27!  The Giants have also won two games in a row, also by a combined score of 55-27 over the Redskins & Jaguars.  The Giants need this game to keep pace with the Eagles in the NFC East while the Vikings are trying to be the spoiler.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Vikings have the ball:  The Vikings are going to come out running the football with Adrian Peterson against a Giants’ D that is allowing 98.0 yards rushing per game and 4.0 yards per carry.  Whoever is playing QB will have to make quick decisions as the Giants have 35 sacks already this year.  This is another reason why I think the Vikings should start Jackson at QB, because of his mobility.  With Percy Harvin likely out for this game, Sidney Rice and Visanthe Shiancoe will likely be the two top targets for the Vikings in the passing game against a Giants’ D that is allowing 192.8 yards passing per game.

When the Giants have the ball:  The Giants are going to come out running the ball with Brandon Jacobs & Ahmad Bradshaw.  If the Vikings’ D can stop the running game they will have an excellent shot of taking down the Giants.  That is because Eli Manning is going to without his top two WRs in this game (Hakeem Nicks & Steve Smith).  With that in minde the Vikings should key on Kevin Boss and Mario Manningham.

PREDICTION:  VIKINGS 23, GIANTS 20