John Bitz
December 15, 2019
Vikings vs Chargers Game Preview
After a 20-7 victory over the Detroit Lions in Week 14, the Minnesota Vikings would find themselves in the playoffs if the regular season had ended last week. The good and bad news for the Vikings is that there are still three weeks left in the NFL regular season. The good news is the Vikings are only one game back of the Green Bay Packers for first place in the NFC North division and the two teams meet in Week 16 at U.S Bank Stadium. If the Vikings win this week and the Packers lose to the Bears, the game will likely be for 1st place in the NFC North division. However, the bad news for the Vikings is that they are only up by one game on the Los Angeles Rams for the second wild card in the NFC Conference. Should the Vikings lose this week and the Rams win, then the Rams and Vikings would have the same record with only two weeks left in the regular season. For the former to be possible instead of the latter the Vikings must take care of business this week against the Los Angeles Chargers. The game will be played at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. There are a few important keys to the game for the Vikings to win this game and setup an important Week 16 matchup with the Packers.
Three Keys to the Game
- Understand the Chargers are better than their record and have played a lot of close games- The Los Angeles Chargers record may be 5-8, but that is no reason to underestimate them. All eight of their losses have been by 7 points or less. However, the Chargers do have plenty of things that are going well for them. They rank 10th in the NFL in total offense yards and 4th in total defensive yards allowed. They are lead on offensive by veteran quarterback Philip River, running back Austin Ekeler, and wide receiver Keenan Allen. On defense, the Chargers are led by defense lineman Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram. The Vikings need to be on their game on both offense and defense to be able to win this game as it will a tough test for the entire team.
- Tough Luck on the West Coast– During Head coach Mike Zimmer’s tenure, the Minnesota Vikings have had major success in many places. However, one place where the Vikings have struggled during Mr. Zimmer’s tenure is on the West Coast. The Vikings are only 1-6 in games in the Mountain and Pacific Time Zones during his six seasons as coach. The good news for the Vikings is that this not a prime time game as 5 of their 6 losses in these two time zones had been prime time games. I expect the Vikings to be more prepared this time to play in the pacific time zone because this game is critical for their playoff hopes.
- The Return of Adam Thielen- This week, Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen is expected to play for the first time in five weeks. He had previously been dealing with a nagging hamstring injury but that forced him to miss the past four games. I expect the Vikings to be cautious and put Mr. Thielen on a limited snap count. However, getting Adam Thielen back will be great for the Vikings passing game as Kirk Cousins should be able to take a few more deep shots down the field. I also think that getting Adam Thielen back will take some pressure off of Stefon Diggs and Kyle Rudolph to have to get open on their routes after they have seen some tight coverage over the past few weeks with Adam Thielen.
Game Prediction
I expect this game to be a tight game throughout and for both teams to play well. I think the difference in the game will be the turnover battle which I think the Vikings will win. In the end, I think the Vikings end up winning on a late field goal by kicker Dan Bailey and keep their playoff hopes alive at the expense of the Chargers. Vikings 26 Chargers 23
Works Cited
“2019 NFL Schedule.” ESPN, ESPN Internet Ventures, www.espn.com/nfl/schedule.
“2019 NFL Standings.” ESPN, ESPN Internet Ventures, www.espn.com/nfl/standings.
“Los Angeles Chargers NFL – Chargers News, Scores, Stats, Rumors & More.” ESPN, ESPN Internet Ventures, www.espn.com/nfl/team/_/name/lac/los-angeles-chargers.
AP. “Preview: Vikings Can’t Overlook Dangerous Chargers.” FOX Sports, 13 Dec. 2019, www.foxsports.com/north/story/minnesota-vikings-los-angeles-chargers-preview-121319.
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