The Vikings are back in action on Monday Nigh Football facing the surging New Orleans Saints in a game that is almost a must-win scenario for Minnesota. The SuperDome will play host to this primetime game on ESPN and will feature two of the league's most dynamic running backs in Reggie Bush and Adrian Peterson.
The Vikings are coming off a tough 30-17 loss at the hands of a surprisingly good Tennessee Titans squad and need to get a win tonight in order to keep up with their NFC North rivals. If things keep going like they are now, chances are the only team going to the playoffs from the North will be the division champion. Green Bay lost and Chicago moved ahead of the Packers with a win, so it's imperative that the Vikings try and keep pace. However, it's not going to be easy going on the road against the Saints.
New Orleans features a revamped offense that struggled at times last year. Drew Brees is back to form and one could say that he looks like the best quarterback in the NFL right now. Brees has 1343 passing yards and eight touchdowns in this young 2008 season and a passer rating of 106.9, which is second only to Brett Favre. Minnesota's pass defense is going to have to be up to the challenge if they want to keep this game close.
The difficulty will be if Minnesota cannot stop the pass it will open things up for the Saints duo at RB in Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush. If those two can eat up yardage then it's going to be a long night for Minnesota.
The key for Minnesota's offense will be to capitalize on opportunities and not hurt themselves with penalties. Many times in the last few weeks the Vikings hurt themselves with drive-killing penalties and in close games every point matters. A penalty can be the difference between six and three or even no points on the board, and right now Minnesota needs to start putting more points on the board if they want to even get back to where they were in the middle of last season- when they won 5 in a row and looked poised for a playoff run only to fall short. The Vikings need to execute more efficiently tonight on the line. Giving Peterson more room to run and Frerotte more time to pass will go a long ways to getting this team back on track.
I'll be back with updates at the half. Right now it's game time.
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