Daily Norseman
The Minnesota Vikings play an “away” game in Ireland on Sunday at 8:30 am Central Standard Time. If this game were ten years ago, I would be watching it on four hours of sleep and been a big lump for the entire day. I would likely be recovering from a late night of bartending and maybe one too many Guinness Pints or Jameson shots. Fast forward to being in my mid-30s, with a soon-to-be 3-year-old wreaking havoc on my house, finding myself welcoming the early game. There is nothing quite like the fresh smell of Vikings football first thing in the morning.
When I think of Vikings Vs. Steelers, my brain automatically triggers the memory of Adrian Peterson absolutely demolishing William Gay and making him question his life choices. The matchup feels like old school football. I hope we see a smashmouth defensive exhibition. After watching some film of the Steelers’ recent game against the Patriots, I feel confident in talking about some keys to victory for Minnesota.
In Week 3, New England turned the ball over five times, two of them occurring in the red zone. Drake Maye has looked impressive in his sophomore season, and I can definitely see why he was making a case to be the number one quarterback in last year’s draft. He has a strong arm and a tight throwing motion. His mobility was giving Pittsburgh fits all day. However, he threw a bad pick in the end zone that cost them a touchdown. Rhamondre Stevenson also fumbled twice, including on the one-yard line. The Patriots ended the day with a +4 turnover differential and still only lost by one score.
Pittsburgh capitalized on those turnovers last week, so ball security is crucial to secure the win for Minnesota. Actually, that’s the case for most games in the KO era. Under O’Connell, the Vikings are 30-3 when they win the turnover battle and 4-14 when they lose it. At the ripe old age of 32, Carson Wentz doesn’t possess the mobility that Drake Maye does (obviously). Look for him to use his veteran experience to quickly diagnose plays and make smart decisions with the football. The smartest thing he can do is not throw it anywhere near Jalen Ramsey.
T.J. Watt should be the focal point of the Minnesota offensive line, and I envision heavy doses of Josh Oliver coming in to help block. Jordan Mason needs to do his best impression of Jax from Mortal Kombat and put a vice grip on the football. (I am obviously talking about Jax post getting-his-arms-ripped-off-by-Goro). If we do that, I foresee us holding off the Steelers in a tight defensive battle.
Our defensive line unit is peppered with maulers and stalwarts, who can define a game simply by exerting their will on opposing offenses. One lineman on the rise is Levi Drake Rodriguez. He has...
