Minnesota Vikings vs. Oakland Raiders: What's the Game Plan for Oakland?

The Oakland Raiders’ Week 10 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings pits strength against strength.

The Raiders' No. 8 passing offense will attempt to dissect the Vikings No. 6 pass defense. Minnesota’s No. 6 rushing offense hopes to wear down Oakland’s No. 7 run defense.

One team brings flash with the ability to score points in bunches, while the other finds pride in winning tough grind-it-out slugfests. 

How can the Oakland end Minnesota's four-game winning streak? 

Before discussing this week's game plan, there’s some good news and bad news for the Raiders' high-octane offense, per Oakland Tribune writer Jerry McDonald via Twitter:

Center Rodney Hudson’s potential absence, though significant, hurts the Raiders as the lesser of two evils. Running back Latavius Murray accounts for approximately 75 percent of the team’s rushing yards. Oakland absolutely needs its starting running back to pull out a victory over Minnesota.

Hudson became the centerpiece for the Raiders offensive line, but there are ways to survive and conquer without the starting center.

Interestingly, we’ll finally see what general manager Reggie McKenzie’s first ever draft pick can do in fill-in duty. Tony Bergstrom hasn’t started a game since his rookie year.

Attacking Minnesota’s No.18 Run Defense

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With or without Hudson in the lineup, offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave should attack the Vikings run defense on the edges.

Defensive ends Everson Griffen and Brian Robinson provide a solid pass rush but struggle to seal the ends, grading minus-1.6 and minus-3.7 as run-stoppers.

Recently, Murray has found success bouncing runs outside the guards for significant gains; that trend should continue on Sunday. 

In Week 9, Murray’s ball security issues took precedence over yards accumulated. Nonetheless, in his last three outings he averaged slightly more than 5.6 yards per carry with 85-plus yards in each contest.

Xavier Rhodes vs. Amari Cooper

Despite the Vikings No. 6 passing defense, the Raiders can exploit weaknesses in a perimeter matchup between wide receiver Amari Cooper and cornerback Xavier Rhodes. The Vikings cornerback surrendered three touchdowns in three of his last four games. 

Film Room: Minnesota Vikings vs. Kansas City Chiefs Week 6

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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith throws a quick out to wide receiving Albert Wilson. Rhodes reads the screen play, but the receiver takes the in route to follow his blocks.

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The Chiefs downfield blocks outnumber the Vikings defenders, allowing Wilson to squeeze through openings for yards after the catch.

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A solid block lifts Rhodes off his feet, springing the wide receiver for a 42-yard catch-and-run touchdown.

Rhodes doesn’t necessarily hold the brunt of the blame on this particular play, but the Raiders have successfully executed this offensive design with Cooper. Wide receiver Seth Roberts, who ranks as the best blocking wide receiver has become exceptionally valuable in bubble screens.

Film Room Example No. 2

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In the same game, Rhodes lines up in one-on-one coverage on the perimeter. The Chiefs move the chains with ease due to Rhodes’ lack of make-up speed.

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Wilson precisely breaks off his route with the first-down marker in mind. Rhodes allows ample space for the receiver to make a clean catch toward the sideline.

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The Vikings cornerback stood no more than five yards away from making a play on the ball but failed to even challenge the receiver after a quick release from the quarterback.

As a disciplined route-runner with that much cushion allowed, Cooper should find success attacking the Vikings pass defense.

Ken Norton Jr. Tinkering, Defense Fully Equipped 

There’s much talk about the Raiders' generous secondary giving up the most yards per game (314.6) in the NFL. Fortunately, the Raiders regain a pair of defensive backs in upcoming matchup, per CSNBayArea.com reporter Scott Bair and head coach Jack Del Rio via ESPN's Bill Williamson.

Secondly, defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. made a subtle personnel change that produced satisfactory results.

In Week 9, Norton started six defensive backs against a potent Steelers offense. There’s absolutely no reason to overhaul the secondary against Minnesota's No. 30 pass offense. However, safety Taylor Mays should continue to play closer to the line of scrimmage, which became a staple against Pittsburgh's short passing attack.

Film Room: Oakland Raiders vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Week 9

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In the first example, Mays takes an one-on-one assignment against Steelers tight end Heath Miller.

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He shadows the tight end through the route and breaks up a pass with suffocating coverage. 

Miller finished the game with six targets and only three catches for 32 yards.

Film Room Example No. 4

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Mays takes his position at the line of scrimmage on the weak side.

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Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger senses pressure and looks for running back DeAngelo Williams as a checkdown option, but Mays provides solid coverage with another pass defensed.

The Raiders cannot allow Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to dink and dunk his way down the field when escaping pressure in the pocket. He’s averaged less than seven yards per completion in the last two games. 

Stuffing the Leading Rusher

Oakland also holds solid pieces to a stout and athletic front seven. The Raiders must return to form in the run defense after allowing 195 yards on the ground in the previous outing.

Linebackers	Khalil Mack (OLB)	Ben Heeney (ILB)	Malcolm Smith (ILB)	Aldon Smith (OLB)
Defensive Line		Mario Edwards Jr. (DE)	Dan Williams/Justin Ellis (NT)	Denico Autry (DE)

The above table illustrates the best possible combination to slow down Adrian Peterson, specifically for the front seven.

In a 3-4 alignment, Norton should consider injecting Ben Heeney into the starting linebacker corps alongside Malcolm Smith, Khalil Mack and Aldon Smith.

Heeney made a name for himself in the preseason as a solid second-level gap-stuffer and a productive addition to the front seven.

Curtis Lofton’s decline should at least warrant a small dose of the rookie in run-stopping situations.

Many talk about Lofton’s exceptional ability to stop the rush—that’s the old narrative. In reality, he ranked as the second-worst run-stopping inside linebacker with a minus-14.5 grade, per Pro Football Focus—one spot above Oakland’s former linebacker Miles Burris in 2014.

Lofton currently lists a minus-3.6 mark against the run as his snap count continues to fluctuate week to week.

This season, Mack and Smith rank as two of the top 10 run-stoppers among 3-4 outside linebackers.

Linebackers	Taylor Mays (S/OLB)	Curtis Lofton (ILB)	Malcolm Smith (OLB)
Defensive Line	Khalil Mack (DE)	Dan Williams (DT)	Justin Ellis (DT)	Aldon Smith (DE)

In a 4-3 alignment, the Raiders can buffer their resistance in the trenches with a steady diet of meat and potatoes, also known as Dan Williams and Justin Ellis.

Mays would continue to play a hybrid weak-side linebacker role to defend checkdowns and shadow Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph.

Who’s Covering Stefon Diggs?

Minnesota has a new leading wide receiver in rookie Stefon Diggs. He’s eclipsed all receivers in production and recorded two 100-yard games in five contests. 

Player	Targets	Receptions	Yards	Touchdowns	Yards Per Catch
Stefon Diggs	44	28	461	2	16.5
Mike Wallace	48	27	296	1	11.0
Jarius Wright	24	12	192	0	16.0
Charles Johnson	13	9	127	0	14.1

Bridgewater and veteran wideout Mike Wallace continue to struggle in establishing a rapport vertically, per Pro Football Talk’s Josh Alper:

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Stefon Diggs has one more catch in five games this year than Wallace has in eight appearances, which gives an idea of how the pecking order for wideouts has shifted in Minnesota this season. That may not be the way Wallace thought it would go, but complaining about something that’s working is never a good way to find sympathetic ears. 

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With Wallace’s struggles, the Raiders should match their best cornerback, T.J. Carrie, against the Vikings most productive receiver. It’s the easiest decision in this week’s game plan.

Prediction

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The Raiders should overcome the loss of Hudson, who’s doubtful to play on Sunday. Musgrave must alter the game plan a bit, designing more runs toward the edges as opposed to rushing up the middle against standout Vikings defensive tackle Linval Joseph. 

Expect running back Roy Helu’s return to the field as a checkdown option for quarterback Derek Carr in case Bergstrom struggles in pass protection.

Through eight games, Minnesota successfully slowed the pace with physicality and a suffocating pass defense but has yet to play a top-10 scoring offense this season. The Raiders pose the biggest threat to the Vikings defense to date.

Wide receiver Michael Crabtree has emerged as a primary threat over the past two weeks, recording back-to-back 100-yard performances. As a result, Cooper may draw one-on-one coverage on the perimeter against Rhodes, who has surrendered five touchdowns this season.

The Raiders starting safety and No. 1 cornerback rejoin the secondary against a Vikings pass offense out of sync. With Carrie covering Diggs, Oakland’s run defense should find success loading the box against Peterson to seal the victory.

Raiders 23, Vikings 20

In addition to this week's game plan, you can also view the Raiders vs. Vikings preview.

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All statistics are provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com, Pro Football Focus and Team Rankings unless otherwise noted.