Dissecting Most Crucial Matchups in the Vikings' Week 8 Contest with Tampa Bay

Coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Buffalo Bills (4-3), the Minnesota Vikings (2-5) will look to notch a win on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-5) this coming Sunday.

Since defeating the Atlanta Falcons (2-5) at home in Week 4, the Vikings have suffered three consecutive losses to the Green Bay Packers (5-2), Detroit Lions (5-2) and Buffalo. The Vikings' current three-game losing streak has dropped them into fourth place in the NFC North division and severely diminished their playoff chances.

The Vikings will have a golden opportunity to end their current losing streak against a Tampa Bay team who has struggled mightily throughout the 2014 season.

Led by former Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier, the Buccaneers defense currently ranks last in the NFL in yards and points allowed per game allowed per game, according to ESPN. A matchup with an inferior defense may be just what the Vikings and their struggling offense need to get back on track.

Despite appearing to be the better team on paper, the Vikings will still have to prove it on the field this weekend at Raymond James Stadium.

If the Vikings receive strong performances from their players in the following highlighted matchups, they should be in good position to snap their current three-game losing streak and notch that elusive third win of the season.

QB Teddy Bridgewater vs. Tampa Bay Defense

Ann Heisenfelt/Associated Press

Teddy Bridgewater has experienced plenty of growing pains since his exceptional NFL debut against the Falcons. Since passing for more than 300 yards against Atlanta, Bridgewater has failed to eclipse the 200-yard mark, thrown five interceptions, struggled to complete passes and failed to claim his second victory. While some of the blame for his recent failures falls on the shoulders of his offensive line and wide receivers, the facts remain the same.

After facing tough defenses the past two weekends, Bridgewater will look to get back on track against arguably the worst defense in the NFL.

According to ESPN, Tampa Bay ranks dead last in the NFL against the pass, allowing 294.5 yards per game this season. Coincidentally, quarterbacks who have had the luxury of facing the Buccaneers have put together impressive performances.

Quarterback	Completions	Attempts	Passing Yards	Touchdowns	Interceptions	Sacks	Total QBR	QB Rating
Derek Anderson	24	34	230	2	0	1	89.6	108.7
Austin Davis	22	29	235	0	0	2	82.2	99.1
Matt Ryan	21	24	286	3	0	1	99.7	155.9
Drew Brees	35	57	371	2	3	0	33.7	70.1
Ben Roethlisberger	29	40	314	3	0	5	77.2	120.2
Joe Flacco	21	29	306	5	0	0	99.7	146.0

Note: Matt Ryan was replaced by T.J. Yates in Week 3 after the Falcons had built an insurmountable lead.

The biggest issue for Bridgewater this season has been efficiency, as he has managed to complete only 61.1-percent of his passes and thrown five interceptions in four games this season. However, the Tampa Bay defense has allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete 71.4 percent of their passes so far this season. On top of this, the Buccaneers have only intercepted four passes this season, with three coming in one game against Brees and the New Orleans Saints and the fourth against a backup quarterback during a blowout.

As noted earlier, some of Bridgewater's issues may be attributed to offensive line and wide receiver struggles. Similar to Buffalo, Tampa Bay relies heavily on their defensive line to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

However, Tampa Bay's defensive line has managed only nine sacks and 60 total pressures compared to Buffalo's defensive line, which has compiled 24 sacks and 116 total pressures, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Furthermore, Tampa Bay's most frequently used cornerbacks—Alterraun Verner, Johnthan Banks and Leonard Johnson— have allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete 84.1 percent of their passes for 842 yards so far this season.

While Bridgewater has struggled recently, he should be able to find success against a Buccaneers defense that has consistently failed against the pass.

CB Xavier Rhodes vs. WR Vincent Jackson

Reed Hoffmann/Associated Press

One of the bright spots of Minnesota's season so far has been a much-improved pass defense. According to ESPN, the Vikings rank ninth in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game, which is a dramatic improvement from their second-to-last ranked pass defense in 2013.

Second-year cornerback Xavier Rhodes has played an important role in this noticeable improvement. Rhodes began the 2014 season with a couple of ugly performances against the New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints, but has since been very effective in coverage.

Although Rhodes was in coverage for Sammy Watkins' last-second, game-deciding touchdown last weekend, he managed to shut down the impressive wide receiver for the majority of the game. According to Pro Football Focus, Rhodes was targeted five times while covering Watkins, allowing just two receptions for a total of 10 yards.

Rhodes will spend the majority of his time shadowing Vincent Jackson this weekend. While Jackson is often overlooked, he remains one of the league's best receivers. However, his quarterbacks this season have had a difficult time putting the ball in his hands.

According to Pro Football Focus, Jackson has been targeted 59 times—27 more times than the team's next most frequently targeted receiver—but has only managed 25 receptions. His 42.4 percentage of passes caught ranks fourth-lowest among wide receivers this season. Although Jackson leads the Buccaneers with 344 receiving yards, he has been unable to have a greater effect on the Buccaneers offense due to five dropped passes and inconsistent quarterback play.

Jackson has also been virtually nonexistent during the majority of his team's games. Aside from his 144-yard performance against New Orleans in Week 5, Jackson has averaged just 40 receiving yards per game. In fact, he has been held to fewer than 40 receiving yards in three of his six games played this season.

Regardless of how well he has played so far this season, Jackson remains the Buccaneers' best wide receiver and go-to player in their passing offense. While rookie Mike Evans has had some impact this season, Jackson remains the clear-cut favorite for both Mike Glennon and Josh McCown.

If Rhodes can keep Jackson in check, the Tampa Bay offense will struggle to put up points. As a result, how well Rhodes is able to cover Tampa Bay's No. 1 wide receiver will play an important role in deciding the victor of this matchup.

LT Matt Kalil vs. DE Michael Johnson

Rogelio Solis/Associated Press

While offensive linemen do not receive as much recognition as skill-position players, their production is key to any team's success. Unfortunately, the only time an offensive lineman stands out to the general public is when he is struggling. As a result, it should come as no surprise that Matt Kalil has been subject to criticism for much of the 2014 season.

Nearly the entire Vikings offensive line has struggled for much of this season, but it is Kalil who stands out among the group. According to Pro Football Focus, Kalil's struggles in pass protection have resulted in eight sacks, three quarterback hits and 16 hurries for a total of 27 quarterback pressures.

His eight sacks allowed and 27 quarterback pressures are tied for the highest totals in the NFL among tackles and offensive linemen. To add to the misery, his 91.8 pass-blocking efficiency is the worst among offensive linemen this season and is the 12th-worst among tackles since 2010.

Fortunately, Kalil will have an opportunity to build some confidence this weekend against Michael Johnson, who has statistically been one of the worst pass-rushing defensive ends this season.

According to Pro Football Focus, Johnson's 5.2 pass-rushing productivity ranks second-lowest among 4-3 defensive ends this season. Also, Johnson has accounted for an underwhelming nine quarterback pressures, which is tied for the lowest number at his position. Simply put, Johnson has been about as inefficient of a pass-rusher as Kalil has been in pass protection.

Kalil's issues this season have largely been attributed to confidence issues, as he showed during his rookie season that he has Pro Bowl-level talent. These confidence issues are noted and put into perspective by Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus:

"

#Vikings in a real hole with Kalil 1) Benching him might make the crisis of confidence worse. 2) They somehow might not have a better option

— Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) October 14, 2014"

If Kalil continues to struggle this season, the Vikings may not have any other choice but to bench him—regardless of how it affects his confidence—due to the team's top priority being the development of its rookie quarterback. If Bridgewater continues to receive pressure from his blind side, he may never properly develop into the player he has the potential to be.

With that said, Kalil should be able to take advantage of Johnson's ineffectiveness this weekend and, as a result, provide adequate protection for Bridgewater. If Kalil can put together a strong performance, this game could mark a turning point for him, Bridgewater and the Vikings offense.

Other Important Head-to-Head Matchups

C Joe Berger or John Sullivan (Concussion) vs. DT Gerald McCoy

RB Jerick McKinnon vs. LB Lavonte David

DE Everson Griffen vs. LT Anthony Collins

WR Cordarrelle Patterson vs. Tampa Bay Defense

DT Linval Joseph vs. C Evan Dietrich-Smith

LB Anthony Barr vs. RBs Doug Martin and Bobby Rainey

Prediction: Vikings 23, Buccaneers 13

Follow @RobertReidellMN