Dissecting Most Crucial Matchups in the Vikings' Week 9 Contest with Washington

After a short two-game road trip, the Minnesota Vikings (3-5) will head home to meet the Washington Redskins (3-5) at TCF Bank Stadium this Sunday. Both Minnesota and Washington are coming off thrilling overtime victories against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-6) and Dallas Cowboys (6-2), respectively.

With their three-game losing streak in the past, the Vikings will attempt to start a winning streak against a Redskins team that has struggled for a large part of this season. However, Washington has won back-to-back games in recent weeks and will not be a pushover for Minnesota and its statistically subpar offense.

Minnesota has won three of its past four matchups with Washington, with its most recent victory coming last November, according to Pro Football Reference. While the Vikings have faired well against the Redskins in recent years, the box score will likely look much different this time around, as both Minnesota and Washington went through dramatic personnel changes this past offseason.

Both the Vikings and Redskins own unfavorable 3-5 records and are attempting to prove their critics wrong by clawing back into playoff contention in their respective divisions. Given the circumstances, this should prove to be a competitive contest between two teams that generally are not held in high regard by NFL analysts.

The Vikings have seen their previous two games be decided by a touchdown or less, and it should come as no surprise if their matchup with the Redskins this weekend yields similar results. Keeping this in mind, the following highlighted matchups will play a decisive role in determining which of these two teams takes another step toward playoff contention.

RT Phil Loadholt vs. LB Ryan Kerrigan

Adam Bettcher/Getty Images

The Vikings offensive line was expected to be a strength entering the 2014 season. Through eight games, however, it has been the exact opposite. Left tackle Matt Kalil has received the majority of the blame for Minnesota's offensive line issues, but the unit as a whole has been dreadful. In fact, right tackle Phil Loadholt has quietly struggled almost as much as Kalil this season.

Name	Pass Blocking Snaps	Sacks Allowed	Hits Allowed	Hurries Allowed	Total Pressures Allowed	Pass Blocking Efficiency
Matt Kalil	314	4	2	20	26	93.5
Phil Loadholt	314	8	4	20	32	91.7

According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Loadholt has recorded a 93.5 pass-blocking efficiency, which is fifth-worst among 22 offensive tackles who have registered 280 or more pass-blocking snaps. His 20 quarterback hurries allowed are tied for the second-highest total with Kalil, and his 26 total quarterback pressures are tied for fourth most.

Kalil may be the scapegoat for the Vikings' offensive line issues, but Loadholt certainly deserves a large portion of the blame.

While Loadholt is better known for his run blocking, he will have to perform better as a pass-blocker this weekend. Generally, Kalil draws the opposing team's best pass-rusher, but Redskins linebacker Ryan Kerrigan's pass rush is from the left side 78.6 percent of the time, according to Pro Football Focus.

Kerrigan has been a problem for opposing defensive lines all season. His Week 2 performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars was particularly impressive.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Jaguars right tackle Cameron Bradfield was the unfortunate offensive lineman in charge of containing him. As shown above, Kerrigan was able to blow right by Bradfield on his way to one of four sacks on then-quarterback Chad Henne. Bradfield simply had no answer for Kerrigan and was subsequently released by the Jaguars.

In order to prove just how overmatched Bradfield was by Kerrigan, here is a video of the same play:

"

#Redskins Ryan Kerrigan Goes Right Through #Jaguars Cameron Bradfield (Week 2 2014) https://t.co/T50AZhtOFf

— Robert Reidell (@RobertReidellMN) October 29, 2014"

According to Pro Football Focus, Kerrigan ranks in the top three among 3-4 outside linebackers in sacks (7), hurries (24) and total pressures (37). Appropriately, Kerrigan ranks second in pass-rushing productivity (12.7) as well as first in tackle efficiency (27.0) and fourth in run-stopping percentage (5.1).

With Brian Orakpo out with an injury, Kerrigan is the Redskins' best all-around defensive player and arguably their best pass-rusher. Loadholt, who is coming off one of his better performances this season against Tampa Bay, will need to find a way to contain him Sunday. If the Loadholt can't find a way to slow down Kerrigan, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and the Vikings will have a tough time winning this game.

QB Teddy Bridgewater vs. DC Jim Haslett

Reinhold Matay/Associated Press

After a (relatively) strong performance against the Buccaneers, Bridgewater will look to claim his third career victory against Jim Haslett and the Redskins defense.

Haslett showed the world his blitzing tendency against the Cowboys on Monday Night Football. While he may have blitzed more often than usual, frequent blitzing has been a staple of Haslett's defense in recent seasons. According to Pro Football Focus, Haslett called for a blitz on 32.57 percent of opposing quarterback dropbacks last season, which ranked 11th in the NFL.

This tendency and defensive style has remained consistent throughout this season as well.

Starting Quarterback	Dropbacks	Blitz	Blitz Percentage
Ryan Fitzpatrick	24	14	58.3%
Chad Henne	40	18	45%
Nick Foles	43	14	32.3%
Eli Manning	41	12	29.3%
Russell Wilson	32	14	43.8%
Carson Palmer	45	13	28.9%
Charlie Whitehurst	29	6	20.7%
Tony Romo	34	18	52.9%
Total	288	109	37.8%

While Haslett did blitz Romo on an absurd 52.9 percent of his dropbacks, this high percentage was hardly an outlier. In fact, he actually dialed up blitzes at a higher rate against Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Houston Texans.

Given that Haslett had plenty of success utilizing the blitz in Week 8 and the fact that Bridgewater is a rookie, it should be an expectation that Haslett will call for the blitz more frequently than his 37.8 percent average suggests against the Vikings this weekend.

Generally speaking, young quarterbacks struggle against the blitz because it forces them to make decisions faster than they would like. While it is a small sample size, Bridgewater has performed well against the blitz this season. In fact, his statistics are actually better against the blitz.

Team	Attempts	Completions	Completion Percentage	Yards	Touchdowns	Interceptions	Quarterback Rating
Atlanta Falcons	9	6	66.7%	98	0	0	103.0
Detroit Lions	11	6	54.5%	52	0	1	29.4
Buffalo Bills	9	7	77.8%	47	1	0	125.5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	9	6	66.7%	66	0	0	88.2
Total	47	31	66.0%	333	1	1	84.8

According to Pro Football Focus, Bridgewater has recorded an 84.8 quarterback rating against the blitz this season, which is a fairly dramatic increase from his 65.4 quarterback rating when he is not blitzed. Additionally, all five of his interceptions have come under no pressure.

Rhetorically, the purpose of a blitz is to put pressure on the opposing quarterback. While the following play was not a result of a blitz, it is an example of Bridgewater under circumstances that a good blitz frequently will produce.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

On the surface, this picture only appears to show Bridgewater getting off a pass in spite of a tremendous amount of defensive line pressure. However, this pass attempt resulted in a touchdown completion to Greg Jennings. Arguably Bridgewater's best pass of the season, the ball dropped perfectly into Jennings' hands over the top of Buccaneers cornerback Alterraun Verner. Here is a video of the full play courtesy of Winner Choice Sports:

"

BRIDGEWATER @teddyb_h2o to JENNINGS!! #touchdown @Vikings https://t.co/ecRJK471UB @VikingsHuddle @VikingsPR @Murphy80Todd @darylfoust4 #L1C4

— WinnersChoiceSports (@StahlDJ17) October 27, 2014"

As you can see, Bridgewater delivered a perfect ball despite having a defensive lineman barreling into him.

If Bridgewater can perform well against the blitz, as his statistics suggest he can, the Vikings will have an advantage over close to 40 percent of Haslett's defensive approach.

HC Mike Zimmer vs. HC Jay Gruden

Bill Wippert/Associated Press

At this time last year Mike Zimmer and Jay Gruden were opposing one another on a practice field as the defensive and offensive coordinator for Marvin Lewis and the Cincinnati Bengals. This season, however, Zimmer's defense will attempt to stop Gruden's offense on a much bigger stage than the Bengals' practice field.

Following a very successful six-year tenure with the Bengals, Zimmer was named head coach of the Vikings this past offseason. Although Zimmer's 3-5 record may not show it, he has dramatically improved a Minnesota defense that ranked 31st in total yards allowed in 2013.

According to ESPN.com, the Vikings defense ranks eighth overall in net yards allowed per game, allowing an average of just 323.8 yards. This dramatic improvement is largely due to an improved passing defense, which ranks fourth in the NFL and is allowing just 212.1 net yards per game.

Additionally, the Vikings defense ranks second in the NFL with 25 quarterback sacks and has scored two defensive touchdowns. However, Minnesota's 17th-ranked run defense, which is allowing opposing offenses to average 111.6 net yards per game, remains a work in progress.

Similarly to Zimmer, Gruden has translated his offensive success with the Bengals to his new team. Despite losing franchise quarterback Robert Griffin III to injury during the team's Week 2 contest with the Jaguars, Gruden's offense is averaging a seventh-ranked 391.9 net yards per game.

Behind backup quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy, the Redskins' fifth-ranked aerial attack has averaged 289.5 net passing yards per game. However, Alfred Morris and the Washington run offense has been subpar to date, averaging a 19th-ranked 102.4 net yards per game.

Even with completely different personnel, Zimmer and Gruden have managed to produce similar results to their top-ranked units in Cincinnati last season. With that said, it is safe to assume both first-time head coaches are missed by their old team, since the Bengals rank 16th in total offense and 30th in total defense through seven games this season.

If Zimmer can find a way to contain his former colleague's imposing offense, the Vikings will be in a great position to take control of this game and claim their fourth victory of the season. Gruden's offense may produce a ton of yards, but his offensive unit has only produced an average of 21.4 points per game this season.

All wins look the same in the record books, but some wins just mean more than others. In theory, a win over a former colleague meets this standard.

Other Important Head-to-Head Matchups

CB Xavier Rhodes vs. WR DeSean Jackson

LB Anthony Barr vs. TE Jordan Reed

WR Greg Jennings vs. CB Bashaud Breeland

DE Everson Griffen vs. LT Trent Williams

DT Sharrif Floyd vs. C Kory Lichtensteiger

Prediction Vikings 17, Redskins 10

Follow @RobertReidellMN