Vikings vs. Lions: What Are Experts Saying About Minnesota?

Following a relatively successful three-game homestand, the Minnesota Vikings (6-7) will travel east to take on the Detroit Lions (9-4) at Ford Field.

When the Vikings and the Lions last met during Week 6, the game did not end well for Minnesota. The Lions and their formidable defensive line sacked rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater eight times and held the Vikings offense to a grand total of three points. Minnesota suffered its fourth loss of the season by a final score of 17-3.

While Bridgewater and the Vikings offense put together a few more clunkers on the road to this Week 15 matchup, Minnesota appears considerably more prepared to face the likely playoff-bound Lions this time around.

Bridgewater has been throwing the ball well, and the offensive line has actually been blocking better. Despite a poor overall showing against the New York Jets, the Vikings defense has played borderline exceptional for the large part of this season.

After being eliminated from the playoffs with the St. Louis Rams' loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday, Minnesota no longer has anything tangible to play for. With that said, don't expect Mike Zimmer's team to come out flat against a Lions team that still is yet to claim a definitive playoff spot.

Let's take a look at what the experts have been saying about the Vikings this week.

Brian Hall: Vikings Will Continue Playing Xavier Rhodes on One Side

USA TODAY Sports

When the Vikings selected Xavier Rhodes in the first round of the 2013 NFL draft, there was an expectation that he would some day become the shutdown cornerback they desperately need. Following multiple strong performances in a row and a largely successful season to date, it appears that this day is now.

Despite Rhodes' season-long run of success, which we will dive further into shortly, Mike Zimmer has stated he will continue to use him solely on the right side of the field, as Brian Hall discusses in his recent article for Fox Sports:

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In his first year as the Minnesota Vikings coach, Zimmer holds to playing sides with his young cornerbacks, keeping emerging second-year player Xavier Rhodes on the right side. Matchups like Sunday -- when Minnesota travels to face the Detroit Lions and 6-foot-5, All-Pro receiver Calvin Johnson -- would seem suited to allowing the 6-foot-1 Rhodes to follow Johnson around the field.

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While, in theory, it does make sense to have Rhodes shadow Johnson all day, it is hard to doubt Zimmer at this point. Rhodes showed flashes of brilliance during his first season with the Vikings, but he has been considerably better and far more consistent in his second season with Zimmer as his guide.

According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Rhodes ranks in the top 10 at his position this season in passes defensed (17), opposing quarterback passer rating (63.1) and percentage of passes caught (47.1), despite being targeted 70 times so far this season.

As Hall notes, Rhodes has been the second-best cornerback in the NFL over the past two games—behind only Richard Sherman—according to Pro Football Focus.

Although Rhodes is far from a household name in the NFL community at this point in his career, coaches—especially his own—are beginning to take note, as Zimmer states: 

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Part of the thing I like about it the most right now is the way he competes. He's competing. I think he's starting to develop the mindset that 'Don't let your guy catch the ball,' and to me that's important.  . . .

He's learning so much more about being a professional cornerback this year, I think, than he ever has. In a lot of ways he's still a rookie in my mind. I know he's a second-year guy, but his progression and the progress that he's made has been really, really good.

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The 2014 season—and more specifically, the past two weeks—has been a coming out party for Rhodes. Although he will not exclusively be covering the opposing team's best wide receiver (Johnson) this weekend, it is a role Rhodes should see in the future.

Matt Vensel: Lions Will Challenge Vikings Offensive Line

Jim Mone/Associated Press

The Vikings offensive line has not played well this season—to say the least—and arguably their worst overall performance came in the team's first meeting with the Lions.

While Minnesota's offensive line looks considerably different than it did during Week 6, the challenge of facing Detroit's defensive line remains the same. Matt Vensel discusses this challenge in his recent article for the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

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The 17-3 loss to the Lions in Week 6 was the low point of the season for the Vikings offense, especially their offensive line and their rookie quarterback. The stat that stung most was the eight sacks allowed, though the entire offense had a hand in the season-high sack total, including Teddy Bridgewater, who was on the receiving end of several hard hits in his second NFL start.

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Simply put, the Vikings' Week 6 loss to the Lions featured a brutal offensive showing. While every member of the offense deserves a fair share of the blame, the offensive line contributed greatly to Minnesota's inability to score more than three points.

According to Pro Football Focus, Minnesota's offensive line ranks second-worst in pass-blocking efficiency (74.2), and the Lions defense has recorded 43 sacks to date this season. On paper, this sounds like a recipe for disaster.

The Vikings offensive line will have its hands full with an elite Lions defensive line, which includes Ndamukong Suh and Ziggy Ansah—both of which could end up playing in the Pro Bowl this season.

However, as Vensel notes, the Vikings offensive line has protected Bridgewater considerably better in recent weeks, despite being forced to play backups at multiple positions. The Vikings recent offensive line success, at the very least, argues in favor of a much better performance this weekend:

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After being sacked 13 times in Week 6 and Week 7, Bridgewater has been sacked 13 times the past six games. While far from perfect, the offensive linemen, running backs and tight ends in protection did not allow Bridgewater to be sacked more than three times in any of those games.

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Still, it's hard to imagine Bridgewater not being thrown to the turf on multiple occasions this Sunday. Hopefully the Vikings offensive line can rise to the occasion and hold the Lions defensive line in-check enough to allow Bridgewater an opportunity to make the throws he has been able to make in recent weeks.

Chris Tomasson: Kyle Rudolph Not 100 Percent Healthy

Jim Mone/Associated Press

After signing a massive contract extension this past offseason, Kyle Rudolph was expected to have a breakout season with the Vikings. Unfortunately, 2014 has been very similar to recent seasons for the former second-round draft selection, as he has spent most of year struggling with injuries.

Since returning from injury roughly halfway through November, Rudolph has been a non-factor in the Vikings offense. However, according to a recent article by Chris Tomasson of the Saint Paul Pioneer Press, this is likely due to lingering effects from undergoing hernia surgery earlier this season.

Tomasson recently spoke with Vikings offensive coordinator Norv Turner, who revealed an interesting piece of information about Rudolph:

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I don't think he'll be all the way back until we get into camp next year. When you have that type of procedure, I think it takes a while to recover. I think he's working hard at it, and he's a competitive guy, but he doesn't have the same quickness and burst (as) when we broke camp. ... He's doing a nice job playing at less than 100 percent.

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While he was supposed to be a "safety blanket" for Bridgewater this season, it appears that Bridgewater will have to wait until next season before having the luxury of a fully healthy Rudolph.

With nothing but development to play for this season, it is a bit surprising the Vikings haven't shut down their Pro Bowl tight end, effectively keeping him from sustaining further injury and forcing him to miss more time down the road.

Make no mistake—Rudolph is still plenty capable of having an effect even when he isn't 100 percent healthy. Although he has only totaled more than 10 receiving yards once since returning from injury, he does have a receiving game and put together a solid performance against the Green Bay Packers.

Rudolph did play 56 offensive snaps last weekend against the Jets—according to Pro Football Focus—but it would only make sense for this number to slowly diminish with the Vikings eliminated from playoff contention.

Personally, I would take Rhett Ellison and Chase Ford for the rest of the season if it means a fully healthy Rudolph in 2015.

Master Tesfatsion: Zimmer Wants to Utilize Joe Banyard, Ben Tate More

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With Adrian Peterson suspended and Jerick McKinnon injured, the Vikings have been "forced" to start Matt Asiata at running back the past few weeks. Asiata has been extremely inefficient—particularly against the Jets last weekend—but there are two other capable running backs on the Vikings roster.

According to Master Tesfatsion's recent article for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Zimmer plans to utilize running backs Joe Banyard and Ben Tate more in the coming weeks:

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I think Matt probably had a few too many carries [last Sunday]. We’d like to get Ben a few more carries this week as well, and so we’ll see. Sometimes you just get in the flow of games and things happen. Unless you pre-script it and say, ‘This series, this series.’ Sometimes that’s just the way it goes, but Matt probably got a few too many and those other guys probably got a few too less.

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Asiata received 19 carries against the Jets last Sunday, totaling just 54 rushing yards for a per-carry average of 2.8. He also added three receptions for 10 yards.

On the other hand, Tate received three carries and Banyard rushed the ball just once. The Tate-Banyard running back combination totaled 24 rushing yards, nearly half of Asiata's 19-carry total, on 15 fewer carries.

Based on just these basic statistics alone, it only makes sense for Banyard and Tate to receive more carries. While Banyard has spent the majority of his NFL career on the practice squad, Tate has had plenty of success throughout his career.

Tate, who joined the Vikings just under a month ago, has spent most of his time learning the Vikings' playbook and adjusting to Turner's rushing scheme. With a few weeks of practice under his belt and Asiata struggling considerably, it should come as no surprise if he receives the majority of Minnesota's rushing attempts this Sunday.

Moving forward, Asiata realistically should receive the fewest carries out of the three active Vikings running backs. He has been strong in goal-line situations, but aside from that, Asiata has shown very little talent at the running back position.

Now that Zimmer has made it official that he would like to utilize Tate and Banyard more often, expect to see noticeably more explosiveness from the Vikings rushing attack in the coming weeks.

Ben Goessling: Vikings Will Have to Be Aware of Calvin Johnson This Time

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

It certainly wasn't the Vikings defense's fault when the team lost to the Lions back in Week 6. However, the Lions were missing a crucial member of their offense—Megatron.

As noted by Ben Goessling in his recent article for ESPN, the Vikings will not be so lucky this time around, as Calvin Johnson will be on the field for the Lions this weekend. Zimmer talked about his explosiveness to Goessling: 

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He can change the game so fast. Like, on the one long ball last year (when Zimmer faced Johnson as the Bengals' defensive coordinator), the quarterback scrambled around, and he sees that guy back there, and just throws it up because he knows he can go get it. It just ends up being a long jump ball.

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Johnson may not be having a spectacular season statistically—largely due to an injury that forced him to miss multiple games—but he remains a special athlete, capable of creating a mismatch against nearly every NFL defensive back.

According to ESPN, Johnson has still managed to catch 57 balls for 882 receiving yards and six touchdowns this season, despite playing in only 10 games. In comparison, Greg Jennings, who has played in 13 games this year, has amassed just 598 receiving yards and four touchdown receptions.

As noted earlier, it will not strictly be Rhodes covering Johnson this weekend. The much shorter Captain Munnerlyn and Josh Robinson—who has struggled in coverage against tall wide receivers this season—will also be matched up with the 6'5" Johnson. Goessling noted: 

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Johnson has caught 36 of his 57 passes, and run 181 of his 346 routes, from the right side of the field, according to ESPN Stats and Information. That means he'll be matched up on Captain Munnerlyn and Josh Robinson as much or more than he'll see Rhodes, if the Vikings use their cornerbacks the same way they have all season. 

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Shutting down Johnson completely is never the expectation for opposing defenses, and it surely won't be for the Vikings either. Per usual, minimizing the damage will be the goal—something the Vikings have not done too well in the past.

According to Pro-Football-Reference.com, Johnson has caught 62 passes for 873 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in 12 games against the Vikings throughout illustrious career.

To put it simply, it should be expected that Johnson will put together a solid performance against the Vikings (again) this weekend. Rhodes won't be covering him the entire time, and on paper, Johnson has a clear-cut advantage over both Munnerlyn and Robinson.

For more Vikings news, analysis and discussion, follow me on Twitter @RobertReidell