Vikings a Big Underdog In Another Crucial Game

The Minnesota Vikings (5-4) will travel to Tampa Bay (6-3) to face the Buccaneers on Sunday. While the Vikings are a four-point underdog on paper, they will surely be boosted by consecutive wins that saw them back to the top of the NFC North.

Cadillac Williams will be active for the game, but the Vikings will certainly be expecting Warrick Dunn to be getting the bulk of the carries. If the Vikings want a shot at winning this game, they need to turn it into a defensive slugfest. If they don't Jeff Garcia will gladly pick them apart en route to a double-digit victory.

Likewise, Tampa Bay is going to have to take some defensive risks against the Vikings. Adrian Peterson is coming off his best performance of the season. Tampa Bay is going to have to keep a safety or a nickle back in the box on first and second downs for a better portion of the game. With Bernard Berrian not catching a single pass in the Vikings 28-27 win over the Packers last week, I would assume that Childress will be looking to get Berrian his touches this week.

Tampa Bay has youth and experience in the secondary. I assume that Ronde Barber will be assigned to Berrian, but Bobby Wade and Sidney Rice will trade shots against rookie corner Aqib Talib. If the Vikings are lucky to get the mismatch of Berrian on Talib, they should be looking to go there.

The Vikings certainly have a shot. If they can achieve offensive balance early, it could make it tough on the Tampa Bay defense. If Adrian Peterson is able to get 100 yards and a touchdown, the Vikings should be in good position to win the game. If Tampa Bay can keep "All Day" quiet, then the Vikings will be forced to go to the interception-prone Frerotte.

Jeff Garcia should certainly enjoy facing one of the league's worst passing defenses. I would expect him to throw for close to 300 yards. If the Vikings can't keep pressure on him defensively through "The Williams Brothers" and Jared Allen, then the Vikings will have a tough time coming away with a victory.

The Vikings have to keep the score in the 20's to have a legitimate shot at a win, though, I think they've shown via the game in New Orleans that they can win in games with higher scorelines.

I hate to do this, but I have to pick against my own team for the second week in a row.

Minnesota 28 Tampa Bay 33