Know Your Enemy: Tampa Bay vs. Minnesota Q&A With SI's Inside The Vikings!
How hot are the Minnesota Vikings right now? What kind of season has Dalvin Cook had? Which Vikings players should Tampa Bay prepare for?
Every week, Sports Illustrated's AllBucs.com will be joined by the Buccaneers opponent's corresponding Sports Illustrated beat reporter to preview the game. With playoff implications on the line, we're joined by Will Ragatz of Inside the Vikings to preview Tampa Bay vs. Minnesota!
1. Vikings have won five of their last six games and now you're back in the playoff hunt. What can Bucs fans expect to see from this Vikings team on Sunday?
Will Ragatz: They’re going to see a lot of three players on offense. Three weapons for Kirk Cousins. Dalvin Cook is going to be running the ball a lot. He had 38 touches last week which is the most in the NFL in two full years. Justin Jefferson, the breakout rookie from LSU, and Adam Thielen who has been around and producing for a while now.
The offensive line has been shaky and the defense has had a lot of injuries. A lot of young players on playing on defense, which has led to some inconsistencies but a strong offensive unit (that can make some mistakes sometimes). Who knows what to expect!
2. There’s been a lot of discussion about Jefferson. He's topped 1,000 receiving yards, becoming the first Vikings player to do that as a rookie since Randy Moss. Besides him, are there any other young players that you think the Bucs need to watch out for the most?
WR: Outside of Jefferson, a name to keep an eye on is Cam Dantzler. He’s the cornerback the Vikings got in the 3rd round out of Mississippi State. He had a really productive career in the SEC but fell in the draft. He’s missed some time with injuries and was inconsistent early on.
Dantzler struggled earlier this year against good quarterbacks and receivers but he had a breakout game last week against the Jaguars. He was PFF’s highest-graded cornerback in Week 13, tallying his first career interception, his first forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. He was really good in coverage all day. I expect him to have a big role against Mike Evans and Chris Godwin in this game coming up.
3. Bruce Arians just called Dalvin Cook arguably one of the best backs in the league. He’s in that MVP conversation this year. What’s it like having a player like Dalvin Cook on your team?
WR: Dalvin Cook has had a special year. He’s proven himself to be if not the best running back in the league, at least the top four up there with Alvin Kamara, Derrick Henry and Christian McCaffrey.
Cook struggled with injuries in his first few years in the league and had a bit of a breakout season last year, but this season he’s gone to another level. The Vikings have been feeding Cook a ton of carries and receptions out of the backfield, he’s had over 30 touches in four of the last six games. He’s going to have a workload against Tampa. The Vikings love to run the ball. They’re going to play through Cook, and try to get him going. In the red zone he’s going to be a threat to score.
4. As someone who covers this team what do you want to see from them against a team with so many weapons on both sides of the ball?
WR: The Vikings tend to play to the level of their competition. When they were playing teams like the Jaguars and Panthers these past few weeks, those games got dicey but they pulled wins out. Minnesota also went to Lambeau and beat the Packers, they also played Seattle for Monday Night Football and that game was close. I don’t expect this to be a big win for Tampa Bay. I don’t expect a big win for the Vikings either. I think it will be a close game where the Vikings play well.
5. This game could end up being the tiebreaker. What are your predictions for Sunday?
WR: This is a huge game for both teams. The Vikings just worked their way into the No. 7 seed for now with a Cardinals loss last week. If they’re able to beat the Bucs, their playoff odds go up to 70%, and if they lose, they’re down to 20-30%. It’s a big game for the Bucs as well. They don’t want to drop to 7-6 and move down to the 7th seed.
I do think the Bucs will win. Tom Brady never lost to the Vikings when he was with the Patriots. I think it will be close but I think my official prediction when I write it later this week, will be the Bucs by three points.
