And these winnable home games are the key to making it happen.
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The Vikings studied Carr heavily prior to the 2014 draft.
The Vikings have won four straight and hope to continue their streak with a win in Oakland.
Carr’s success has been helped by a well-rounded offensive unit which includes an offensive line that has kept Carr driving for most of the year. The reality is that he does not have a high number of overall quarterback pressures beyond those sacks, meaning that his play-to-play impact on pass-rushing attempts is not significant. They are one of only two teams within the top 20 to have played more than eight games already. I want him to be more like that throughout the course of the ballgame. “Those guys all have dominant traits that we like to play to their strengths”.
Week 10 will bring a battle between a strong offense and a strong defense. The offense literally runs through Adrian Peterson, who has logged 169 carries and 758 yards. Part of the problem is that the passing game (ranked 30th with 321.6 yards per game) has certainly struggled, even though Stefon Diggs has become a rising star.
“He passed his first test, so we should be good to go, I think”, said an optimistic Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer.
While Oakland’s offense has been explosive and efficient this season and now ranks No. 8 in the National Football League, the Raiders’ defense has been exploited at times.
“They’re physical up front”, Zimmer said. In fact, there’s only one relevant piece of information on the matter, and that is that the betting underdog comes in with an impressive 4-1 record the last five times they’ve crossed paths. Charles Woodson does a lot of good disguising in the back-end. Cooper has 45 catches for 653 yards and four touchdowns in eight games and if it weren’t for Todd Gurley, he likely would be leading the rookie of the year award standings.
Del Rio’s critique was heavy into the kind of fundamentals he preaches on a regular basis – a few of the same fundamentals that the Raiders were showing a few promise against the Jets in particular. 500 or better, so we’ll find out quickly how legitimate they stand as a contender in the NFC.
The Vikings have to keep an eye on Cooper in the secondary, and they have a depleted linebacking corps with Audie Cole out for the season with a broken ankle, Eric Kendricks trying to return from a rib injury (he sat out practice Wednesday and Thursday) and Anthony Barr missing practice on those days due to a hand injury.
The favored team is 1-5 SU and ATS in the last six games between the Raiders and the Vikings per the OddsShark NFL Database.
“We go against a different defense every week and everybody is pretty solid”, he said. “It’s not always fun, but it’s still good”.
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When you have the better QB and good coaching going into a home game vs. somebody flying in from several time zones away, you can absolutely control the game. With running back Latavius Murray (concussion) cleared to play, the Oakland Raiders should have a more balanced attack, but Cooper remains a dynamic option at wide receiver for fantasy owners.
