The Washington Commanders are coming off of a brutal 27-26 overtime loss to the Broncos. But this week they will have a chance at bouncing back against another team that is on a losing streak, the Minnesota Vikings. Today, we take a look at five key players for the Vikings to look out for on Sunday.
WR Justin Jefferson
Jefferson is highly regarded as a top five wide receiver in the league if not the best wide receiver in the league. Jefferson might only be 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, but he has long arms and is extremely athletic that helps give him one of the largest catch radius’ in the league. With the Vikings troubles at quarterback this season, it has been a slight down year for Jefferson. However, Jefferson still has 62 receptions for 799 yards and two touchdowns through 12 games this season. With the Commanders not having Marshon Lattimore and Trey Amos for this week’s game, look for the Vikings to try and target Jefferson early and often to try and give the passing attack some confidence back.
QBs JJ McCarthy, Max Brosmer
This year has been one that Vikings fans will want to forget when it comes to quarterback play this season. Three different quarterbacks have started games this season. Carson Wentz, who looked better than the other two have is out for the rest of the season. JJ McCarthy, the former first round pick has been sidelined by a sprained ankle and now a concussion during times this season is currently questionable to be available against the Commanders. And Max Brosmer, who is their third string quarterback, is 24/38 on the season for just 168 yards and has zero touchdowns to four interceptions. If McCarthy clears concussion protocol by Sunday he will start for the Vikings. On the season, McCarthy is 86/159 for 929 yards with six touchdowns and ten interceptions. Facing a team like the Commanders who have a depleted secondary, no matter who starts at QB, look for the Vikings to try and get their struggling quarterbacks going to gain some confidence going into the final weeks of the regular season.
DL Jonathan Allen
Allen is a very familiar name as he was in Washington for his first eight years of his career. This past offseason, Allen signed with the Vikings on a three year, 51 million dollar deal. This season the former Commander has 46 total tackles, five tackles for loss, and two and a half sacks on the year. With Jayden Daniels possibly back this week after recovering from an elbow injury, the Commanders might look to try and get their run game going. Allen leads the Vikings in total tackles by a defensive lineman and will look to keep the Commanders from getting any help from their run game in between the tackles.
EDGE Dallas Turner
The second year edge rusher currently leads the Vikings in sacks with five and a half on the season so far. Turner also has 46 total tackles, eight tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles. In a Brian Flores led defense, one thing that is guaranteed is Flores will do anything he can to get his defense after the quarterback with multiple blitzes from multiple spots. With the extra blitzers, that can leave Turner on the outside with one on one matchups against Josh Conerly and Laremy Tunsil who have given up a combined six sacks on the season according to PFF.
K Will Reichard
So far this season, Reichard has been very solid for the Vikings going a perfect 19/19 on extra points, and 21/23 on field goal attempts with his only misses being from 50+ yards. In a game between two teams that are seemingly out of the playoff race and battling to gain some momentum for the rest of the season, the kicking game could be something that could be very important. The Commanders this season have not had the luxury of having a consistent kicker. They have had three different kickers this season, with their main kicker, Matt Gay, being 13/19 on field goals on the season. Last week it was Jake Moody that got the nod and went a perfect 2/2 on field goals and PATs. If the game is as close as Vegas thinks (Commanders are +1.5 on DraftKings), the game could very well come down to a final kick to win the game.
The Commanders are on a seven-game losing streak. With a struggling team like the Vikings next up, the Commanders will be looking to get back into the win column and gain some momentum heading into next season. In order to get the win, the Commanders will need to keep these five players in check on Sunday.
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