NFL
By Steve Rogers
What: NFL MN Vikings @ Miami Dolphins
When: 12:00pm CT Sunday, October 16, 2022
Where: Miami Gardens, FL Hard Rock Stadium
How to watch: Fox
Week six is here and the Minnesota Vikings are taking their three-game winning streak on the road again to the east coast. This time down south to Miami to face the Dolphins. First things first this is a regular Sunday day game, at noon. Why does that matter you ask? Because of Kirk Cousins awful record in primetime games. Will a win here change the perplexingly pessimistic perception of the purple? Probably not. Once again the team they are set to face is sacked with injuries, most notably at the quarterback position where we all know about the Tua Tagovailoa situation, but the beloved former Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is also recovering from a concussion and may be cleared to be the back up this Sunday.
That means this week the Miami Dolphins will be starting rookie Skylar Thompson. This will be Thompson’s first NFL career start. Miami has been one of the surprising teams in the AFC this year. They are winning games and even for a week were on top of their division after upsetting the Buffalo Bills. Unfortunately, the injury bug has bitten them pretty hard. They still have probably the fastest set of skill players in the entire NFL with Tyreek Hill, Jalen Waddle, and Raheem Mostert. Their offense has been solid averaging 23 points per game, ironically so have the Vikings. The Dolphins offense is averaging 362 yards per game. The Vikings are averaging 374, a difference of only 12 yards. On defense, the Dolphins are allowing an average of 400 yards total per game, and the Vikings are allowing 383 yards on average per game. A difference of 17 yards advantage again goes to the Vikings. The Dolphins are averaging giving up 26 points per game, and the Vikings are giving up on average 20. A difference of six points is essentially a touchdown difference.
It’s not very often a team goes on the road and is the odds-on favorite let alone by a full three points. That’s just what the Vikings are doing this weekend entering someone else’s home and being favored by a field goal. Knock on wood the Vikings have remained Relatively healthy. With the Dolphins surrendering just over 100 yards rushing per game so this is a great game for Dalvin Cook to get rolling with it being a homecoming game as well from his time at FSU. One key is to get Cook cooking early and often. Key two This is a perfect time for K. J. Osborn, and Jalen Reagor the second tier of wideouts for the Vikings to have bigger roles as the Dolphins are giving up 290 yards of passing on average per game. This brings me to my third offensive key to victory Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen must have huge games to match the Hill and Waddle show aka “The Cheetah” and “The Penguin”.
My three defensive keys to victory. First Danielle Hunter needs to continue to find the dominant form he once had. Hunter should feast on a rookie making his debut. My second key is for the pass rush to be relentless against rookie Thompson. My third key is to have a big game from Harrison Smith This feels like the week he gets an interception, and a sack.
So as I stated earlier the Vikings are favored by 3 points over the Dolphins. The Vikings are 4-0 against the spread this year. The money line is Vikings -165 and the Dolphins +140. The over-under is set at 45. I think this is a game that hits the over with the score being at least 27-24 if not 34-28. So, I would be taking the over this game. Remember as always skol Vikings!
