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Good morning and Skol!!!



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The Vikings and Raiders meet on Sunday in a pivotal matchup between two of the NFL's biggest first-half surprises.


When the NFL schedule was released in April, probably the most intriguing thing about Sunday's game between the Minnesota Vikings and Oakland Raiders was that it would be the first time Teddy Bridgewater and Derek Carr, who were taken four picks apart in the 2014 draft, would face off as NFL starting quarterbacks.

While that storyline is still interesting, there are far bigger implications for both teams in this matchup featuring two of the NFL's biggest surprises.

The Vikings were a popular preseason darkhorse pick to make the playoffs, but few envisioned that they'd be where they are now at the season's halfway point. Riding a four-game win streak, its longest since 2012, Minnesota is 6-2 and tied atop the NFC North with the Packers. Staying there, however, won't be easy.

The Vikings have faced the easiest schedule in the NFL to date, per Football Outsiders, and their future slate ranks as the league's hardest. The Vikings' six wins have come against teams with a combined win percentage of .286, the second-worst "strength of victory" in the conference, and have yet to beat anyone with a winning record. That could be a problem for Minnesota, given that its only remaining game against a sub-.500 team is Week 15 versus the Bears.

The Raiders don't have the gaudy record of the Vikings, but the long-suffering fans in Oakland are likely still happy to be rooting for a 4-4 team that has already surpassed its win total from last year. Although they are currently on the periphery of the wild-card race, Football Outsiders' projections are optimistic about their postseason chances, giving them 39.3 percent odds to make the playoffs for the first time since 2002.

The experts are heavily favoring the home team in this matchup, thinking that the Raiders will beat the Vikings to get back above. 500. Over at CBS Sports, seven of the eight guys have Oakland, and the majority of ESPN's crew is also picking the Raiders. Here at SB Nation, our fearless group has the Raiders by a 6-1 margin.


Ryan Van Bibber Stephen White Joel Thorman David Fucillo Danny Kelly Matt Ufford OddsShark
OAK OAK MIN OAK OAK OAK OAK


(http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2015/11/14/ ... ns-week-10)

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I've got a weird feeling about this game. I think it's going to be a strange one. Flukey plays and turnovers maybe.

Vikings 29, Raiders 26

yezzir wrote: The experts are heavily favoring the home team in this matchup, thinking that the Raiders will beat the Vikings to get back above. 500. Over at CBS Sports, seven of the eight guys have Oakland, and the majority of ESPN's crew is also picking the Raiders. Here at SB Nation, our fearless group has the Raiders by a 6-1 margin.

Over at Pickwatch, 79% of all the talking head have picked the Raiders to win. Vegas has them at 3 point underdogs. Which means they feel the teams are evenly matched since you get 3 points for being at home.

Should be a good game. The only question I have. Can we stop Carr? If they can hold him to 2 TD's I think we can win.

Hey all! Greetings from Utah.
Been on the road and lurking here and there. The only 2 games I've seen were SF and Denver, so I won't watch another until they lose. I don't think that will happen today.
I'm seeing a huge day for AD which will help limit Carr and his offense from running up a score.
I wanted Carr in purple and am happy to see him doing so good thus far...but I think TB will figure it out mechanically before long and the Vikes will be satisfied with him.
Love this defense and I think this will be a signature game for Zimmer in that respect.
It could just as likely go in the Raiders favor, but from what I've seen they have a tendencey to shoot themselves in the foot at critical moments.
So, big day for AD (150 2td) and a couple take aways for the purple.
Enjoy the game! See ya around~

Raptorman wrote:Over at Pickwatch, 79% of all the talking head have picked the Raiders to win. Vegas has them at 3 point underdogs. Which means they feel the teams are evenly matched since you get 3 points for being at home.

Should be a good game. The only question I have. Can we stop Carr? If they can hold him to 2 TD's I think we can win.

We're catching a break that Hudson probably won't play in this game. That could help the interior of the Vikings defensive line break down the pocket.

I expect the Raiders to attack Rhodes today.

The Breeze wrote:Hey all! Greetings from Utah.
Been on the road and lurking here and there. The only 2 games I've seen were SF and Denver, so I won't watch another until they lose. I don't think that will happen today.
I'm seeing a huge day for AD which will help limit Carr and his offense from running up a score.
I wanted Carr in purple and am happy to see him doing so good thus far... but I think TB will figure it out mechanically before long and the Vikes will be satisfied with him.
Love this defense and I think this will be a signature game for Zimmer in that respect.
It could just as likely go in the Raiders favor, but from what I've seen they have a tendencey to shoot themselves in the foot at critical moments.
So, big day for AD (150 2td) and a couple take aways for the purple.
Enjoy the game! See ya around~

I wanted Carr too. I'm hoping Bridgewater has the kind of performance today that will help convince me the Vikes made the right choice in choosing him instead.

It's good to see you posting!

If the Viks D cant slow down Carr and company it will be a long day because our offense just has not shown anything in regards to keeping up. Will be at my sons basketball game that starts at kickoff so will have to play catch up after.

Raptorman wrote: Over at Pickwatch, 79% of all the talking head have picked the Raiders to win. Vegas has them at 3 point underdogs. Which means they feel the teams are evenly matched since you get 3 points for being at home.

Should be a good game. The only question I have. Can we stop Carr? If they can hold him to 2 TD's I think we can win.

I'm eager to see what the Raiders offensive game plan is for today. The easy answer is that the Vikings need to keep applying pressure on the QB. But how will the Raiders combat our good pass rush? Should be interesting to see Carr calling out audibles, etc.

The Raiders pass defense is poor. Teddy could have a big game.

I think Zimm's defense and a Vikings passing game could go a long way in justifying a 7-2 record after today.

The best play by play guy in the country weighs in:

Paul Allen ‏@PAOnTheMic 56m56 minutes ago

Rained here all morning. Seems to have cleared. Not windy at this stage for #Vikings #Raiders. I am super pumped up, can't wait to call it.

Universal thought...
I love touchdowns
I tolerate field goals...red zone creativity please, or simply brute force at the 1. I don't care...go Vikes!

...wisdom

I just noticed we don't start till 3.

yezzir wrote:I just noticed we don't start till 3.

bunch of good games going on now though!
J. Cutler 1/1 87 1 0, Good stats huh?
Gbay lions, I'm watching Eagles Dolphins while I wait as well.

Currently watching the Packers/Lions game. Hope the Lions can find some way to win.

akvikingsfan wrote:Currently watching the Packers/Lions game. Hope the Lions can find some way to win.

Defensively they're doing alright but man is their offense just garbage at the moment, hope Stafford can whip up some momentum.

I can see a few possible upsets happening today. Browns, Titans, maybe the Bucs too.

Too bad the Vikings don't play the Saints this year. It sure would pad the offensive stats we're all craving for.

I really hate when the Vikes don't play a early game. This includes playing the second game, Sunday Night, Monday Night and Thursday Night. I like to wake up on Sundays and have the game about to start (living in Cali the early games start at 10 and when I was in Alaska they started at 9). Having to wait until 1300 is killer for me.