The high flying Falcons are in route to meet the Minnesota Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis this Sunday, and they have winning again on their mind. They dismantled the Buccaneers 56-14 last week, and probably see easy prey in the much beleaguered Vikings. The game is scheduled for a 4:25 kickoff, and will be televised on FOX, or you can watch it online via live stream through one of the links provided below (free with subscription).
If you are a Vikings fan, you have to think you are in some sort of strange nightmare. After the win in St. Louis in week 1, things have become like a bad dream. Since then, Adrian Peterson has been placed on the team's exempt list and gone indefinitely, and now Matt Cassel has a broken foot, just to mention some of the highlights. The Vikings fan can expect a hard time keeping up with the Falcons this week, unless rookie Teddy Bridgewater has some real tricks up his sleeve.
The Falcons are sporting the NFL's top rated offense, with wide receiver Julio Jones pulling in the league's most receiving yards. The Falcons are also expecting Roddy White to be back into strong form. And don't forget Devin Hester, the Viking killer who now plays for the Falcons. You know he wants to be a factor in this one, too.
Nothing against a pretty good Vikings defense, but the Falcons will score points, there is little doubt, so Bridgewater will have to put some points on the board if the Vikings are going to keep up. Cassell was sacked 7 times before he was injured, so the offensive line will need to work hard to keep Bridgewater safe.
The good news for the rookie quarterback, is that Atlanta's defense has not put a lot of pressure on opposing offenses this year. Bridgewater might be able to get some things rolling, and execute. The Vikings haven't figure out what to do out of the backfield really, since losing Peterson. Matt Asiata carried the ball 12 times last week for only 35 yards, but Bridgewater is going to need more help than that to turn this team around offensively.
Wide Receiver Cordarrelle Patterson rushed for 107 yards in the first game of the season, so maybe the team needs to work up some more ways to use him as a rushing threat. Last week he tried it one time, and took a 7 yard loss. The Falcon's defense is not the Saint's defense, so the Vikings might have more success this week. Back to the drawing board for the Vikings.
If you want to watch a live stream of the game, check out NFL Sunday Ticket. If you want to listen on the radio, tune in to the Viking's broadcast at KFAN AM 1130. If you want to listen to the Falcon's call, go to WDEF AM 1370.