RADIO
The Minnesota Vikings enter Thursday night's showdown against the Arizona Cardinals tied for first place in the NFC North. The Vikings are looking to win their first division title since 2009 but do they have enough weapons, on the field and in fantasy lineups, to sustain production?
Teddy Bridgewater is not start-able. Let's not beat around the bush with this one. Bridgewater has been held under 200 passing yards in five of Minnesota's last six games. He's also thrown zero touchdowns in the past two and hasn’t posted multiple scores since week 7; the only time this season he’s thrown more than one.
It also doesn't help that the Vikings run into the Cardinals Thursday. According to Yahoo! Sports, Arizona gives up the eighth fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks, and surrender only 228 yards per game through the air; also the eighth fewest in the NFL. Minnesota also owns the worst red zone scoring proficiency in the league, 30.2%, scoring less than one receiving touchdown, 0.4, a game. Bridgewater has only had about four productive fantasy weeks, making it clear that the Vikings are a predominately running team.
Adrian Peterson is coming off his worst fantasy performance of the season. Against the Seattle Seahawks, AP was held under 50 yards for the first time all year, carrying the ball only eight times for a measly 18 yards. This seems more like a fluke to me. He’ll always be a RB1, and one of the best options at the position, especially with his heavy responsibility inside the 20 yard line. 58.6% of Minnesota's plays in red zone are on the ground.
Peterson’s recent comments about how the Vikings “were out-coached,” according to ESPN.com, shouldn’t provide any backlash, nor should it affect the amount of carries he's assigned this week, which should certainly be a lot higher than eight. Arizona's tough run defense, which has allowed the 9th fewest fantasy points to running backs, nor last week's performance, should make fantasy owners hesitant to start the future Hall-of-Famer.
Wide receiver Stefon Diggs had three huge fantasy days back to back to back, weeks six, seven, and eight, where he grabbed two touchdowns and accumulated over 300 receiving yards. During that span, Diggs was one of the hottest waiver wire pickups, but he hasn't seen similar production since. Against the Seahawks, Diggs was targeted six times, reeling in only two catches for 22 yards. As fantasy owners, we can hope and hope our guys suddenly find magic again, but a week before fantasy playoffs start, production is the only thing that matters. No other receivers are worth a look on the Vikings.
It seems, with the exception of last week, that the Vikings will do all they can to keep the ball out of Bridgewater's hands and corralled in the tight grip of Peterson.
