Coming off a last second loss in Chicago, morale in the Vikings' locker room was low following the game and fan optimism was not high. A third straight loss to open the season would practically doom the Vikings' chances of 2013 success before the season was even through its first quarter (only three NFL teams since 1990 have made the playoffs with a 0-3 start). The Vikings desperately need a win at home against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, and luckily, the Browns seemed determined to give it to them. Browns' starting quarterback Brandon Weeden is out of this game with a thumb injury, and instead of starting their backup quarterback, Jason Campbell, who has over 70 NFL starts under his belt, they are going to start 3rd string quarterback Brian Hoyer, who has one NFL start and under 100 career pass attempts. Hoyer won't have a ton of support around him, either, as Wednesday Cleveland shocked the NFL when they traded their starting running back Trent Richardson (who was picked #3 overall in the 2012 draft) to the Indianapolis Colts for a first round pick. The jettison of Richardson seemed to send a clear message to the rest of the NFL that the Browns are laying down for the rest of 2013 and playing for the 2014 draft. The Browns have a clear need at quarterback and it seems the front office is doing whatever possible to ensure they have a top selection in 2014 in order to have a chance at a franchise changer. Morale has to be low in Cleveland since the organization has all but directly stated they are punting on 2013, and the Vikings need to take advantage to grab their first win of the season.
While the stars seemed aligned for a Vikings' victory due to the talent the Browns are putting on the field, there will still be several things to look for when these two squads meet up:
Offense
Are the Vikings going to be able to block for AP?
The Vikings have not played up to their talent on their offensive line so far this season, and as a result Adrian Peterson has struggled to get going. Outside of his long opening day touchdown run, Peterson is only averaging 2.7 yards per carry. Peterson admitted to the Star Tribune this week that he wasn't feeling like himself at Chicago, that he wasn't trusting his blocking, but with the lack of lanes forming for him it's no surprise he lost a little faith in his lineman. His blockers played better later in the game during half two, but Peterson is missing his fullback Jerome Felton (who is suspended for one more week) and tight end Rhett Ellison (Ellison barely played in Chicago and is out for Sunday), his two main lead blockers. This offensive line needs to step up and pave the way for the MVP, but it's going to be hard against a tough Cleveland defense that is holding teams to under 60 rushing yards per game this season.
How much Patterson are we going to see?
Through the first two games, the Vikings first round wide receiver, who they traded four draft picks to New England in order to get, has seen only 11 snaps on the field. In his limited action Patterson has at least made an impact for the team, catching three passes for 24 yards (which resulted in two first downs) and taking a kickoff all the way back for a touchdown. Patterson has already flashed the explosive ability that made him so tantalizing a prospect to scouts before the draft, but for some reason the Vikings had largely kept him off the field this season. There's no doubt the Vikings could use Patterson's play-making ability on offense, they don't exactly have a surplus of game-breakers, and coach Leslie Fraizer said his limited playing time will be "rectified" this week in a press conference. It will be interesting to see if Fraizer keep his word, and how exactly the Vikings plan on using their young, explosive talent.
Can the Vikings find the end zone?
The big story at Chicago was the inability of the Vikings to find the end zone if the second half, a failure that led to the Bears' late comeback. The Vikings are going to have to stop settling for threes if they want to have any hope of repeating last year's success, as other teams will be unforgiving if the Vikings cannot put them away. Once the Vikings get into the red zone it will also be interesting to monitor how the offense decides to use Christian Ponder, as no matter how you slice it, taking the ball out of Ponder's hands in the red zone last week shows a lack of confidence in their starting quarterback.
Defense
Will Vikings be able to tee-off on Brian Hoyer?
Jared Allen and Brian Robison must be absolutely salivating at the prospect of facing the Browns this week, as Cleveland has been able to give their quarterbacks almost no protection in the pocket. Through two weeks, Cleveland quarterbacks have already been sacked 11 times on the year, or just one under Jared Allen's total number of sacks a season ago. The Vikings have not been good at getting after the quarterback so far this year, with only one sack in their first two games, but they applied plenty of pressure against Chicago and their defense could get up to full gear if the Browns still can't protect whoever's under center.
How much will Desmond Bishop see the field?
Much like Cordarrelle Patterson, linebacker Desmond Bishop has seen a puzzling lack of action on the field. The Vikings didn't give up a package of draft picks for Bishop, but he is a former Super Bowl winner and the Vikings' linebacking corps have been the team's clear weak link through two games. If the linebackers continue to struggle (somehow) against the Browns offense, the coaching staff needs to give Bishop more of a chance to show what he can do for them on the field. There have simply been too many missed tackles and players out of position and the defense's second level, and the Vikings have a potential solution just waiting on their sideline.
Can this game serve as a palate-cleanser for this defense?
The Vikings defense has been a major disappointment so far this season, as they are currently ranked 29th in yards allowed and 30th in points allowed. After the Bears' game winning drive to end last Sunday there was also some finger pointing in the locker room and plenty of angry players. However, with the Browns basically throwing in the towel on offense, the defense has a chance to step up and turn in a performance that helps erase the memories at Soldier Field. There is no match-up on the field the Vikings should not be able to handle, and the defense need to take advantage of this opportunity to build up momentum and get themselves back on track.
Special Teams
Is kickoff coverage going to improve?
To put this simply, Devin Hester averaged 49 yards per kickoff return over five returns. Cleveland has no one on their roster as talented as Hester, so the Vikings have no excuse for not getting the Browns' return man down. Mike Priefer most likely did plenty of yelling throughout the week, and it would be shocking to see his coverage units have another sloppy performance.
Final Prediction: 21-10 Vikings
The Browns want to lose this game, and the Vikings need a win, so this result should be a foregone conclusion. If this game turns into a nail-biter, or if somehow the Vikings drop this game at home, change is going to start coming to the organization, and the Vikings might start throwing in the towel just as the Browns have done.
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