The Los Angeles Chargers face the Minnesota Vikings in Week 15 of the 2019 regular season.
The Vikings, who are loaded with talent on both sides of the ball, have five specific players that the Bolts must really hone in on in order to pull off the upset on Sunday.
With that, here are the group of Vikings players the Chargers must game-plan for:
QB Kirk Cousins
The Vikings may have found their long term at quarterback as Cousins is playing at an elite level this season. Cousins has completed 70% of his passes for 3,274 yards and 24 touchdowns. His passer rating of 112.0 ranks second in the NFL.
Cousins hasn’t been susceptible to making mistakes as he’s only thrown four interceptions. This means that the Chargers will have to force him into mistakes by putting him under duress with defensive end Joey Bosa, who’s coming off a two-sack performance, Melvin Ingram and safety Derwin James off the edge.
WR Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs
Cousins will have both weapons this weekend with Thielen returning to action after missing the past four games with a hamstring. When Diggs and Thielen are both on the field, it’s always bound to be a challenge for any secondary.
Diggs enters the game with 56 receptions for 997 yards. He’s been Cousins’ go-to option on the deep ball, leading the league with 12 explosive play catches, which means that passes have traveled 20 yards or more. Of his five touchdowns, four have come on the deep ball.
Thielen only has 27 catches for 391 yards because he’s been out of live game action. But when healthy, he is deadly in the short to intermediate parts of the field, and is prone to make it a challenge on third-down situations where he’s at his best.
Cornerbacks Casey Hayward and Michael Davis are bound to be busy on Sunday. But help from safeties Rayshawn Jenkins, on the deep passes and Adrian Phillips, on third-downs will be key to their defensive success.
RB Dalvin Cook
But wait, there’s more to Minnesota’s offense. In the backfield, Cook has been a deadly option that can beat you in a variety of ways.
Cook is tied for the league lead with 13 rushing touchdowns, ranks No. 4 in the NFL with 1,108 rushing yards and second with 1,611 yards from scrimmage.
The Chargers run defense has improved throughout the course of the season, but clogging up holes and tackling in the open field has still been an issue. They can’t afford any hiccups facing a back like Cook, and they must do so in order to make it a one-dimensional game.
EDGE Danielle Hunter
The Vikings defense ranks in the middle of the pack, but they still possess a handful of playmakers that could make life difficult for the Chargers. Among the group is Hunter, who’s have quite the season.
Hunter is coming off a three-sack performance against the Lions, putting him at 12.5 on the year. He is now the youngest player in NFL history to reach the 50 sack mark, which he accomplished at the age of 25.
Offensive tackles Russell Okung and Sam Tevi, who are coming off a great performance against a stout Jaguars front, must be on their A-game again to keep pressure off of quarterback Philip Rivers.
