Minnesota Vikings vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Preview & Prediction | PFF

Minnesota Vikings vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Preview & Prediction | PFF

uh from Sam Darnold’s current team to Sam Darnold’s old team here. Let’s talk about the Minnesota Vikings as they are traveling to Dublin to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers there. Um and this is going to be a very interesting game because the Steelers are sitting here at 2-1, but a lot of their numbers would tell you that they’re not having a ton of success on the offensive side of the ball this season. So, what are we talking about here with the Steelers when it comes to this matchup versus the Vikings? Yeah, I I think as much as you can. I I mean there’s not a lot working for the Steelers, but you look, Aaron Rogers, despite some of the surface level numbers. Um he’s not throwing the ball downfield well. Uh he’s completed, I believe it’s 56 passes this season and 23 of them have been behind the line of scrimmage. It’s inconsistent downfield. The offensive line’s been inconsistent and I think the X- factor in this look, they have to find a run game eventually. Mason McCormack is their only offensive line. He’s the right He’s he’s the right guard. These are only offensive linemen with a run blocking grade of at least 62. They’re not run blocking well, especially at offensive tackle. They’re not running the ball well. 29th in rushing grade, 31st in yards per carry, 30th in explosive run rate. They’re really, other than when teams, you know, give them free opportunities like the Patriots with all the turnovers or the Jets in week one with all their blown coverages. The Steelers having a hard time manufacturing offense in the air or on the ground, right? So I think when you look at the X factor being the run game in this game, you look at Minnesota and their run defense and they’ve had to adjust a little bit without Blake Cashman there at linebacker. But in their two wins, they have a 91.2 run defense grade. In their loss to Atlanta, they had a 40. So I I think that’s kind of the X- factor. You have to beat this Vikings team physically up front. We got to see if the Steelers are up to the task. I think especially their two tackles. I know I’ve talked about it endlessly, but Brick Jones and Troy Futanu against Andrew Van Ginkle and Jonathan Grard, that’s a really tough matchup. And if the Steelers are going to have any chance, especially to run between the tackles, they have really struggled to run between the tackles. Um they they got to find a way to run the football because if they’re asking Rogers and it’s just like it’s kind of similar to the vibe when the Jets went out to uh went out to England to play the Vikings last year, they just asked Aaron Rogers to do way too much against a very good and very complex defense. Pittsburgh has to find a way to run the ball to set up the rest of their offense. It does feel like, and we kind of talked about this during the offseason, um if if uh Mike Tomlin’s able to get an above 500 record with this current group of Pittsburgh Steelers players, especially on the offensive side of the ball. I mean it’s just uh there there’s dark magic at work here like how how this would happen because you look at them they are two and one on the season but they are two and one because they are the team that often survives if you make mistakes right I mean you look at the first two weeks of the season they’re able to beat the New York Jets I wouldn’t even say because they outplayed him I don’t really think that they outplayed him but the fact of the matter is that the Jets had two massive blow blown coverages that ended up being touchdowns for this team and that was all the difference in the world. They’re able to win that game by two points. Last week, the New England Patriots had more yards, more offensive plays, and a larger time of possession. They control that entire football game. The difference, they fumbled the ball four times and lost it four times. That’s it. And the Steelers win that game. So, if the Vikings do not beat themselves, I think that they should be able to win this game pretty handily, especially for how the Vikings have been running the ball lately, especially last week. Jordan Mason, their running back now with Aaron Jones out, 76.1 rushing grade this season, 214 total rushing yards, 74.2 rush grade on inside and outside zone. So, behind zone blocking schemes in week three with 98 yards. That is what they are leaning into. I love the fact that he has had so much success in those inside and outside zone plays because that allows you to get away from the teeth of that interior defensive line and between the tackles where the Steelers are really stout. So, it makes you run to the sidelines. It sort of neutralizes some of those defensive linemen at times and it’s just what Kevin Oonnell and this Vikings team wants to do. So, I think that’s a big X factor there. But simply put, they just cannot turn the ball over and I hope this isn’t famous last words. I believe in Carson Wentz enough to not do that in this system. I really do. Like we have seen over the last couple of years whether it was uh was him with the Chiefs and then I think it was with the Rams right before that if I’m remembering this correctly. Like Carson Wentz like has had good games. Obviously it didn’t work out during his time as a franchise quarterback and a starter when he was in Philadelphia. But even the spot starting duties, like he has had games where he could play well and they didn’t really need him last week because Isaiah Rogers went God mode and had the highest PFF single game PFF grade of all time at a 99.9 cuz he outscored he outscored the Bengals by himself. That’s I’m going to go out on a limb and say that’s not going to happen this week. But I think that the Vikings can control this game enough to where they’re going to be able to get the victory. I’ve got them winning 21-10. I think the Steelers offense is pretty stagnant against this Brian Flores group. So, I got them winning by double digits. Yeah, I agree. I have it 21 to13 Minnesota. I think Aaron Rogers can, you know, he he can find a way if the Vikings give him opportunities to put points on the board, but I think the Steelers are going to have a hard time putting together long drive, 70, 80 yard drives against Minnesota. And you mentioned that Kevin Oonnell is such a huge factor with Carson Wentz, you know, just getting him to play reasonably well and to just run the system. And I think another big factor is the Vikings got Christian Darasaw back at left tackle last week and they’re getting Jordan Addison back as at wide receiver this week. So you add him to Jefferson and Hawinson, everything else they have there. You mentioned Jordan Mason as well. I just think Minnesota’s better. I I think Pittsburgh’s offense, like you mentioned, is stagnant. I think they’re going to have a hard time putting long drives together. Walt in the chat’s asking who will be drinking Guinness since it’s a meal. If it’s from Ireland, I will be. But if it’s not from Ireland, then I won’t be. It’s It’s different. I’ I’ve said this on this show. I visited Ireland and Dublin this past summer. It’s different. I don’t know. I don’t know what they’re doing. I don’t know if it’s the water they use, whether it’s just the home cooking, whatever it is. Guinness over there, phenomenal. Over here, not nearly as good. Mhm.

PFF’s Dalton Wasserman and Trevor Sikkema preview the matchup between The Minnesota Vikings and The Pittsburgh Steelers.

Get 25% off your PFF Subscription!:
Code: PFFNFLSHOW25
Link: https://go.pff.com/nflshow25

Dominate your fantasy league: http://fantasy.pff.com/
Download the PFF App: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pff-fan…
Join our newsletter: https://forms.gle/maqTaBKcmdPR5Vma6
NFL/NCAA Player Grades: https://www.pff.com/grades

Thank you to our sponsors. If you’re interested in supporting our shows, please reach out to sales@pff.com