Oakland Raiders at Minnesota Vikings: Key information and first quarter discussion

Today, the Minnesota Vikings make their return to U.S. Bank Stadium for their first inter-conference matchup of the 2019 season. They will host the Oakland Raiders in an effort to move past the disappointment of the loss in Week 2 and attempt to get themselves back on track.

Here is everything that you need to know about today’s game:

Date and Time: Sunday, 22 September 2019, 12:00 PM Central

Location: U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Television Coverage: KSTP-9 in the Twin Cities, FOX affiliates across the country, DirecTV Channel 711

Radio coverage: Vikings Radio Network, Sirius Channel 146, XM Channel 231, SiriusXM App Channel 819

Line: Minnesota -9, Over/Under 43.5

Chris’ Prediction: Minnesota 31, Oakland 17

Three keys

1) No slow starts - The focus after the loss last Sunday was on quarterback Kirk Cousins, and that’s understandable. However, the Minnesota defense didn’t get off the bus until the second quarter started, as the Green Bay offense had their way with them during the first fifteen minutes. Even though they’re at home, they can’t afford the same sort of slow start in this one, so hopefully both sides of the ball will be ready to play from the opening gun.

2) Performance on special teams - On paper, the Vikings are a better team than the Raiders, but one way that can be evened out is by the Vikings making mistakes on special teams. Dan Bailey missed a field goal and had a (longer because of penalty) extra point blocked, and those are the sorts of plays that could give the Raiders a boost. The special teams need to be better for the Vikings this afternoon.

3) Remain aggressive on defense - The Raiders have some talent on offense, but the Vikings should be able to put together a solid performance against them. The Raiders got off to an early 10-0 lead in their game against the Chiefs last weekend, but were held scoreless for the final three quarters at home by a Kansas City defense that isn’t as talented as Minnesota’s. The home crowd should be rocking this afternoon, and hopefully we’ll see Everson Griffen, Danielle Hunter, and the rest of the crew take advantage of that to make Derek Carr’s afternoon miserable.

Know the Foe: Silver and Black Pride

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Once again, the new Open Threads will be popping up right after the end of each quarter, so make sure to keep your eyes open for those. Here’s hoping that the Vikings can get their second win of the 2019 season with a big win this afternoon.

SKOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL VIKINGS!!!!