Minnesota Vikings at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Key information and first quarter discussion

We’re an hour away from kickoff in Tampa Bay, as your Minnesota Vikings start their playoff push against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 14 action. Let’s get you set up with everything you need to know about today’s contest.

Date and Time: Sunday, 13 December 2020, noon Central time

Location: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

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

Radio Coverage: Vikings Radio Network, Sirius Channel 83, XM Channel 380, SiriusXM App Channel 820

Line: Vikings +6.5, Over/Under 52

Chris’ Prediction: Vikings 28, Buccaneers 27

Three Keys

1) Get some pressure on Tom Brady - The Vikings have never beaten Tom Brady before, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that they can’t get any pressure on him. The Bucs’ passing offense has had some issues this year, but they have some incredibly talented receivers to go against the Vikings’ young secondary. They need to get some heat on Brady if they want to give those youngsters a chance.

2) Keep the offense balanced - Last week, the Vikings gave Dalvin Cook 38 touches in the victory over Jacksonville. Tampa comes into this one with the NFL’s best defense against the run, so this is going to have to be a game where Kirk Cousins and his weaponry step up in a big way. Hopefully they can use the pass to set up the run and open things up a bit for Cook.

3) Come out fired up - One of the unfortunate hallmarks of recent years for the Vikings is that they come out flat in games where they really can’t afford to. The Buccaneers are just one game ahead of the Vikings in the playoff standings, but they’re a very talented football team, and the Vikings can’t afford to get down early as they’ve done over the past couple of weeks. They need to come out with some intensity and get things rolling early.

Know the Foe: Bucs Nation

Twitter: @DailyNorseman

FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/thedailynorseman

As usual, the Open Threads will be rolling out at the start of every quarter, so keep your eyes open for those and move the conversation along accordingly.

With that, here’s hoping that the purple can pull off what would appear to be an upset in this one and celebrate a big victory in about three hours or so.

SKOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL VIKINGS!!!!