Five things to know about the Chiefs’ next opponent: Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings, who haven’t been in Kansas City since 2011, will take on the Chiefs on Sunday in the 13th meeting between the franchises. The Chiefs lead the series 7-5, and that includes a win in the first meeting: Super Bowl IV.
This will be the second straight week an NFC North team will be at Arrowhead, following the Packers, who beat the Chiefs 31-24 on Sunday.
Each week I take an early look at the Chiefs’ next opponent, and here are five things to know about the Vikings, 6-2, ahead of Sunday’s game, which kicks off at noon and will be broadcast on Fox (Ch. 4):
1. Dalvin’s cooking
After dealing with injuries in his first two NFL seasons, Vikings running back Dalvin Cook has been healthy and causing headaches for opposing defenses.
Cook leads the NFL in rushing yards (823) and running touchdowns (nine). Add in his 293 receiving yards and Cook also is the NFL leader in yards from scrimmage (1,116).
On Thursday night, Cook showed off his speed:
The Vikings’ rushing attack also features rookie Alexander Mattison, who has 331 yards in 68 attempts (4.9 yards per attempt).
2. Kirk Cousins
After an uneven start to the season, Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins has been phenomenal in the last four games.
Cousins has completed 91 of 116 passes for (78.4%) for 1,261 yards, 10 touchdowns and only one interception in that span. Minnesota is 4-0 in those games, including a 19-9 victory over Washington on Thursday night.
NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport made an interesting comparison:
Minnesota ranked fourth in the NFL (heading into Sunday) with 43.5% of its drives ending with a score.
3. Expecting a receiver back
The Vikings beat Washington without star receiver Adam Thielen, who had a hamstring injury. But he is expected to return Sunday.
Fellow receiver Stefon Diggs, who was the subject of trade rumors earlier this month, is a happy guy these days. In the past three weeks, Diggs has been on a roll:
This was one of his catches against Washington:
One negative for Diggs: He has fumbled four times this season and lost three of them.
4. Defensive numbers
The Vikings are ranked third in points allowed (16.5), eighth in passing defense (224.5 yards per game) and seventh in rushing defense (89.4 yards per game).
The Vikings are third in the NFL in scoring differential (plus-79), trailing the Patriots and 49ers.
Safety Anthony Harris has three interceptions on the season, while linebacker Eric Kendricks leads the Vikings with 68 tackles.
Danielle Hunter leads Minnesota with eight sacks, including this one in Thursday’s game:
5. Special teams
Minnesota kicker Dan Bailey has missed just two of his 14 field-goal attempts (both in the 40- to 49-yard range), while connecting on 23 of 24 extra-point attempts. When they kick off, the Vikings are just 27th in return average, allowing 27.3 yards per return.
This will be the latest edition of the Colquitt Bowl as Minnesota’s punter is Britton Colquitt, the brother of Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt. Britton, who spent the first six seasons with the Broncos, is averaging 46.6 yards per punt this season.
This story was originally published October 28, 2019 at 10:31 AM.
