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Fantasy Index Weekly

Championship Preview: Minnesota Vikings

Road favorite will be hard-pressed to put up good numbers

The Vikings have the momentum of a dramatic win, and the excitement of potentially being the first team to play a Super Bowl in its home stadium. But unlikely they'll have a big game offensively. Minnesota had the league's best defense (yards and points) during the regular season, but Philadelphia's was nearly as good (4th in both categories). The Eagles were shockingly good at home, too, allowing only 11 TDs in eight games. Just one last week, and that was set up by a special teams gaffe.

That's not to say the Vikings won't win. They're favored, and they're a little better, it seems, on both offense (with Carson Wentz injured) and defense. But points will be at a premium, and this game is very likely to come down to just a couple of plays. It wouldn't be surprising if neither team made it over 20 points. The Vikings scored only 1 TD in a 21-10 loss at Philadelphia early last season.

QUARTERBACK: In perhaps one game -- heck, maybe one throw -- Case Keenum made himself a lot of money. His play down the stretch of last week's win over New Orleans ensured he'll be an NFL starter next season, whether it be in Minnesota or somewhere else. And there's a chance he'll come through with average to above-average numbers this week. Philadelphia was below-average against the pass during the season (18th), and allowed more than three times as many touchdowns on passes (24) as runs (7). The Eagles were No. 1 against the run; through the air is definitely the way to move the ball against this defense.

But it wasn't chopped liver, either, especially at home. Including last week, Philadelphia allowed 12 TD passes in nine home games. The last quarterback to throw for more than 210 yards at this stadium was Kirk Cousins way back in Week 7; that includes Matt Ryan last week. Some lesser quarterbacks in there, but the Eagles do some good things on defense. A modest 15th in sacks, but 4th in interceptions.

So not a great matchup. It is, however, the way to move the ball on Philadelphia. Including last week, 11 of the Eagles' 17 opponents were held under 95 rushing yards. Just 3 rushing TDs in those 11 games, as well (7 on the season). So the offense will likely fall on Keenum's shoulders. The vast majority of yards and most likely any touchdowns will come through the air. Of the four quaterbacks playing this weekend, only Tom Brady seems likely to finish with better passing numbers. Sam Bradford passed for 224 yards and a touchdown when Minnesota lost at Philadelphia a year ago.

RUNNING BACK: The Vikings ranked 7th in rushing during the season, but matchups don't get any tougher. Only two teams rushed for more than 112 yards against the Eagles all season, and one was Dallas in a meaningless Week 17 game. Latavius Murray will be the main runner, and he worked out well this year. In the last 10 games of the season he averaged 82 rushing yards and scored 8 TDs, emerging as the clear lead back. Jerick McKinnon slipped into a secondary, passing-downs role; in those same 10 games he averaged 38 rushing yards, but was more involved as a receiver (30 yards per game compared to 7 for Murray). Murray wasn't effective against the Saints (19 for 50), though, and this is a better run defense. McKinnon (8 for 34 with a touchdown) was a little better. Unlikely the duo combines for more than 80-90 yards on the ground, and no more than a 60 percent chance of a rushing score (a combined 22 in 32 games between the sides). At best: no visitor had a rushing touchdown at this stadium all season. Murray is the better bet to punch one in, McKinnon more likely to be involved in the passing game. Last year McKinnon (11-43) and Matt Asiata (12-55) combined for 98 yards at Philadelphia, without scoring.

WIDE RECEIVER: The passing game will primarily go through the wideouts, and Minnesota has a great duo in Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs. Fourteen of the 24 TD passes against the Eagles went to wide receivers, including 8 in the last five games. And Julio Jones (9 for 101) had a big game last week; Mohamed Sanu caught 3 for 50. Thielen sat out Wednesday's practice with a sore back but was practicing on Thursday, so we're assuming he's fine. Thielen was better during the season, averaging 80 yards with 4 TDs, though Diggs was a better scorer: 61 yards per game with 8 TDs. Including last week's game-winner, Diggs has now scored in four straight contests. Jarius Wright caught 3 balls for 56 yards last week, but a repeat looks unlikely. Minnesota didn't have any of its secondary wideouts (including Laquon Treadwell and Michael Floyd) reach 25 yards in any of the last five games of the regular season. Wright was the only one to score (2 TDs), but the last was in Week 10. Thielen and Diggs are basically it.

TIGHT END: The Eagles were pretty solid against tight ends. They allowed 5 TDs to the position; only one in their last 10 games. The main appeal of Kyle Rudolph is as a red-zone threat. He averaged 33 yards per game, but totaled just 26 in his last three. But he caught 8 TDs, and 7 a year ago. He caught 5 balls for 55 yards in the game at Philadelphia. He was also busy last week, seeing 8 targets, catching 5 for 28 yards. He'll likely be the de facto No. 3 in the passing game.

KICKER: Kai Forbath averaged over 8 kicking points during the season. That includes reaching double digits in half of his games, and three of his final four. He had 11 in last week's win, including nailing a clutch 53-yarder that looked like it might be a game-winner (though he also missed from 49). Points will be hard to come by in this one, but there may very well be more field goals than touchdowns.

DEFENSE: Minnesota had one of the league's best defenses during the season, but it was average or worse in most key fantasy areas: sacks (17th), takeaways (23rd) and touchdowns (just 1). Pretty shocking, considering the talent, but unlikely they'll suddenly rise up with a bunch of sacks and takeaways. Nick Foles has limitations, but didn't make a ton of mistakes: 2 interceptions and 5 sacks in about three games worth of action in the regular season, 1 sack and no turnovers last week. Jay Ajayi and Bryan Braman (on a punt) lost fumbles last week, but Minnesota recovered only 5 all year. They were a little better in interceptions (14), plus 2 last week off Drew Brees; that seems to be their best chance of getting a turnover -- especially if they can take a lead and force Foles to take some chances. But not a great fantasy group.

MINNESOTA PLAYER PROJECTIONS
PosPlayerRecRunYardsTDPoints
QBKeenum0102551.4018.9
WRThielen770770.259.2
WRDiggs605650.358.6
RBMurray850580.408.2
PKForbath0000.007.5
TERudolph430430.356.4
D/STVikings0000.116.0
RBMcKinnon2025450.205.7
WRWright150150.052.0
RBHam510150.051.8
WRFloyd5050.051.3
TEMorgan7070.020.8
WRTreadwell5050.050.8

--Andy Richardson

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