Here is what you need to know on this Sunday, November 12, seven days before the Washington Redskins play the New Orleans Saints at Mercedes Benz Superdome.
Timeline
Today’s schedule: #RedskinsTalk Tailgate, Orange Lot A (look for the satellite truck), 11 a.m.; Redskins Kickoff noon, NBC Sports Washington; Redskins vs Vikings 1 p.m. FOX
Days until:
—Redskins @ Saints (11/9) 7
—Giants @ Redskins Thanksgiving (11/23) 11
—Redskins @ Cowboys Thursday night (11/30) 18
Key Redskins injury updates
Out: DE Ioannidis (hand), DE Jones (shoulder)
Questionable: WR Crowder (hamstring), TE Reed (hamstring), T Williams (knee), G Scherff (knee), C Long (knees), T Nsekhe (core muscle), TE Paul (concussion)
Full injury report here. The headliner is that Trent Williams practiced for the first time in over a month and there are reports that he and Jamison Crowder will play on Sunday.
Final thoughts on Redskins vs Vikings
Latest injury news: According to media reports this morning, the Redskins will have Jamison Crowder and Trent Williams in the lineup but Jordan Reed’s hamstring will keep him out for at least another week. Crowder had his best game of the season with 123 receiving yards against Dallas before sitting out with a hamstring in Seattle a week ago. Williams practiced for the first time in over a month on Friday. While his knee will not be fully healed until he gets surgery, he still is the best option to keep defensive end Everson Griffen, who has 10 sacks on the year, out of the backfield.
Strength of schedule: The Vikings are 6-2 and they have won four games in a row against teams that are currently .500 or worse. Overall, their opponents have won 29 games and have a .446 winning percentage. The Redskins are 4-4 against the toughest schedule in the league. Five of their opponents are in the “if the season ended today” playoff picture and the Cowboys are just a half game out. Their opponents have won 43 games and they have a .614 winning percentage. If Washington and Minnesota had played each other’s schedules in the first half of the season it’s reasonable to think that the Redskins would be 6-2 or maybe 5-3 while the Vikings would be 4-4.
Two-back attack: The Vikings come at you with two running backs, Latavius Murray (249 yards rushing on the season) and Jerick McKinnon (287). The Redskins will try to keep them under wraps and make pedestrian QB Case Keenum try to beat them. Since the start of the 2015 season the Redskins are 9-12-1 when they allow more than 100 yards rushing so they aren’t dependent on stopping the run to win games but it does help.
Other winning factors for the Redskins:
Get to Keenum—He has been sacked twice in each of the Vikings’ two losses, only once in games where he played and the team won.
Be a little better than average—The Redskins have averaged 22 points per game this year. Under Mike Zimmer the Vikings are 2-9 when their opponent scores more than 24 points.
Hold on to the ball—This is always good advice but particularly in this game. The Vikings have 10 takeaways in their wins and none in their losses.
Prediction: Well, maybe it’s not a great idea to listen to me here because I haven’t had a good feel for how the games would turn out so far this year. But I think this is a game they win and perhaps one they win easily. The Redskins should have Williams back at left tackle and Brandon Scherff returning at right guard so their line should be just about intact. It still will be tough going running the ball against the Vikings but if Cousins has time to throw the Redskins will put up some points. It may be tough for Josh Doctson to have a big game if he is locked up against Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes but if Cousins now has faith in his catch radius he could make a few key grabs. Perhaps I am underrating the Vikings but I just think the Redskins are the better team and the should come out of this with a win at home.
Redskins 28, Vikings 17
Predictions record this year: 3-5
Rich Tandler covers the team 365 days a year. Like his Facebook page Facebook.com/TandlerNBCS and follow him on Twitter @TandlerNBCS.
Tandler on Twitter
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— NBC Sports Redskins (@NBCSRedskins) November 11, 2017
In case you missed it
- 2 reasons Redskins didn't trade Terrelle Pryor
- Which Redskin has the biggest game against the Vikings?
- Redskins make a few roster moves ahead of Vikings game
- Midterm grades for the Redskins defense