The Minnesota Vikings face off with the Washington Redskins on Thursday Night Football in Week 8.
With the Vikings on a hot streak right now and sitting at 5-2, things are going well for them. Meanwhile, the Redskins are coming off an embarrassing 9-0 loss to the San Francisco 49ers and are just 1-6 on the season.
Clearly, this game is swinging in favor of the Vikings. However, they do have one pretty glaring issue in Adam Thielen. The superstar receiver is out for the game, and that could make a big difference.
In his absence, tight end Kyle Rudolph needs to step up and have a big game to help fill the void.
The first thing you have to wonder about is the other receivers. Obviously, the Vikings still have Stefon Diggs. He's another superstar receiver. Diggs would be the obvious number one on a whole lot of NFL teams. That will be his role tonight.
Due to that, Minnesota isn't completely helpless at receiver. However, after him, there are now a lot of question marks.
They'll need someone to step up and take pressure off of him. That has to be Rudolph.
The reasoning is pretty simple. Not only is Rudolph the next best option, but he might also be Minnesota's best option for Thursday night.
Washington's defense has been playing much better lately. Something that can't go unnoticed is the play of Quinton Dunbar. The cornerback has been phenomenal all year, playing like a true number one cornerback.
Due to that, you could probably expect him to cover Diggs. Diggs is more than capable of not getting shutout, but Dunbar should contain him to a point, especially with safety help.
Meanwhile, there's really no matchup for Rudolph.
The defensive line is Washington's best asset, and they clearly aren't about to cover anyone. Dunbar will be busy with Diggs, as will whatever help is given to him. There's really no one that can cover Rudolph though. He's far too big for a cornerback to check him for too long.
At linebacker, Cole Holcomb has been a revelation for the Redskins. He was drafted in the fifth round in 2019 and immediately jumped into a prominent role.
Against the run, Holcomb has been awesome. He's had some difficulties in the passing game though. If he's given the assignment of Rudolph, that could mark a big game for him. The same could be said of Jon Bostic. Asking him to cover Rudolph would end poorly.
Don't even get me started on Ryan Kerrigan and Montez Sweat, those two should never be in coverage.
Basically, Washington doesn't have someone who can cover someone like Rudolph. At 6'6″, 265 pounds, he creates a massive mismatch advantage.
However, he has just 14 receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown this season. He needs to step up big time to replace Thielen this week.
If he doesn't, Minnesota might find themselves in an upset.
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