To me, this Sunday's Minnesota Vikings-Atlanta Falcons matchup is very even: On defense, the Vikings are clearly the better squad. Offensively, though, the Falcons have more star talent (Michael Turner, Matt Ryan, Roddy White) than the Vikings, so, again, a big effort from Adrian Peterson will likely be the key to victory.
However, I think the key matchup in the contest will be the Vikings' ability to put pressure on young Atlanta QB Matt Ryan (pictured above). If the D-Line can hurry Ryan, their offense will get out of sync and become one-dimensional. If he is allowed to stand in the pocket and deliver clean passes, though, there is a good chance that White or Michael Jenkins will haul them in against a Purple secondary that needs help up front to succeed.
Because the Vikes are home in the Dome, I will predicted a final score of MIN 24, ATL 21. A few weeks ago I was counting this as a sure loss, but now the offense has potential to keep up with the Dirty Birds.
