Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Minnesota Vikings Preview

Even before Favre signed with the Vikings they were very good team. However the lack of a QB made them too one dimensional and their defense had to spend way to much time on the field. With Favre you cannot just stack the box without any concern for a passing threat.

Make no mistake about it though Adrian Peterson is the #1 threat and concern for anyone playing the Vikings. Some teams have focused on stopping him and dared Favre to beat them. 3 times Peterson has been held to under 100 yards and yet the opponents could not stop Favre from managing the game. The Green Bay game was the ultimate example of that. The Packers held Peterson to 55 yards rushing. But Favre went 24 for 31 and 271 yards. And he threw for 3 TD's and no INT's.

Last week against Baltimore the Vikings ran roughshod behind Peterson and Favre had another good day going 21 for 29 and 278 yrds. Another 3 TD's and NO INT's.

So what does all this mean for the Steelers? One thing is that as good as a defense that the Vikings did have they can be scored on. They are vulnerable to the pass especially. They are ranked 26 against the pass. Their biggest weapon against the pass however is the pass rush. They have 21 sacks thus far. Tied for first place with Denver in the sack department. But Ben has proven that sacks do not always stop his production. Although you do want to avoid a game they had in Philadelphia where the pass rush bottled up everything.

So on offense I think the Steelers should come out with an air attack. Look at what the Packers and Ravens did to the Vikings in the air. However there is one big variation. The Vikings have also dominated the time of possession which means more opportunities for them and less for you. Yes sometimes and overused stat. But not against the Vikings. You need to bust a quick lead and then slow the game down when you have the ball. The Vikings are 13th against the run allowing around 93 yards a game so you should not be deterred from running the football.

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I think if you pass early, not forgetting the run, and then pound the ball later with some ball control passing you can beat this team. Last week the Ravens had 64 plays against the Vikings in only 25 minutes. They also needed to score fast in the second half due to falling way behind. The Steelers can and should avoid that.

From the get go you need to score. At the end of the day you need a 24 for 38 day from Ben for 350 yards. You will need 14 carries for 70 yards from Mendenhall. Give me 5 carries for 19 yards from Willie and couple more carries in there somewhere. You need to run at Jared Allen at times to slow down his rush tempo. You cannot let him pin back his ears. You need to at least keep the ball for 30 to 32 minutes.

If you could keep the ball for 33 to 35 minutes that would be awesome against a team like the Vikings. If Favre feels desperate he will start heaving potential INT's. He always has and he always will. He has not had to do that much this year as they have dominated the clock.

On defense turnovers would be huge. The Steelers also are among the league leaders in sacks at 17. If you can punish Favre that would help. Although you will not rattle him you can get him out of a rhythm. Favre knows how to move a pocket though so you need to come at him and keep him in the middle of the field. When he rolls out he buys time and that is when he gets those "hail Mary" type plays. He needs to be hit hard at every opportunity also.

Peterson can be slowed down. It has been done by lesser defenses. In fact I would run blitz some. If you keep him to 80 yards or less and Favre to 200 yards or less the defense will be on track.

Keep the Vikings out of the end zone! Make them kick field goals if anything. When you have to punt, pin them deep. Do not give Favre a short field.

No turnovers this week for the Steelers! Be physical!

I am feeling good about this one, and I am not sure why. Steelers 30 Vikings 27. (Although I would prefer Steelers 24 and Vikings 13)

By: Andy Natalie
ProFootball-fans.com Pittsburgh Steelers Correspondent