Minnesota Vikings: 3 Players that must shine vs. Raiders in Week 3
Before the Minnesota Vikings face the Oakland Raiders in Week 3 on Sunday, here are three players that must shine at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
After two games against NFC opponents to kick off the 2019 NFL regular-season schedule, the Minnesota Vikings will take on their first AFC opponent of the season on Sunday in downtown Minneapolis. The Vikings will face a somewhat struggling Oakland Raiders squad in the third week of the season this weekend back at home at US Bank Stadium.
After coming up short against one of its NFC North division rivals with a disappointing loss to the Green Bay Packers a week ago in Week 2 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Minnesota will look to bounce back and get in the win column after suffering its first loss of the year to the Packers.
The good news for the Vikings is that they will be coming back home to play in front of their home crowd. After its dominant victory over the Atlanta Falcons to start the season, Minnesota carries a 1-0 record when playing in front of the sea of purple at US Bank Stadium.
Coming into the third week of the year, the Vikings are 1-1 on the season while sitting tied with the Chicago Bears (1-1 overall) for third place in the NFC North standings, trailing the Detroit Lions (1-0-1) in second place and Green Bay (2-0) atop the division.
Oakland, on the other hand, will enter a tough playing environment on the road on Sunday afternoon while sitting at 1-1 overall, which is good enough to be tied with the Los Angeles Chargers (1-1) for second place in the AFC West standings. The Raiders, Chargers and Broncos (0-2) trail the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs (2-0) in the division entering Week 3.
The Raiders, much like the Vikings, are coming into the third week of the season after falling in Week 2 action. Oakland fell to Kansas City 28-10 at home last week in a game that the potent Chiefs team was able to take over rather easily.
Both teams will be looking to get back on track in the game while also searching for a victory that will push them back over the .500 mark heading into the fourth week of the regular-season slate.
Prior to Minnesota hosting Oakland during the Week 3 showdown in Minneapolis, let’s dive into three players that will need to stand out for the Vikings in order to lead them to their second win of the regular season.