The Washington Redskins and Minnesota Vikings both find themselves with a 3-5 record going into their Week 9 match-up at the Vikings temporary home, TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Coincidentally, both teams are also coming off road victories that were decided in overtime.
The Vikings Week 9 hero was rookie linebacker Anthony Barr, who forced a fumble of the Tampa Bay receiver and returned it for the game-winning touchdown. Barr has had an exceptional rookie season excelling in rushing the passer (+4.1) and run defense (+3.7). In our most recent Race for the Rookie of the Year piece, Barr was sixth. His ability to get to the passer has earned him the third-highest pass rush rating in the league at his position. He has accumulated eight hurries, three QB hits, and three sacks. Overall, Barr has been the sixth-best outside linebacker in a 4-3 scheme this season with a +7.0 grade.
Whether Robert Griffin III makes his return to the Redskins' starting lineup or Colt McCoy makes his second start since the 2011 season, they will want to protect the quarterback from a strong pass rush. Trent Williams has been one of the best left tackles in the league, and especially in pass blocking (+8.1). He currently has a pass block efficiency rating of 97.4 allowing pressure on 10 of his 297 pass-blocking snaps.
Here are some other players to watch in this match-up:
Washington Redskins
Kory Lichtensteiger – Washington's center has proved the move from guard was the right one by improving his run and pass blocking ratings this year.
Jason Hatcher – Only J.J. Watt has a better Pass Rushing Productivity rating than Hatcher this season when considering defensive ends in a 3-4 scheme.
Ryan Kerrigan – Kerrigan has also been successful getting to the quarterback; creating pressure 37 times and netting seven sacks.
Minnesota Vikings
Sharrif Floyd – Floyd is coming off the best overall game of his career (+5.5), adding five stops to bring his season total up to 15 to go along with his sack, hurry, and five tackles.
Jerrick McKinnon – McKinnon had big shoes to fill when Adrian Peterson was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list but he has ran the ball well (+2.5) forcing 13 missed tackles on his 76 rushing attempts.
Everson Griffen – The replacement to Jared Allen has collected seven sacks this season, but rushing the passer hasn’t even been his greatest benefit to the Vikings. His 26 defensive stops lead the team, and his 22 tackles lead the team’s defensive linemen.
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