The NFL preseason schedule is in Week 1 and after the Pro Football Hall of Fame game last Sunday in Canton and a nice slate of games on Thursday, Friday night will have a number of solid matchups, including the Chiefs and Saints, Cardinals and Packers, Dolphins and Jaguars, Jets and Lions as well as the Patriots and Eagles, Raiders and Cowboys along with the Houston Texans and Minnesota Vikings.
The two teams are coming off of playoff appearances last year and are looking at the Super Bowl as a possible destination at the end of the year. The Vikings are in as good a position as anyone with Adrian Peterson in the backfield and now Christian Ponder must prove that he can make it as a starter in the NFL after passing for fewer than 3,000 yards last season and getting injured at the end of the year. The team ranked 31st in the league in passing yards per game and Matt Cassel is likely to get the most reps in the first game as the backup and he could be starting by the end of the year.
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The Vikings gave up Percy Harvin in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks, but after drafting Cordarrelle Patterson and signing Greg Jennings, the offense should be fine on the outside. Peterson will need to do a lot to top his 2,000 yard rushing season from last year and the reigning MVP will try and show why he should win that award again and for the Vikings to continue winning, he will need to do just that. Last season the Vikings made an improbable run to the playoffs after winning in the final game of the season against the Packers, but then after going on the road and starting Joe Webb, the team lost in the wild card round.
The Vikings get the season started off with the Texans before playing against the Buffalo Bills in Week 2 and then they will face the 49ers in San Francisco on NBC in Week 3 before finishing up against the Tennessee Titans before starting the regular season against the Lions on Fox no September 8. The team ranked second in rushing yards per game last season with Peterson in the fold and the defense is expected to improve after ranking 24th in passing yards allowed per game after the team drafted Xavier Rhodes in the first round of the draft along with Patterson and Sharrif Floyd.
The Texans are coming into the season with Super Bowl expectations as well after going 12-4 last season and 5-1 in the AFC South and the team is opening up with the Vikings before playing against the Miami Dolphins. The team will play against the Saints next and then will finish up the preseason schedule against the Dallas Cowboys. The team ranked 11th in passing yards per game behind Matt Schaub and eighth in the league in rushing with Arian Foster, who still remains on the PUP list and will not play in Week 1 against Minnesota.
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