10 Intriguing Non-Division Matchups on Vikings Schedule

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Mar 19, 2019
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Week 11 vs Dallas: HC Mike Zimmer and HC Mike McCarthy | by @LindseyMNSports


Seeing Head Coach Mike McCarthy on an opposing sideline is nothing new for Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer.


Seeing McCarthy leading Zimmer's original NFL team, however, certainly is.


Zimmer, who served as the Cowboys defensive coordinator from 2000-06 (and as the DBs coach from 1994-99), will face Dallas in its first season under McCarthy after the team moved on from Jason Garrett.


McCarthy most recently served as the Packers head coach from 2006-18, during which Green Bay was 125-77-2 in the regular season and 10-8 in the playoffs. In the five seasons McCarthy and Zimmer overlapped in the NFC North division, Minnesota went 5-4-1 against Green Bay.


The two coaches have faced each other a total of 14 times since McCarthy became an offensive coordinator (Saints) for the first time in 2000; in that span, Zimmer's teams are 7-6-1 against McCarthy's squads.


Since Zimmer took the helm in Minnesota in 2014, the Vikings are 1-1 against the Cowboys.


Worth noting, however, is that Zimmer missed the 2016 Thursday Night Football game at U.S. Bank Stadium due to emergency eye surgery.


Week 12 vs Carolina: S Harrison Smith and QB Teddy Bridgewater | by @pcraigers


Smith has shown his talents as a blitzer and a bluffer over the years, particularly within Zimmer's system since 2014, which conveniently was Bridgewater's first season in Minnesota.


The safety has made five consecutive Pro Bowls, is the franchise leader among defensive backs with 13 career sacks and ranks seventh in team history with 23 career interceptions.


Bridgewater won 17 of his first 28 starts for the Vikings and was ready to take another step forward in 2016 but suffered a devastating, non-contact knee injury during the final practice before the regular season. He only appeared in one game thereafter for the Vikings, a sentimental reward for his perseverance in 2017.


After two seasons in New Orleans, including 2019 when he went 5-0 in filling in for Drew Brees, Bridgewater is poised to be Carolina's top QB and make his first start against the team that drafted him.


Week 13 vs Jacksonville: RB Dalvin Cook and Jaguars Run Defense | by @pcraigers


Call it Dalvin against "DUUUVAL."


The Miami native will face the team that is located in Duval County, which has lended itself to a chant embraced by Jaguars fans, for the first time.


Jacksonville ranked 31st in the NFL in rushing touchdowns allowed (23) and average yards per rush by an opponent (5.1) in 2019. The touchdowns allowed were up from 16 in 2018 and nine in 2017, which ranked 21st and sixth, respectively, in the NFL.


Cook burst loose for 13 rushing touchdowns a year ago, which ranked fourth in the NFL, after totaling four scores on the ground through his first two seasons.


The Jaguars also ranked 28th in rushing yards allowed last season at a clip of 139.3 per game after ranking 19th in 2018 (116.9) and tying for 21st in 2017 (116.3).


A total of 1,069 of the 2,229 rushing yards allowed by Jacksonville in 2019 were gained after contact, which was the second-greatest yardage allowed in the NFL last season behind only Cincinnati.


Cook ranked ninth in the NFL with 596 yards after contact in 2019 when he rushed for a career-best 1,135 yards.
 
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