Something has to give in this football game tomorrow.  The Vikings are 0-4 outside this season as they have been outscored 121-90.  The Jaguars are only 1-4 at home this season and they have been outscored 120-98.   The Vikings will come out doing what they do best tomorrow and that’s running the football.  They are averaging 139.4 yards rushing per game and 4.5 ypc while the Jaguars allow 113.2 yards rushing per game and 4.3 ypc.  Adrian Peterson (1,100 yards rushing, 4.9 ypc, 7 TDs) should have little problem putting up 100+ yards rushing in the game tomorrow.  If the Jaguars overplay the run then Gus Frerotte will attack them downfield with play action.  Bernard Berrian might have a huge game against a defense that is allowing 215.0 yards passing per game and QBs have a rating of 93.8 against the Jags.

The Jaguars will likely attempt to run the football with Fred Taylor, Maurice Jones-Drew and David Garrard but they will have to fight for every yard as the Vikings only allow 73.9 yards rushing per game and 3.1 ypc.  The Vikings are vulnerable to the passing game but David Garrard doesn’t have a go to man that scares them.  The Jaguars might also have trouble blocking when Garrard drops back as the Vikings have 26 sacks this season while the Jags have allowed 26.

PREDICTION:  MINNESOTA VIKINGS 23, JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 13

The Jacksonville Jaguars have placed starting guard Chris Naeole on the Injured Reserve List due to wrist surgery ending his season.  This will hurt the interior of the O-Line for the Jaguars big time as Naeole is a tough and nasty blocker.  The Jaguars are averaging 110.0 yards rushing per game (4.0 ypc) and they have allowed 21 sacks this season so the O-Line was already underperforming with Naeole.

The Jaguars finally decided to wake up in the 4th quarter of this game last Sunday outscoring the Bengals 16-0 but it still wasn’t good enough to win.  The Jaguars shockingly got pushed around on defense by the Bengals’ offense.  The Bengals rushed for 159 yards on 29 carries (5.5 ypc) and they completed 21 of 31 passes for 153 yards on Sunday.  The Jaguars had issues running the ball against the Bengals as they only had 68 yards on 21 carries (3.2 ypc) as a team.  This caused David Garrard to have a rough game completing 23 of 38 passes for 229 yards with a interception.  The Jaguars came out flat in this game and they got punched in the mouth by the previously 0-8 Bengals.  The Jags better play well from the first snap next week because they are playing another 0-8 team in the Lions.

The Jaguars are still reeling after getting beat at home last week by the Cleveland Browns and they will likely take out their frustration on the poor overmatched Bengals tomorrow in Cincinnati.  The Bengals’ defense is pathetic against both the run (146.9 yards rushing per game) and the pass (191.1 yards per game, 96.9 QB Rating).  With that in mind the Jaguars should be able to do whatever they want on offense.  The Bengals only have six sacks this season so David Garrard should have plenty of time to throw the football when he wants to.  He will also be able to take off out of the pocket against a Bengals’ D that will have a hard time matching up with him.  Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor (if healthy) should do a lot of damage against the Bengals in this game on the ground.

The Jaguars’ D hasn’t played that great this season allowing 338.6 yards per game but the Bengals’ offense might still not be good enough to put up a fight in this game.  Cedric Benson and Chris Perry have both been awful and I have a hard time believing that either of them will have a good game against the Jags.  With that in mind the burden of the offense falls on Ryan Fitzpatrick and the passing game.  That’s bad news for the Bengals as Rashean Mathis will be just waiting to make Fitzpatrick pay for throwing wounded ducks.

PREDICTION:  JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 34, CINCINNATI BENGALS 10