Adrian Peterson Will Only Come Back if Vikings in Playoff Hunt by Paul Bellesen

Fans and analysts alike have already granted the Minnesota Vikings a win against the Jaguars on Sunday.

If it doesn’t seem like common knowledge to you, here are five reasons why the Minnesota Vikings will win in Jacksonville:

1. Blake Bortles’ throwing motion

Blake Bortles’ mysterious mechanical lapse has gone from confusing to comical. In what was supposed to be a breakout year for the Jaguars and their explosive offense, Bortles’ throwing motion regressed.

Now, his throwing motion is much longer, starting with him dropping the ball the his hip before bringing it up to throw. This may not seem like a big deal at a glance, but it causes a few problems for the Jaguars offense.

First of all, it takes more time, and time is precious in an NFL pocket. Secondly, it allows the defensive backs to anticipate throws. Don’t be surprised if the secondary comes away with an interception as a result. Finally, it is far more difficult to strip the ball when it rests on the shoulder of a 6’5″ quarterback, When it dips down to the hip, however, pass rushers have many more options for causing a turnover.

2. Something to play for

Despite seemingly hopeless odds staring down the Minnesota Vikings, they are still in the playoff hunt. Meanwhile, the Jaguars are in the hunt for a top three pick in the 2017 draft. With virtually zero contribution from the offense and special teams, the Minnesota Vikings nearly defeated the league’s best team last week. The offense and special teams can only get better after last week, and facing a talent-poor team in Jacksonville makes for the perfect comeback opportunity.

3. Purple Reign is back

Although the offense and special teams hung them out to dry, the Minnesota Vikings defense performed at a peak level. With eye-patched Mike Zimmer on the side line at practice, the defense could exceed the peak in Jacksonville.

If it wasn’t good enough that the defense came back strong against a good team last week, this week they get to face Blake Bortles who has more career pick sixes than wins. Expect good things from both the pass rush and secondary in this one-sided match up.

4. The return of the Zimmer

With Mike Zimmer’s return comes the return of discipline. Mike Priefer did a fine job in his absence, but penalties came up in big spots throughout the game. This included the false start on the game-tying two-point conversion attempt.

If Zimmer’s defense could play the way it did under George Edwards, it can certainly dominate against a lousy Jacksonville squad. Zimmer’s return also allows Priefer to again focus on special teams which will likely elimintate Jeff Locke’s struggles and the struggles of their punt returners.

5. Gus Bradley’s history

At 14-46 throughout his head coaching career, Gus Bradley is a historically bad head coach. Bradley has won less than one fourth of his games.

Jacksonville is one of the rare teams to keep a losing head coach in place for multiple years. After four years of accumulating high draft picks, the endless hope factory in Jacksonville may finally be closing.

With such high talent out of college entering the facility over the last four years, Bradley has proven his inability to develop players. It appears as though he even let his most promising prospect, Blake Bortles, decompose into another hopeless Jacksonville quarterback.

In a match up between Gus Bradley and Mike Zimmer, the Minnesota Vikings have several more reasons they should come out victorious in a potentially important game down the stretch.