Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images
It’s Week 8 on the NFL schedule and the Washington Redskins will be facing the Minnesota Vikings and looking to win their second straight road contest of the season. The Redskins will also be looking for their first win over an NFC opponent this season.
Washington (1-6) enters the contest as huge 16-point underdogs. The Redskins will be matching up against former Pro Bowl quarterback Kirk Cousins and the Vikings (5-2) who are sporting a three-game winning streak.
Both teams are coming off of a short week of practice that could play a factor in the game played at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Interim coach Bill Callahan addressed whether there can be proper preparations for a short week while speaking to the media from the INOVA Sports Performance Center at Redskins Park.
“Well, we’re doing the best we can and everybody in the league goes through a short week,” Callahan said. “We’re no different, so it’s a great challenge for us. I think we really had a good last two days of preparation. As I mentioned to you yesterday, we started right at 1 p.m. on the Vikings and that went to about 4 p.m. yesterday afternoon. The players were in this morning for 8 a.m. meetings. We spent the entirety of the morning on meetings. The walkthrough was at 10:45 a.m. – we had a good 30-35 minute walkthrough before lunch, came out after lunch and we had a good practice this afternoon. We actually practiced, which I thought was a positive. It was great to get on the field and move around a little bit more. I think it’s always great to kind of activate their central nervous systems and their bodies and get them ready for Thursday night, so this is the only day that we’ll really move on the practice field. There was good individual tempo, I thought there was a really good team tempo. There was not contact, but I think the movement skill aspect of the practice was really positive.”
The following is a breakdown of the Week 8 game with full media information.
Date: Thursday, October 24, 2019
Gametime: 8:20 p.m. EST
Location: U.S. Bank Stadium (66,655) | Minneapolis, Minnesota
Television: FOX Sports (TV channel 5 in Washington, D.C. market) and Prime Video
FOX Sports Commentators: Joe Buck (play-by-play), Troy Aikman (analyst), Erin Andrews (sideline), and Kristina Pink (sideline)
Prime Video Commentators: Hannah Storm (play-by-play) and Andrea Kremer (analyst)
Radio: Redskins Radio Network (local channel’s in Greater Washington, DC area – The Team 980, 105.9 WMAL, ESPN 630)
Redskins Radio Announcers: Larry Michael (play-by-play), Chris Cooley (analysis) and Rick “Doc” Walker (sidelines)
There are several historical and statistical storylines to watch for as well in the matchup.
Here are several statistical feats to watch for in the Redskins fourth road game of the season.
The Redskins defense trying to intercept a pass for the seventh consecutive game for the first time since Week 3 through Week 10 of the 2013 season.
The Redskins defense will try to record two or more sacks for the fourth consecutive week, their first time since Week 14 through Week 17 of the 2018 campaign.
The Redskins defense will attempt to not allow a touchdown in back-to-back games for the first time since Week 16 of 1989 and Week 1 of 1990.
Running Back Adrian Peterson (107) needs to rush for three touchdowns to tie Hall of Famer Walter Payton (110) for No. 4 on the NFL’s all-time list.
Peterson (13,625) needs to rush for 38 yards to pass Jerome Bettis (13,662) for No. 7 on the NFL’s all-time list and run for 60 rushing yards to pass LaDainian Tomlinson (13,684) for No. 6 on the NFL’s all-time list.
The former Oklahoma star (113) needs to score one touchdown to pass Lenny Moore (113) for sole possession of No. 15 on the NFL’s all-time list for overall touchdowns.
Wide Receiver Terry McLaurin recording his third 100-yard game, tying a franchise record for most 100-yard receiving games by a rookie [Gary Clark, 1985]. The Ohio State rookie needs to catch two or more touchdown passes to tie the record for most games with multiple receiving touchdowns by a rookie [Charlie Brown, 1982].
Defensive Lineman Jonathan Allen will try to record a sack in his third straight game for the first time in his career.
Linebacker Ryan Kerrigan remaining as one of five NFL players (and only two non-quarterbacks) to have started every game since the start of the 2011 season (Brandon Carr, Philip Rivers, Matt Ryan, and Matthew Stafford).
CB Josh Norman [41] needs to defend three passes to move past Sean Taylor [43] for 10th all-time in franchise history.
Kicker Dustin Hopkins needs to connect on all his field goal attempts under 29 yards to remain perfect for his career [34-for-34].