Raiders at Vikings
THE STORY: The Oakland Raiders haven’t been in first place this late in the year since 2002 – the season they last went to the Super Bowl. While it would be a long shot for the Raiders to go all the way in 2011, their remaining schedule – coupled with the difficulty of others – makes them the favorite to win the AFC West. Oakland takes a half-game lead over Denver into Sunday’s game against the Vikings in Minnesota. Oakland is in this position thanks to its 24-17 victory at San Diego last week. The Vikings were crushed by Green Bay 45-7 on Monday night, and are struggling on both sides of the ball. Raiders running back Darren McFadden will miss his third straight game with a foot injury, but Michael Bush has unleashed a career stretch of excellence in his place and quarterback Carson Palmer is showing flashes of his Pro Bowl form.
TV: CBS, 1 p.m. ET. LINE: Raiders -1, O/U 45
ABOUT THE VIKINGS (2-7): Minnesota’s secondary is in shambles after Antoine Winfield was lost for the season when he suffered a broken clavicle Monday. Defensive end Jared Allen could help, though, by putting pressure on Palmer. He has at least one-half sack in a franchise-record 11 straight games and leads the NFL with 13.5. The Vikings could also try to use running back Adrian Peterson as a way to keep the Raiders’ offense off the field. Peterson is fifth in the NFL with 846 yards, 71 behind leader Fred Jackson of Buffalo.
ABOUT THE RAIDERS (5-4): Despite the loss of McFadden, the Raiders’ running game hasn’t sputtered as Bush has averaged 117.3 rushing yards in his last three games. Bush also had a career-high 85 receiving yards last week and his 242 yards from scrimmage were the most by a Raider since 1963. Wide receiver Jacoby Ford also won't play because of an an injured foot and defensive end is questionable Richard Seymour (knee) after missing two straight practices. Palmer was 14 of 20 for 299 yards last week and formed a bond with rookie wide receiver Denarius Moore, who caught two touchdown passes.
EXTRA POINTS:
1. Oakland linebacker Kamerion Wimbley had a career-high four sacks last week.
2. The Vikings signed cornerback Benny Sapp, who was victimized by Tom Brady, Wes Welker and the Patriots in Week 1 and released by the Dolphins the following day.
3. Minnesota’s Christian Ponder has three touchdowns and three interceptions in three starts since taking over for Donovan McNabb.