The Jacksonville Jaguars enter Week 10 coming off another tough loss on the road to the Philadelphia Eagles and will look to pull off an upset home victory against the 6-2 Minnesota Vikings.
Like last week, the Jaguars will be without some key players, including franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who has been nursing a left shoulder injury this week. Losing Lawrence will be a hard blow for a team that has been relatively competitive largely because of his play in recent weeks.
However, there is a path to success that Jacksonville can follow. The Vikings do not have many weaknesses, but there are some areas the Jaguars can take advantage of to pave the road to an upset.
Jaguars Wire breaks down the key matchups that could be vital in ensuring win No. 3 for the Jaguars against the Vikings.
Jacksonville’s run game vs. Minnesota’s run defense
The Vikings own the NFL’s No. 2 rushing defense this season in yards allowed and have allowed the fewest rushing expected points added (EPA) this season. The Jaguars have found success on the ground this season and with Lawrence out, they will have to lean on their new star tailback Tank Bigsby.
A productive day from Bigbsy might be Jacksonville’s biggest key to victory this weekend. He is a tough runner to bring down, forcing a missed tackle on nearly 38 percent of his rushes, according to Next Gen Stats.
That’s good enough for the third-highest rate in football. Minnesota has struggled to tackle in space this season at the fifth-highest rate.
Bigsby has the skill set to handle a hefty workload on a moment’s notice. His downhill rushing ability and shiftiness in space make him a handful to bring down.
To add pressure for Minnesota, Bigsby can be a home run-hitting running back with his second-level explosiveness and quickness in the open field. It won’t be an easy go-around but this is strength vs. strength in this weekend’s matchup.
Jacksonville DE Josh Hines-Allen vs. Minnesota LT Cam Robinson
This matchup could be personal for both players. It was only a few weeks ago that Robinson was manning Lawrence’s blindside.
But after Vikings star left tackle Christian Darrisaw went down with a season-ending injury, they acquired Robinson and a conditional 2026 seventh-round draft choice in exchange for a conditional 2026 fifth-round pick.
The former Jaguar had an up-and-down career in North Florida. Robinson was playing steady football in pass protection with just a 7.1 percent pressure rate…
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