The calendar has turned to December. . .or, perhaps, it’s DeSAMber. . .and the Minnesota Vikings will continue a three-game homestand by hosting the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium.
If a couple of things break the right way for the Vikings, including a win over the Falcons, they could wrap up a postseason spot by the time everyone goes to bed on Sunday night. Quite the turnaround for a team that was largely expected to be among the league’s worst in 2024. After their thrilling 23-22 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 13, the Vikings are now on their second five-game winning streak of the year and have pushed their record to 10-2.
The Falcons looked like they might be cruising to an NFC South division title, but have really cratered in recent weeks. They’ve lost three straight to drop to 6-6 and put themselves in serious danger of missing the playoffs, since the NFC South is likely only going to send one team to the postseason party.
This game, of course, marks the return of quarterback Kirk Cousins to U.S. Bank Stadium as the Falcons’ quarterback. Cousins spent six seasons in Minnesota from 2018 to 2023 and moved on this offseason to sign with the Falcons for a deal that averages $45 million/year. The Vikings chose to move on to Sam Darnold on a $10 million, one-year deal. Things have worked out relatively well for the Vikings in that regard.
These two teams met last season in what’s come to be known as the “Josh Dobbs game.” After an injury to Jaren Hall in the first quarter, Dobbs. . .who had been on the team for about four days. . .took over at quarterback and engineered a victory over Atlanta, with his 6-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Powell with 22 seconds remaining providing the margin of victory in a 31-28 Minnesota win.
According to the folks at FanDuel, the Vikings come into this one as a 4.5-point favorite over the Falcons with the over/under sitting at 46.5 points.
Kickoff for this one is slated for noon Central time on Sunday afternoon and the game will be carried by the FOX family of networks.