We have been hashing out the game all week. Obviously, it is important and there is some sentiment due to Kirk Cousins returning. While that is interesting it should not prevent the Vikings to continue to prove that they are, indeed, a serious contending team this year. I expect it to be a tight game with turnovers being the key. If there are no turnovers on either side then I expect the Vikings to protect the home field can come out with the win.
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Minnesota Vikings News and Links
Kevin O’Connell: Vikings are systematically building up Daniel Jones
“He’s a talented guy,” coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters on Friday, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com, “big, strong, and throws it really well. . . . We’ve just challenged him to absorb all the information and using that as a barometer of where we want to take our teaching moving forward as we systematically build him up, and he’s very smart.”
O’Connell added that it’s helpful to have Jones’s perspective, after so many weeks of the current structure.
“He looks like a guy, when he throws a football, that’s played a lot of football and in the pocket, his feel,” O’Connell said. “So, it’s been fun to have him here. I think he’s doing a good job. Little by little, getting more comfortable with what we do around here.”
The impact the Lions-Packers result had on the Vikings’ playoff outlook
Detroit eked out a 34-31 win over the Packers on Thursday night, creating a two-horse race with the Vikings for the crown in the NFC North.
There really wasn’t a good or bad outcome from the Thursday night divisional game. Detroit’s win pushes the Packers two losses behind the Vikings, which is good for the Vikings in the battle for the top wild-card spot in the NFC. Had Green Bay won, the Vikings would’ve had a chance to move into a tie with the Lions for first place in the North.
When it comes to remaining schedules, the Vikings have the third-hardest set of games to go in the NFL. Minnesota still plays Atlanta (6-6), Chicago (4-8), Seattle (7-5), Green Bay (9-4) and Detroit (12-1).
Green Bay’s remaining strength of schedule ranks 15th, with games against the Seahawks (7-5), Saints (4-8), Vikings (10-2) and Bears (4-8).
Detroit’s remaining strength of schedule ranks fifth, with games against Buffalo (10-2), Chicago (4-8), San Francisco (5-7) and Minnesota (10-2). The Buffalo game is in Detroit while the test against the 49ers in San Francisco.
Byron Murphy is tired of all the Lions talk
Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. is sick and tired of all the talk about the Detroit Lions.
After the Lions beat the Green Bay Packers 34-31 in a thrilling matchup Thursday night, Murphy told KSTP’s Darren Wolfson on Friday that “Detroit came away with the win. I don’t like that.”
When asked if he would have liked if Green Bay had won on Thursday, Murphy responded, “I don’t like it, but I’m not liking all the Detroit talk, right now. I just keep hearing it over and over. So, I’m just over them. I’m over Green Bay, too. But, you know, Detroit, they’re just taking about them too much and I’m just over that as well.”
“I feel like some plays, Green Bay could have did better but, you know, that’s football. Things happen and Detroit won the game. We’ll see them soon,” Murphy said.
Brian Flores’ defense is dancing with disaster, and no one else in the NFL can figure it out
Defensive coordinator Brian Flores’s work with this defense over the last two years has been nothing short of exemplary. He took a putrid defensive unit under Ed Donatell and turned it into an elite unit in the first half of the year before struggling to finish out the season.
In 2024, they are arguably the best defense in the NFL and it focuses mainly on two parts: continuity with the veterans and improved personnel. Those two factors have been massive in taking the next step.
The one thing that everyone can tell you about the Vikings’ defense is they are aggressive. They lead the National Football League in blitz percentage at 38.0% and it’s netted them the fourth-most sacks (39) and pressure percentage (27.0%).
The Vikings are hyper-aggressive, but their PhD level of intelligence has been huge in their success. If you stay under control, great things will happen and they hope it will result in a Super Bowl.
Vikings-Falcons Week 14 score predictions from the Vikings On SI staff
Will Ragatz: Vikings 27, Falcons 20
Cousins leads the NFL with 13 interceptions and is now going against the defense that has more INTs (18) than anyone else. He’ll move the ball at times, but he’ll also have some issues with Jonathan Greenard’s pressure and Brian Flores’ complex scheme. On the other side of the ball, the Falcons’ defense hasn’t been very good despite all the big names on the roster (A.J. Terrell, Jessie Bates, Justin Simmons, Grady Jarrett, Matthew Judon). Look for Sam Darnold’s hot streak to continue as the Vikings find a way to win another one-score game at home.
Joe Nelson: Vikings 41, Falcons 21
Kirk has been one of the worst quarterbacks in the league when pressured this season. He’s an interception machine in Atlanta and he also leads the NFL in fumbles with 12. He’s been lucky, only losing two of those dozen fumbles, but his luck is clearly running out and the Vikings are going to turn up the heat on him Sunday with a brazen pass rush. It’ll be so loud inside U.S. Bank Stadium that he won’t be able to hear himself groan after one of his four turnovers.
Jonathan Harrison: Vikings 30, Falcons 10
Nolan O’Hara: Falcons 28, Vikings 23
On paper, it looks like the Vikings should run away with this one. They’re in the midst of a five-game winning streak, and the Atlanta Falcons have lost three straight. Kirk Cousins has struggled the last three games, including a four-interception performance last week. But something about all this feels unsettling for the Vikings. If coming off a four-interception game wasn’t enough to motivate Cousins, it coincides with his return to U.S. Bank Stadium. It just seems too fitting that Cousins would bounce back on Sunday and walk out of the stadium with his patented catch phrase: “You like that?” The answer will be a resounding no from the Vikings faithful.
Tony Liebert: Vikings 30, Falcons 21
* Joe: 10-2
* Will: 9-3
* Nolan: 8-4
* Jonathan: 8-4
* Tony: 5-7
Stop overlooking Steelers and Vikings as true Super Bowl contenders! Plus, Kansas City’s new concern
As we hit the stretch run of the 2024 NFL regular season, much of the playoff field has already crystallized. So, inevitably, there is plenty of discussion about which teams could actually come out of the postseason tournament on top. Who are the true Super Bowl contenders?
All that said, I feel like two impressive squads continue to get short shrift. Pittsburgh and Minnesota deserve far more respect as absolute contenders in each of their respective conferences. After spending the past few days studying the game tape, I’m here to explain why the Steelers and Vikings could end up winning Super Bowl LIX. Here are three reasons why each team is a legit threat to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in February.
Minnesota Vikings
10-2
1) Kevin O’Connell and Brian Flores form a coaching dream team
The NFL is generally a player’s league, with stars routinely determining which teams win or lose. That said, tactics and strategies take center stage in the postseason, with superior coaching deciding outcomes in a single-elimination tournament. With elite offensive and defensive strategists in place, the Vikings have a significant advantage. O’Connell (head coach/offensive play caller) and Flores (defensive coordinator) are exceptional game planners and play-callers, and their creative and imaginative schemes often confound opposing coordinators in crucial moments. And these gurus not only test the discipline of opponents’ schemes but also consistently create big-play opportunities for Minnesota’s best players.
Offensively, Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison regularly post big numbers despite facing umbrella coverages with two deep safeties. In addition, Jefferson gets loose against double teams and bracket coverage through clever deployments that make it hard for opponents to maintain their leverage. By utilizing various motions, shifts and exotic formations, the Vikings find ways to get their all-world playmaker the ball despite facing myriad tactics designed to neutralize his impact.
Defensively, Flores is the master of deception, possessing a playbook loaded with unusual pre-snap alignments that change into various post-snap pressures and/or traditional coverages. With quarterbacks unable to crack the code before the snap, the bluff-and-bait tactics create a guessing game that few signal-callers have been able to win, going against the Vikings’ veteran-laden defense.
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2) Justin Jefferson and Co. can make Sam Darnold a star in the playoffs
O’Connell’s exceptional scheming as a quarterback whisperer has helped Darnold play like an upper-echelon starter, but the Vikings’ stellar supporting cast could make him a postseason star.
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3) Minnesota’s big-play defense can get it done
In a passing league where it is hard to play defense, the Vikings are the nightmare that keeps opposing quarterbacks and play callers up at night. Under the direction of an ultra-aggressive DC who pushes the envelope with exotic pressure schemes, Minnesota ranks near the top of the charts in sacks (39) and takeaways (24, including a league-best 18 interceptions). With negative plays coveted at premium, the Vikings’ uncanny ability to put opponents behind the chains makes them a challenge to face in a single-elimination tourney. Though offensive coordinators have scoured the tape for almost two years attempting to crack the Vikings’ defensive code, the ever-evolving scheme maximizes the experience and wisdom of a veteran group that has played a lot of games.
Jonathan Greenard is earning that bag!
Yore Mock
Trade Recap
Minnesota Receives:
2025: Round 1, Pick 30
2025: Round 4, Pick 130
Buffalo Receives:
2025: Round 1, Pick 28
…
Minnesota Receives:
2025: Round 2, Pick 34
2025: Round 4, Pick 104
New York Receives:
2025: Round 1, Pick 30
…
Minnesota Receives:
2025: Round 2, Pick 39
2025: Round 4, Pick 106
Cleveland Receives:
2025: Round 2, Pick 34
…
Minnesota Receives:
2025: Round 2, Pick 43
2025: Round 3, Pick 87
2025: Round 6, Pick 186
New Orleans Receives:
2025: Round 2, Pick 39
2025: Round 3, Pick 97
…
Minnesota Receives:
2025: Round 3, Pick 72
2025: Round 6, Pick 212
Las Vegas Receives:
2025: Round 3, Pick 87
2025: Round 4, Pick 106
…
Minnesota Receives:
2025: Round 3, Pick 95
2025: Round 7, Pick 255
Kansas City Receives:
2025: Round 4, Pick 104
2025: Round 5, Pick 164
…
43. Omarr Norman-Lott DL Tennessee 6’3” 315
72. Omarion Hampton RB North Carolina 6’0” 220
95. Tate Ratledge IOL Georgia 6’5” 315
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Photo by Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
130. Darrell Jackson Jr. DL Florida State 6’5” 330
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Photo by Chris Leduc/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
146. Mello Dotson CB Kansas 6’1” 190
186. Terrance Ferguson TE Oregon 6’5” 255
212. Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson OT Florida 6’6” 322
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Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
243. Saivion Jones EDGE LSU 6’6” 280
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Photo by Ella Hall/LSU/University Images via Getty Images
255. Francisco Mauigoa LB Miami (FL) 6’2” 230
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Photo by Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
ESPN’s Jordan Reid talks Vikings’ drafts with Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, Dallas Turner and more (Ep. 39)
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