First, Green Bay. Then, Vikings Underdogs in Week 2, Too.
The Minnesota Vikings are 2.5-point underdogs opening the season at home versus the Green Bay Packers in September. Green Bay is led by back-to-back MVP Aaron Rodgers and has won three consecutive division titles.
The following week, the opponent isn’t as daunting, but oddsmakers still slap the underdog label on Minnesota, forecasting the Philadelphia Eagles as three-point favorites.
The Vikings and Eagles will battle on Monday Night Football in Philadelphia. So, the road aspect is the reasoning for the Vikings underdog status in Week 2.
Minnesota and Philadelphia are not traditional foes, but the feud intensified after Philadelphia prevented Minnesota from achieving fate as a home Super Bowl participant. Indeed, the 2017 Vikings finished the regular season 13-3 with sights set on a Super Bowl tryst at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Eagles planned differently and spanked the Vikings in the 2017 NFC Championship.
Last year, Philadelphia slipped into the postseason, an impressive feat for second-year quarterback Jalen Hurts and first-year head coach Nick Sirianni. The Eagles were slaughtered by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Round 1, but it was the thought that counts.
As for Minnesota, it curbed its Monday Night Football woes as of late, at least in a junior fashion. The Vikings have won their last two games on Monday night, albeit against the Bears both times at Soldier Field.
Aside from the head-to-head showdown in Week 2, the Vikings and Eagles are bedfellows for 2022 win forecasting. Pundits expect both franchises to win eight or nine games.
The Vikings are 4-2 against the Eagles since 2010, including the aforementioned NFC Championship defeat. The only time Philadelphia has toppled Minnesota in the regular season in the last 12 years was the 2016 game that ended the Vikings scorching hot 5-0 start to the season. And it was all downhill — in a bad way — from there. Sam Bradford and friends began the 2016 campaign with a 5-0 record, finished 8-8, and missed the postseason.
Two weeks after the Eagles tryst, the Vikings travel to London for a date with another rival, the New Orleans Saints. For now, the Vikings are actually favored by a point in that matchup.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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