PurplePTSD: No Flexing, Teensy Magic Number, BUF-MIN Preview
Dustin Baker
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The sister-site to VikingsTerritory is PurplePTSD.com, and the guys and gals over there roll out the Minnesota Vikings analysis just as much as we do.
Here is some of their top content from the last couple of days:
1 – Once theorized a flexible-schedule candidate, Vikings-Cowboys in Week 11 won’t slide to Sunday Night Football after all.
2 – The Vikings could wrap up the NFC North by the end of the month. These are the magic-number details.
3 – Josh Frey drops his weekly Vikings preview, this time involving the mighty Buffalo Bills.
4 – In the daily video segment, Dustin Baker walks through surprises from Commanders-Vikings.
5 – Finally, some PPTSD NFL Power Rankings.
The Vikings knocked off the Washington Commanders in Week 9, 20-17, courtesy of late-game theatrics authored by Kirk Cousins, the Vikings defense, and Kevin O’Connell’s adept coaching. O’Connell’s men circumvented a 10-point lead in the 4th Quarter at a time when some Vikings fans chalked up the afternoon to “one of those games.” And not in a good way.
Wide receiver Justin Jefferson recorded 7 catches, 115 receiving yards, and 1 touchdown in a game where the phenom playmaker also experienced uncharacteristic trouble with 50-50 balls. Dalvin Cook fired up an impressive receiving touchdown to help claw the Vikings back into Week 9.
The Vikings are 6.5-point road underdogs against the Buffalo Bills in Week 10, a team that lost to the New York Jets on Sunday. Josh Allen injured his elbow but is tentatively expected to play against the Vikings. If he does not, it will become the Case Keenum show.
The Green Bay Packers also dropped a fifth game in a row, sinking Aaron Rodgers’ team to 3-6, with an unholy 4.5-game deficit in the NFC North to Minnesota. The Vikings are the No. 2 seed in the NFC behind the Philadelphia Eagles and would host a home playoff game versus the San Francisco 49ers if the playoffs started today.
Ed Donatell’s defense executed its best game of 2022, finally shedding the “bend but don’t break” philosophy. Minnesota’s defensive output was flat-out good in Washington.
A 3-6 record the rest of the way would plop the Vikings in the postseason. Of course, winning the division is preferred, but subpar football, as a worst-case scenario, would net a playoff berth. That’s the perk of a 7-1 start. The Vikings have a 99% probability of reaching the postseason, per FiveThirtyEight.
Minnesota will see Stefon Diggs for the first time as an opponent, while Viking nose tackle Harrison Phillips returns to face his former team after leaving in free agency eight months ago.
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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