Questions Answered: Vikings’ Playoff Ceiling, Record in Remaining Games, the Titans’ Defense
The following questions are about current Minnesota Vikings topics, answered by VikingsTerritory. Today is the November 14th edition, addressed in a from-the-hip fashion. If you have questions, please email them to [email protected].
Questions Answered: Vikings’ Playoff Ceiling, Record in Remaining Games, the Titans’ Defense
Also, please note: These are opinion-based responses. Some answers will be incorrect from time to time. But we’ll try to keep that to a minimum.
Q: How do you foresee the Vikings doing in the playoffs if they get there?
Answer: We think they’ll win the 1st-Round game in the Wildcard round and then lose to a team like the Detroit Lions or San Francisco 49ers thereafter.
The way it’s trending, the Vikings would play the Atlanta Falcons or Arizona Cardinals on the road to start the postseason, and we believe they’d prevail.
However, the following round would involve a road reality check, probably in Detroit or San Francisco.
Q: The Vikings have eight games left. What record will they have in those final contests?
Answer: 4-4 feels about right.
The Vikings will find a way to lose one game to the Chicago Bears, probably at least one to the Green Bay Packers or Detroit Lions, and then maybe at Seattle or so.
A 5-3 estimation would be fair, too, but let’s go .500 the rest of the way, making the end-of-season record 11-6, which would be a successful campaign in the “Sam Darnold season.”
Q: Is the Titans’ defense good, bad, or in the middle?
Answer: It’s right in the middle per efficiency.
Think of it this way: Tennessee wants to be a good defense, but the offense turns the ball over too much, the defense doesn’t force turnovers of its own, and then the redzone aspect isn’t very good either.
Here’s the weird part. The Titans rank best in the NFL per yards allowed and fourth-worst per points allowed. Figure that one out.
On offense, they gift-wrap their opponents the rock 1.9 times per game, which ranks 30th in the business. Third-worst. When the defense cooks — not allowing many yards — Will Levis and friends get rid of the ball on offense. Then, the redzone defense is suspect. Opponents score touchdowns 64% of the time when they enter the Titans’ redzone. It’s the ultimate break-but-don’t-bend operation. That slogan — the inverse — is famous (or infamous) for “bend-but-don’t-break,” but Tennessee does it the other way around.
Overall, the Titans rank 15th leaguewide per EPA/Play per defensive efficiency, which might explain or accommodate the yards and points tomfoolery.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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