Dec 24, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Ty Chandler (32) celebrates his touchdown against the Detroit Lions during the first quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
The Minnesota Vikings remain in the league’s Top 6 Super Bowl odds, a strange — but in a good way —ordeal after sportsbooks picked the purple team to win six or seven games in early September.
That’s the perk of a 12-2 start. Minnesota has won seven straight after a two-game, post-bye losing skid and is absolutely rolling.
Back in the offseason, this website was filled with bold takes and predictions — including a few that were awful. So, these were the three main things we got wrong about the 2024 Vikings.
The only knock on RB1 Aaron Jones entering the 2024 regular season was injury history. For the most part, Jones has remained healthy and is on pace for 1,500 yards from scrimmage.
Put plainly, we thought he’d miss 4-6 games, handing the RB1 baton to Chandler.
Instead, Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah traded for Cam Akers and demoted Chandler to RB3.
Chandler still has one season left on his rookie contract (2025), but we got this one wrong. Jones didn’t get hurt, Akers rejoined the club as RB2, and Chandler’s role diminished.
We bought into a “Baker Mayfield reclamation season” for Darnold — but not to the tune of a Pro Bowler. Darnold is posting Pro Bowl numbers, and that isn’t debatable.
Minnesota’s offensive infrastructure always seemed like a fit for Darnold — and everybody, really. It’s just that he has twisted in the MVP conversation for most of the season, and his team is 12-2.
Our expectation for Darnold was more mediocre and poor games than he’s showcased. The man has balled out.
Sportsbooks believed Minnesota would finish 2024 with a 6-11 or 7-10 record. We didn’t disagree.
We thought the Vikings would have a 6-6 record or so around Thanksgiving and then run out of gas, mainly because the Darnold question was so front and center.
But that was wrong — by a mile.
The Vikings will visit the postseason and could even snag a 1st-Round bye if they play their cards right in the next three weeks.
It’s why Kevin O’Connell is the league’s frontrunner to win Coach of the Year.
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.