Dec 17, 2023; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) runs onto the field before the game against the New York Giants at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports.
The Minnesota Vikings have a last-place forecast in the NFC North in 2024, staring up at the Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, and Chicago Bears.
For now, Minnesota is slated for 6.5-7.5 wins, per sportsbooks, in 2024. Last year, Minnesota was forecasted for 7.5 wins and later won seven.
Moreover, head coach Kevin O’connell’s team has +8000 odds to win Super Bowl LIX in Los Angeles. And so you can understand what “tier” the Vikings inhabit, these are four teams with similar Super Bowl odds.
The Cardinals will seek a rebound season in 2023 after a blah year when Kyler Murray was injured most of the time. For the first half of 2023, Arizona rolled with Joshua Dobbs and called it good.
So for 2024, the Cardinals are in the same boat as the Vikings, equipped with +8000 Super Bowl odds. They could be sneaky-Wildcard-good if the defense shows up this season, a theory not unlike the Vikings’ situation.
The Raiders are really doing it — bouncing into 2024 with Garnder Minshew and Aidan O’Connell at quarterback, with no other passer waiting in the wings. They passed on Spencer Rattler a few times and evidently had no interest in Joe Milton or Michael Pratt, men who filled out the draft’s other tiers after Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, J.J. McCarthy, Michael Penix Jr., and Bo Nix.
Accordingly, Vegas doesn’t believe in the hometown squad.
The Saints are what critics called the Vikings for a few years: purgatory inhabitants. They signed Derek Carr last offseason, and in his first year at the helm, the result was a humongous example of mediocrity.
Unsurprisingly, because Carr’s contract wasn’t small, he’s back for another season, and no one considers New Orleans a contender. The NFC South also became more complicated with Kirk Cousins in the division.
Seattle owns slightly better odds of winning a chip than Minnesota, probably because its roster is pretty fancy on offense and defense. The only question mark is Geno Smith — how far can the Seahawks go with him at QB1?
If Smith’s production dips, the Seahawks have a young alternative in Sam Howell, a youngster who played well at times in Washington before the Commanders shipped him off to make room for Jayden Daniels.
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 Sal Spice. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.