Minnesota Vikings fans celebrate an end zone penalty call against the Tennessee Titans during the second quarter at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. © Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.
The Minnesota Vikings have gotten off to a marvelous 8-2 start to the 2024 season; something many would have never guessed possible at the start of the year.
Now, though, the Vikings are heading into the final stretch of their year with plenty of big matchups in front of them. Four of their final seven games will be against divisional opponents and very well could decide if they make the playoffs in a very competitive NFC.
Here is a prediction for how the final seven games on Minnesota’s schedule will turn out.
Games at Soldier Field always turn into slopfests for the Vikings, so 24 points may be a bit of a bold prediction for this team. However, Minnesota has the recipe to stop this Bears offense and put pressure on Caleb Williams.
Minnesota ranks third in total sacks across the NFL (35), and Chicago’s offensive line has had trouble protecting their rookie QB this season. In fact, when Williams is sacked three or fewer times in a game, the Bears are 4-2. When he is sacked 4+ times, they are 0-4. The Vikings should find a way to win this weekend.
Just like the Vikings, the Arizona Cardinals are playing some very good football, a shock to many. Kyler Murray has the offense rolling, and rookie receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. is starting to come into his own. Arizona’s pass rush defensively is less than spectacular, but that defensive unit has held its own.
Coming off an emotional Week 12 win against a divisional opponent and looking ahead to a game against Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons (more on that in a bit), the Vikings are in a “trap game” situation in Week 13. They fall short.
It’s the matchup Vikings fans have had circled on their calendars since it became official that Kirk Cousins would be joining the Atlanta Falcons.
Cousins and his new team head to U.S. Bank Stadium in Week 14 as the veteran QB hopes to knock off his former team. However, something about Atlanta has just felt off for most of the season, and outside of two games against Tampa Bay and another against Carolina, the offense has felt vulnerable at times.
In classic Vikings/Kirk Cousins fashion, the game comes down to the wire, but Minnesota pulls off a win. Perhaps the win comes as a preview to a Wild Card matchup come playoff time.
Everything said about the first matchup against the Bears qualifies here, except this time, Minnesota is taking on Chicago at U.S. Bank Stadium. Assuming Minnesota stays healthy between now and Week 15, the Vikings should dominate this game.
Again, this very well could fall into the “trap game” category after beating up on the Bears and looking ahead to two very pivotal games in the NFC North divisional race to close the season.
Seattle has not been a very consistent team this year, but Geno Smith has once again found ways to win them games in the end. The defense can hang with a talented Vikings offense, and Lumen Field has been a house of horrors for Minnesota in the past. Seattle squeaks one out.
The last truly dominant Vikings stretch of play came against these Green Bay Packers in Week 4 when they jumped to a 28-0 lead in the first half. Of course, the Packers came storming back in the second half just to fall to Minnesota by a score of 31-29.
This Green Bay team is very talented, but Jordan Love has been a turnover machine all year, throwing interceptions at some of the most inopportune times. Being potentially the final home game that Minnesota plays all season, the crowd should show up and help boost the Vikings to victory.
The Detroit Lions arguably are the most talented team in the NFL right now, and they showed that in the first matchup against the Vikings. Detroit’s offense has been running over opponents for much of the year, and they finally have a defense that can support that offense. The Vikings needed to win that first matchup at home to have hopes of winning the NFC North, and they couldn’t get it done. As a result, the Lions capture it and likely the No. 1 seed in the NFC in this Week 18 game.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Reference.