The 4 Most Surprising Developments for the Vikings So Far in 2024
The Minnesota Vikings’ Super Bowl odds have climbed from +8000 three weeks ago to +4500 currently.
The 4 Most Surprising Developments for the Vikings So Far in 2024
That’s the perk of a 2-0 start inside a season where NFL experts expected the purple team to win just six or seven games.
Along the way, these are the four surprising developments that have emerged, ranked in ascending order of importance (No. 1 = most surprising).
4. The Vikings Rushing Offense … Is Fixed?
Minnesota’s rushing offense ranks sixth per DVOA at the moment — up 21 spots from 2022 and 2023, when the club finished 27th in back-to-back seasons. It turns out — through two games — that Aaron Jones and Ty Chandler are the special sauce for repair.
The Vikings’ offensive line is also responsible for the right stuff, ranking second leaguewide per run blocking grade, according to Pro Football Focus.
3. No Opponent Is Too Daunting
When the schedule dropped in May, the first 6-7 games appeared to be a murderer’s row for Minnesota. They are, in fact, a murderer’s row.
It’s just that the Vikings are a really efficient football team through two games, and accordingly, no team represents an impossible task. If Minnesota could topple the San Francisco 49ers, no team, besides the Kansas City Chiefs, is off limits.
Fans should face the reality that Minnesota is just plain good.
2. Patrick Jones II Is Suddenly a Baller
Pat Jones II ranks second in the NFL in sacks through two games. For real.
Jones II played like a tyrant in last Sunday’s win over the mighty San Francisco 49ers, chipping off two sacks and two tackles for loss and a mind-bogglingly productive 88.2 Pro Football Focus grade.
Two states over, Detroit Lions EDGE rusher Aidan Hutchinson logged 4.5 sacks — yes, you read that right — in a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and if not for that performance, Jones II would lead the business in sacks, if that can be believed.
Not long ago, some wondered if Jones II would even make the 53-man roster in 2024. The Vikings had onboarded Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Dallas Turner, plus Jihad Ward and undrafted free agent Bo Richter during the offseason, perhaps nominating Jones II as a roster cut candidate or practice squad demotion.
Those theories (mentioned by this website, too) were wildly inaccurate.
1. Sam Darnold Not a Downgrade from Kirk Cousins
The Atlanta Falcons pay Kirk Cousins $45 million per year. Darnold earns $10 million. Through two games, Darnold ranks fifth leaguewide per EPA+CPOE, an efficiency metric that measures wins added. Cousins ranks 15th.
It is unclear if Darnold’s breakneck pace will continue, but through two weeks of the 2024 season, he is emphatically not a downgrade from six seasons of Cousins in Minneapolis.
In fact, one could argue his two-game performance is an upgrade. What a world.
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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