4 Bold Predictions as the Vikings Try to Save Their Season
Forty-one percent of the Minnesota Vikings’ season is in the books, and with all the turmoil and injuries, some feel like they’ve aged decades watching. The club must rebound as early as Week 9 or risk a wholly lost season that could result in significant change. Accordingly, we have bold predictions for the second half of the season.
The Vikings’ season may not feel salvageable at the moment, but let’s get some juicy and bold predictions out in the open with 10 games remaining.
As always, remember that “bold predictions” are, at heart, supposed to be “out there” and a little unruly.
Bold Takes for the 2nd Half of the Vikings Season
Let’s be defiant and go on record.
1. The Vikings Beat the Lions in Detroit
The Lions are already favorites to topple the Vikings by 8.5 points. That’s a significant point spread — undoubtedly.
But this season is just weird enough for Minnesota to waltz away from a nine-day break, finally ready to produce its very best game of the season. Kevin O’Connell’s back against the wall, and if he’s an excellent coach, as the whole world believed as recently as two weeks ago, he will respond with a valiant effort.
J.J. McCarthy will also make his return to the Vikings lineup in the state that hosted him for college. Too, Minnesota is egregiously overdue to beat Detroit, failing to do so since the middle of 2022 — three years ago.
With jokes flying around the internet about the Vikings and fans calling for O’Connell to be fired, Minnesota responds by upending Detroit in their building while McCarthy injects newfound belief in the season.
2. Jalen Redmond Reaches the Pro Bowl
Redmond is on pace for seven sacks this season — noteworthy for any defensive tackle and even more notable for a player who most of the world has never heard of. The former UFLer has arguably been Minnesota’s most consistent defensive player, and there’s a reason he’s stood off the page in a DT room with many high-profile names. Redmond is that damn good.
The 26-year-old will approach 10 sacks by the end of Week 18, turn heads around the NFL with his Cinderella story, and reach the Pro Bowl. Few other Vikings will get the same recognition. Justin Jefferson and Jalen Redmond may be it.
Our Janik Eckardt on Redmond: “Redmond is not just a one-game wonder; he actually ranks second among the Vikings’ defenders over the season with 21 pressures and 17 hurries. In fact, both are top-ten numbers among all interior defenders. His pass-rush productivity even ranks him as the league’s best interior lineman with at least 100 pass-rush snaps.”
“From a counting stat perspective, Redmond has made 20 tackles, three sacks, and five tackles for loss in the seven games this season. His snap count keeps rising, and he played a season-high 86% of the snaps on Thursday. It’s been flying under the radar a little, but he has snatched the job from Hargrave, who’s now just a third-down specialist and rotational player while Redmond is getting pretty much all the snaps he can handle.”
It’s also worth noting that Redmond is still flying under the NFL’s radar. Ask a friend who’s a fan of a different team, and that person probably won’t know anything about Redmond.
“After the season, the defender will be a restricted free agent. The Vikings could keep him on another cheap one-year deal, but that would hardly be fair to a player who’s playing like a star. Redmond has earned a long-term deal, and the club should give him one. In fact, it should be a priority, a reward for a guy who could and should be a foundational piece on the defense for years to come,” Eckardt continued.
“The Vikings found the former undrafted player starring in the UFL and signed him in the 2024 offseason. All other teams had a shot to add him in the draft, as an undrafted free agent, and once the Panthers allowed him to walk.”
3. Myles Price Houses 2 Return TDs
Eventually, the purple special teams players will stop negating Price’s monster returns with hellacious holding penalties. Price is on the cusp of breaking a punt or kick return touchdown, and by season’s end, he’ll take two to the house, as Minnesota turns its season around from the abyss-feeling 3-4 standing after eight weeks.
Two house calls for Price. It will be abundantly clear that the Vikings found their return man for the next half-decade.
4. J.J. McCarthy Looks the Part of a Savior, but MIN Just Misses the Postseason
The Vikings and J.J. McCarthy have taken a lot of heat in the last couple of weeks, mainly because McCarthy’s high ankle sprain will take six weeks of the average four-to-six week recovery. Internet detectives had also suggested that Minnesota faked the whole injury to get McCarthy on the bench because he played poorly in his second career game six days after winning the NFC Offensive Player of the Week award.
O’Connell already debunked the bizarre theory, and with McCarthy scheduled to return in Week 9, he’ll resume his development and play much better than that awful Week 2 performance.
The Vikings desperately need McCarthy to play competently upon his return, and he’ll do precisely that. The schedule is the most difficult in the NFL, so the team won’t quite parlay the McCarthy return into a postseason push.
Still, fans will be encouraged about McCarthy, while the team finishes 8-9 or 9-8 and narrowly misses the postseason.
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