Ali Siddiqui’s Prediction for Vikings-Falcons
The Minnesota Vikings and Atlanta Falcons will face off Sunday night at U.S. Bank Stadium. Minnesota leads the all-time series 22-12, including winning six out of the last seven meetings.
VikingsTerritory’s Ali Siddiqui swings by for a Sunday Night Football prediction after accurately picking Minnesota over Chicago last week.
Minnesota started the season off with a thrilling 27-24 comeback win on the road against the Chicago Bears. J.J. McCarthy has had many fans and media members buzzing after his play in the fourth quarter, which resulted in two touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown.
Atlanta lost last week at home to the Tampa Buccaneers 23-20. These two teams faced each other last season in Minnesota.
Siddiqui’s Pick for Falcons at Vikings + a Flashback
Sam Darnold went 22/28 for 347 yards and five touchdowns. Aaron Jones rushed for 73 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Jordan Addison caught eight passes for 133 yards and three touchdowns. Justin Jefferson caught seven passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns.
On defense, Josh Metellus and Byron Murphy Jr each recorded an interception. Metellus also tied for a team-high with seven tackles.
“It just felt like it was one of those days to keep the gas pedal down,” said coachย Kevin O’Connell, who enjoyed his team’s first 40-point game in three seasons on the job.
In his first game against his former team, Kirk Cousins went 23/37 for 344 yards and two interceptions for Atlanta. Bijan Robinson rushed for 92 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. Ray Ray McCloud caught eight passes for 98 yards. Darnell Mooney caught six passes for 142 yards.
On defense, Kaden Eliss recorded a game-high 10 tackles and also added a sack.
Minnesota won 42-21 to improve to 11-2 on the season. They finished at 14-3 – clinching a Wild Card berth. They, however, fell in the first round on the road to the Los Angeles Rams.
Atlanta fell to 6-7 with the loss and finished at 8-9. It was their seventh consecutive losing season.
This time, Michael Penix Jr is Atlanta’s starting quarterback and not Cousins. Like McCarthy, Penix Jr is also a second-year quarterback, which will make the game even more entertaining. Which young arm will lead his team to victory?
This is another game Minnesota has a great chance to win. Although last week’s win wasn’t particularly impressive, given the fourth quarter’s outcome, every win in this league is essential. Winning in Chicago is never easy for Minnesota, and divisional games in general are not always easy.
This should be Minnesota’s biggest home opener at U.S. Bank Stadium since their first one there in 2016. It will be McCarthy’s first regular-season home game, and it will be Adam Thielen’s first home game with them since 2022.
Home openers are always huge for any team, no matter what, but some definitely can be even bigger. McCarthy’s performance in the fourth quarter has not only made his biggest fans even more excited but also prompted some of his critics to show a little more optimism towards him.
The way he bounced back after throwing a pick-six was tremendous and showed plenty of growth.
While this is a team game, how McCarthy plays the rest of the year will play a very critical role in how the rest of the season goes for Minnesota. He is on a very talented team; he just needs to do well enough for them to keep winning and not struggle so much. Having Christian Darrisaw back this week would be very helpful. He will get Addison back in Week 4, too.
A 2-0 start for Minnesota would at least show that the ship is trending in the right direction. The schedule is very tough this year, so this is a game they cannot afford to lose if they want to once again compete for a division title and perhaps more.
Prediction: Minnesota wins 30-17
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