Dec 17, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) celebrates the win against the Indianapolis Colts after the game at U.S. Bank Stadium. With the win, the Minnesota Vikings clinched the NFC North. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports.
It’s the Super Bowl.
ESPN’s Ben Solak published a playoff preview this week, complete with predictions, and according to him, the Minnesota Vikings will meet the Baltimore Ravens in the Super Bowl this February.
Minnesota currently boasts a 14-2 record and has a trip to Detroit on deck for Week 18, taking on the Lions for the NFC North crown, the NFC’s No. 1 seed, and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. It’s arguably the most important regular season game in franchise history.
And no matter what happens this weekend, Solak is high on the Vikings, so much so that he believes they’ll be one the last teams standing in February.
Solak explained, “The Super Bowl will be between the Ravens and Vikings. We’re beyond the stage where I have one sound prediction for the Super Bowl and into the stage where I’ve thought of so many different permutations that I’m just rooting for a favorite. We still don’t know if either Minnesota or Baltimore will win their respective divisions or run through the wild card, but I’m confident in both teams’ ‘can beat anybody on their best day’ qualifications.”
When the regular season kicked off four months ago, oddsmakers labeled Minnesota with a +8000 moneyline to win the chip. That has shrunk to +850 entering Week 18.
“The biggest thing I’d like to see is the Lamar Jackson-Brian Flores rematch. Jackson played a famously poor game in 2021 against the Flores-led Dolphins, losing 22-10 after Flores mercilessly blitzed Jackson into submission,” Solak continued. “Since then, Jackson has gotten a new offensive coordinator and dramatically improved against all-out pressure. But Flores also has evolved and wins more these days by simulating pressure, not sending it outright.”
The all-purple Super Bowl would represent the Vikings’ first trip to the league championship in 48 years.
“Jackson hasn’t played Flores since that contest — not even in 2022 against the Steelers, when Flores was a senior defensive assistant there. It would be a rematch three years in the making and a battle between the most unguardable quarterback and the most unanswerable defense. Get-out-your-popcorn stuff,” Solak concluded.
The Vikings showcase the NFL’s best defense per EPA/Play, an efficiency metric measuring expected wins added. Quarterback Sam Darnold has accounted for 36 touchdowns, even after most of the NFL body politic called him a bust and left him for dead.
Now, though, Minnesota has morphed into a sexy playoff prediction. Whoodathunkit?
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.