3 Hot Takes for Falcons at Vikings
Regular Season Game No. 2 will feature the Minnesota Vikings hosting the 0-1 Atlanta Falcons on Sunday Night Football, a club that lost at home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1.
Three fearless calls for Sunday night’s Falcons at Vikings showdown. From surprising standouts to game-changers, here are bold predictions.
Minnesota downed the Atlanta rather handily last season, and Raheem Morris’ team will hope this time is different with Michael Penix Jr. at quarterback instead of Kirk Cousins.
These are our bold predictions for the event.
Vikings-Falcons: Bold Predictions
Forecasting the bold stuff for Sunday Night Football.
1. The Vikings Lead from Cover to Cover
Minnesota will have one of those games.
Kevin O’Connell’s team will be the first to score — on the first drive or soon after — and then it will just never relinquish the lead. This does not mean that the Vikings will blow the doors off the Falcons — they already did that last year — but they will carry a lead the entire game.
Much like the 4th Quarter in Chicago, Minnesota will feature the rushing offense throughout and dictate the game’s tempo. J.J. McCarthy will showcase a few impressive plays, but Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason will perform most of the cooking.
Vikings win 27-20, and in a close game, they somehow never give up the lead.
2. Kirk Cousins Makes an Appearance
This one is random.
Somehow, probably because of injury, Kirk Cousins will see his first NFL action since December 2024 when Atlanta benched him for Michael Penix Jr. No one is too sure how Cousins might play in 2025 — he’s basically been left for dead in the court of public opinion.
Perhaps due to a slight injury for Penix Jr. — an ankle or hamstring, for example — Cousins will enter the game and perform respectably, not wonderfully. It’s the least the most expensive backup quarterback in history can do for his squad.
Our own Janik Eckardt opined this week that Cousins could actually be traded to the San Francisco 49ers.
He wrote, “Head coach Kyle Shanahan could turn to GM John Lynch and ask him to call the Falcons. He has a history with Cousins and reportedly wanted to lure him to San Francisco nearly a decade ago. Trade rumors appeared annually during Cousins’ time in the Twin Cities.”
“Now, some obstacles make a trade unlikely. Cousins has ties with Shanahan and has run comparable offenses in Minnesota, but it would still take some time to get comfortable with the new surroundings, which might lead to San Francisco preferring to go with Jones. Furthermore, he still carries a massive contract, and the Falcons would have to be willing to pay some of it.”
Shanahan is a longstanding and well-documented fan of Cousins.
Eckardt continued, “Cousins also has a no-trade clause and could just veto any move. Still, this is the most realistic trade destination Cousins has had in a while. If the 49ers think they have a better chance to keep the season alive with Cousins in the building, there might be some conversations with the Falcons. For now, expect Cousins to back up Penix Jr. on Sunday, in what will be Cousins’ second homecoming to the Twin Cities.”
“The first one didn’t go well for the veteran passer, as he watched Darnold toss five touchdowns. Cousins ranks third in passing yards and second in passing touchdowns in Minnesota Vikings franchise history.”
A Penix Jr. injury would obviously lessen the likelihood of a Cousins trade.
3. Dallas Turner Logs 2 or More Sacks
It’s time. It’s just time.
The Vikings won’t have Andrew Van Ginkel on Sunday night, as the productive EDGE rusher will miss Week 2 due to a concussion. In his stead, Dallas Turner will start, fresh off the steam of a noteworthy performance against the Bears in Week 1. Turner played 45% of snaps in that game, up from 28% in 2024 on the whole.
Turner is due for a breakout moment, and that will transpire at U.S. Bank Stadium in primetime. The 22-year-old will bank a couple of sacks and prove that he just needed playing time to emerge.
Van Ginkel should be back for Week 3 versus the Cincinnati Bengals, but put Turner down for a huge game in his absence.
You must be logged in to post a comment.