Our Official Lions-Vikings Prediction Is In
Looking to snap a naughty three-year losing skid against the Detroit Lions, the Minnesota Vikings will take on Dan Campbell’s team this Sunday, with J.J. McCarthy under center.
It’s probably not a “must-win” for the Vikings this week because the opponent is so daunting, but Minnesota must play competently at Ford Field vs. the Lions.
McCarthy has missed five games with a high ankle sprain, finally healthy enough to return and doing so in his home college state.
We asked our writers for Lions-Vikings predictions, and here’s how they responded.
Our Prediction for Sunday’s Vikings at Lions Clash
The panel is not optimistic.
Individual Writer Score Predictions for DET-MIN
No love for Minnesota this week, sans Brazil’s finest, Henrique Gucciardi, who remains optimistic about his team no matter what.
Here are the score predictions for our writers:
Dustin Baker: DET Wins, 30-20
Sean Borman: DET Wins, 28-17
Janik Eckardt: DET Wins, 30-20
Josh Frey: DET Wins, 31-21
Henrique Gucciardi: MIN Wins, 34-31
Wesley Johnson: DET Wins, 33-27
Kyle Joudry: DET Wins, 28-20
Adam New: DET Wins, 34-23
Tony Schultz: DET Wins, 40-16
Ted Schwerzler: MIN Wins, 28-24
Ali Siddiqui: DET Wins, 38-17
Cole Smith: DET Wins, 34-26
In Week 8, Adam New most accurately predicted the outcome, choosing Minnesota to lose by eight points when it was all said and done. The Chargers won by 27 and smashed the Vikings.
Season Standings for the Group
The running log of wins and losses per writer:
Kyle Joudry: 5-2
Sean Borman: 5-2
Janik Eckardt: 5-2
Adam New: 5-2
Ali Siddiqui: 5-2
Dustin Baker: 4-3
Ted Schwerzler: 4-3
Cole Smith: 4-3
Josh Frey: 3-4
Henrique Gucciardi: 3-4
Tony Schultz: 3-4
Wes Johnson: 3-4
Fans hoped Joudry was onto something last weekend when he called a Minnesota dub over Los Angeles, but he evidently got carried away and now shares first place with four others.
Our Collective Score Pick
With our most emphatic anti-Vikings prediction in a very long while — maybe ever — our panel has picked Detroit to prevail by a score of 32-22. It’s not that Detroit is wholly unbeatable; it’s that the matchup, as of late, has not worked out swimmingly for the Vikings, mainly with running back Jahmyr Gibbs inflicting too much damage.
In the last four meetings, Detroit has scored 31 or 30 points in each game. It’s their magic number against Kevin O’Connell’s team.
NFL Media on the Showdown
The Athletic‘s panel of experts picked Detroit across the board and explained, “While Minnesota isn’t mathematically out of the playoffs, the Vikings’ recent struggles have dumped them into the NFC’s Better Luck Next Year bin. Their division is a two-horse race between Super Bowl candidates.”
“The NFC West looks to have three teams headed for the postseason. Add that all up, and the Vikes have a lot of bodies to climb over if they want to see January football. They desperately need an upset in a game like this, and the oddsmakers are clearly telling them, ‘Too bad.'”
It’s worth noting that sometimes when the Vikings seemed guaranteed to lose or win, they do the opposite.
“Minnesota opened as an 8.5-point dog in Detroit, and that has widened to a 9-point spread on some books. The Vikings have J.J. McCarthy and something called Max Brosmer at quarterback, a duo responsible for 49 NFL passes. The Lions just dismantled the Bucs, then took a week to rest up, so it wouldn’t be surprising if the spread widened to 10 by the end of this sentence,” The Athletic continued.
“This game’s draw is entirely based on the returns Detroit’s offense can give you. Start your fantasy players, line up your props, sit back and enjoy.”
Bleacher Report‘s Kristopher Knox on why his website picked Detroit: “It looks like we’re all on the Lions, which is understandable. Detroit has moved past whatever issues it had with its double-coordinator change and is every bit the powerhouse it was a year ago. … It’s just hard to back a quarterback with two career starts on the road in Detroit. Of course, none of this guarantees the Lions will run away with this one.”
“Divisional games are always unpredictable, and the Lions, even coming out of their bye, have more defensive injury concerns than any team would be comfortable having. If the Vikings – who rank 28th in average drive time – prevent their 14th-ranked defense from having to carry the load again, they should have a chance of keeping this one close.”
The Vikings’ all-time record against the Lions is 80-45-2 (.637).
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