4 Bold Post-Bye Predictions for the Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are enjoying their bye week in Week 6 with an opportunity to get a number of key players back from injury.
It’s a well-deserved break after back-to-back weeks in Europe and still finishing 3-2 through five weeks despite all the injury troubles. Now, as the Vikings prepare to get into the meat of their schedule, here are a few post-bye predictions for the team.
1. Jonathan Allen Records 8 Sacks
It’s been a pretty quiet start to the season for one of the Vikings’ most expensive free agent acquisitions of this past offseason. Jonathan Allen, a two-time Pro Bowler signed with the Vikings this spring on a three-year deal worth $51 million.
However, through five weeks, Allen has recorded just one tackle for loss and is yet to record a sack. That being said, we have to keep in mind that Allen spent much of the 2024 season injured with a torn pec. It was believed to be a season-ending injury, but he made a miraculous return to the Commanders’ defense for their playoff run.
Perhaps he came back to the field a bit earlier than he should have, and then Allen immediately went into a tumultuous offseason that included a trade request before ultimately being released by Washington and signed by the Vikings. It was a roller coaster ride to say the least.
On top of that, the Vikings have been without two key pieces on defense in Blake Cashman and Andrew Van Ginkel. With Allen getting a bit of a reset on this bye, and those two eventually heading back to the field, let’s expect the veteran to have a big bounce back over the final 12 games.
2. Justin Jefferson Has a 200-Yard Game
Despite coming ever so close to putting together a 200-yard game in 2024, Justin Jefferson only has one such performance in his career. It came during the 2022 season against the Detroit Lions in which he caught 11 passes for 223 yards.
It was a bit of a slow start to the year for Jefferson, but he has come alive over the past two weeks with a combined 17 receptions for 249 yards.
The Vikings still have both of their matchups against the Lions in front of them, and three of Jefferson’s top five yardage outputs have been against the division rival. Seeing as the Vikings were left with a sour taste in their mouth following Week 18’s loss to Detroit for the division title, Jefferson and Minnesota should have a little extra fire in their bellies for those matchups this year.
The Vikings also have a game against the Baltimore Ravens later this year, a team that currently has allowed the second-most passing yards per game this season. That porous defense could provide another opportunity for Jefferson to have a big output.
3. Vikings Trade for a Cornerback
The Vikings brought in Jeff Okudah this offseason to try and add some depth to their secondary after a mass exodus during the offseason.
However, that experiment hasn’t exactly worked. In four games, Okudah has played 71 snaps with the defense, and he has been targeted seven times. On those seven targets, he’s allowed seven receptions for 92 yards.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has been known to be willing to swing a trade or two at the deadline during his tenure with the Vikings, and cornerback may still be on the short list of needs if Minnesota still finds itself in the heat of a playoff race later this month.
One option could be Alontae Taylor, who is on the final year of his contract for a 1-4 Saints team that looks like it could be a seller.
4. Vikings Finish Top-10 in Scoring
The Vikings have been inconsistent at best on offense this season. Part of that has to do with the quarterback play of J.J. McCarthy and Carson Wentz, but we cannot overlook the major adjustments that have had to be made on the offensive lines because of injuries. Nor should we discount the fact that Jordan Addison missed the first three games of the season while serving a suspension.
Even still, the Vikings find themselves averaging 24.6 points per game, which ranks 14th in the NFL. Donovan Jackson should be back soon to fill in the left guard spot, and hopefully, Christian Darrisaw will remain healthy for the rest of the season too.
The Vikings have finished with a top-10 scoring offense in two of the three full seasons that Kevin O’Connell has been head coach. The only time they didn’t was 2023 when they played the final nine games with a combination of Joshua Dobbs, Nick Mullens, and Jaren Hall at quarterback. Either of J.J. McCarthy or Carson Wentz are certainly better than those options, so Minnesota will get back to their explosive ways again this year.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Over the Cap, Pro Football Focus, and Pro Football Reference.
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