The Minnesota Vikings were able to squeeze out an important divisional victory over the Detroit Lions to improve to 2-1. This Lions team seems to be turning a corner, so it definitely makes this win feel all that more important! Leading by 3 points after Minnesota turned the ball over on downs at its own 47 with 2:32 left, Lions HC Dan Campbell elected to try a 54-yard field goal. Kicker Siebert pushed the kick wide right with 1:10 remaining. The Vikings quickly flipped things around and QB Cousins was able to connect with WR KJ Osborn on 2 28 yard passes including the game-winning touchdown with :45 seconds left. It was an awesome ending for us Vikings fans! I just couldn't believe the Lions didn't either go for it on 4th down (they were 4/6 on 4th downs in the game already, why not stay aggressive??) or pooch punt it down inside the 10-yard line? The punt would have forced the Vikings to drive 50-60 yards with only a minute left just to try to tie the game. I guess the Lions stay the Lions! I am HERE for it! With the win, the Vikings have improved to 2-1 and 2-0 in the division...pretty solid start to the season even if the team isn't playing as well as everyone has hoped! SKOLLLL
On to Week 4...the Minnesota Vikings travel to LONDON to square off against the New Orleans Saints! ELLO! The Saints come into this game with a ton of injuries including WR Michael Thomas, QB Jamies Winston, their starting LG, and their starting Safety. RB Alvin Kamara is also off to a poor start due to a rib injury that he is still battling. The Vikings shouldn't have any notable injuries heading into kickoff.
London football games can sometimes be sloppy, low scoring matchups and I think this one has that written all over it. For one, the Vikings are just arriving to London today, while the Saints have been in London for almost a week. That could help give the Saints an advantage, or at least help balance out the one sided injury report. Another reason is we are likely going to see QB Andy Dalton vs QB Cousins, 2 quarterbacks that don't exactly scream high scoring offenses. Both teams will also be trying the get their top running backs going since neither have had great starts to the season due to injuries (Cook and Kamara). With all of that being said, I can't see the Vikings losing to this Saints team. If Sean Payton or Ted Lasso were the current Head Coach, maybe my feeling would be different, but this Saints team is a mess even before their current injuries. I am going to predict a 23-17 victory for the Vikings to improve to 3-1 on the 2022 season. Let's go, BABY! SKOL Vikings!
Lunch Break Takes with Max and Jacks:
Max Forster (with Little Pepper Promotions) says, "The Vikings SHOULD win, but it makes me a little worried that the Vikings are SOOO favored across the board...that usually doesn't end well for us (Charlie-P in the background "But Maaaaaxx!")! Plus, the Saints have been in London for almost a week and the Vikings are JUST arriving. The Saints are definitely going to have the time zone advantage. I mean, not to brag, but I travel a lot. Some even call me the Travelin' Troubadour. I have been to London a few times and I can tell ya that it takes me more than 48 hours to adjust to the new time zone."
Jack Anderson (with JEA Architects) says, "The Vikings will win 28-17, but don't be shocked if we get a sloppy Cousins performance...leading to a much tighter final score. This might be one where I crack a brew and start mowing the lawn at 9:00am."
I honestly don't care how the Vikings win in London on Sunday, I'll just be happy if they can pull out the win, improve the 3-1, and then our next week is basically a bye week as we play the Chicago Bears LOL. Let's go, Vikings! Take care of business, keep the good vibes rolling, and get back home safely! See slideshow below from last week's win vs Detroit :) Woohoo!