Colin Cowherd Is Back on the Vikings Bandwagon in 2023
Many fans will recall that, ahead of the 2022 season, FOX Sports host Colin Cowherd made the bold proclamation that the Minnesota Vikings would “double” their win total from the previous 8-9 season. Essentially, at the time, he was making the prediction that Minnesota would pull a 1998 and have a one-loss season by going 16-1.
Later on, Cowherd clarified his stance by saying the Vikings would be a “13 or 14 win” team in 2022, and at the time, he was mocked for his faith in the team. Lo and behold, regardless of the team somehow finishing the season with a negative point differential, Minnesota finished the regular season 13-4 and claiming an NFC North crown.
Well, with this recent correct take in mind, Vikings fans should be delighted to hear that Cowherd is once again on Minnesota’s bandwagon heading into 2023. This week, he released his NFL playoff predictions for the season, predicting the standings in each division.
While he isn’t quite as high on Minnesota as he was in 2022, Cowherd made the prediction that the Vikings would be a Wild Card team this year, finishing second in the NFC North to the Detroit Lions. Here is what the host had to say of the NFC North as a whole:
“I think losing Dalvin Cook is something for Minnesota, and I don’t think they’ll win all those one-score games. Last year, I believe they were 11-0 in those. I’m buying Detroit, but I’m buying Detroit to win 10 games, not like 13. People are going crazy on ’em; it’s still Detroit, but they’ve become a playoff team. Packers slide back to about a seven-win team. Bears [get] 6-7 [wins], whatevs.”
Essentially, it sounds like Cowherd believes that it will be a race to the top of the division between Detroit and Minnesota, but Detroit squeaks out a division crown with a 10-7 or 11-6 record. Perhaps it will be decided by head-to-head matchups, and with recent history in mind, the Lions should be favored here considering Minnesota has lost two of the last three meetings between the two teams.
If Detroit’s defense is as good as advertised, based on free agent acquisitions, draft picks, and growth from young players already on the roster, they will be a tough team to beat this year.
However, Vikings fans should have hope in their own defense, considering the hire of Brian Flores as defensive coordinator. He is a blitzing machine, and with Brian Asamoah, Lewis Cine, Jordan Hicks, and Harrison Smith at his disposal, the defense in Minnesota should look very different from a year ago. Overall, 2023 is shaping up to be a very fun season to watch the NFC North.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.