Shocking ESPN Playoff Prediction Revealed for Vikings
If you had asked most analysts during the preseason about their expectations for the Minnesota Vikings in the 2024 season, they would have predicted that the team would be drafting in the top ten again and that their chances of making the playoffs would likely be over by early December.
Shocking ESPN Playoff Prediction Revealed for Vikings
Fast forward a few months, and the Vikings are in a position to clinch home-field advantage by winning their Week 18 bout in Detroit against the injured but still scary Lions. That would also give the Vikes a first-round bye week, strengthening the Super Bowl chances even further.
ESPN’s Ben Solak gave some postseason predictions, and he has two purple franchises facing off in February.
We’re beyond the stage where I have one sound prediction for the Super Bowl and into the stage where I’ve thought of so many different permutations that I’m just rooting for a favorite. We still don’t know if either Minnesota or Baltimore will win their respective divisions or run through the wild card, but I’m confident in both teams’ “can beat anybody on their best day” qualifications.
The Vikings entered the season with a journeyman quarterback in perhaps his final chance to start, and Sam Darnold has been phenomenal, throwing for 35 touchdowns in 16 games.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell and his wingman defensive coordinator Brian Flores have gotten the best out of their players, resulting in a 14-2 record. Rarely has a Vikings team been this balanced.
In Solak’s scenario, Flores’ defense would meet MVP candidate Lamar Jackson in the Super Bowl, but he had success in the past against the dynamic two-time MVP.
The biggest thing I’d like to see is the Lamar Jackson-Brian Flores rematch. Jackson played a famously poor game in 2021 against the Flores-led Dolphins, losing 22-10 after Flores mercilessly blitzed Jackson into submission. Since then, Jackson has gotten a new offensive coordinator and dramatically improved against all-out pressure. But Flores also has evolved and wins more these days by simulating pressure, not sending it outright.
Jackson hasn’t played Flores since that contest — not even in 2022 against the Steelers, when Flores was a senior defensive assistant there. It would be a rematch three years in the making and a battle between the most unguardable quarterback and the most unanswerable defense. Get-out-your-popcorn stuff.
The QB has not had much success in his postseason career, but this year, Jackson’s gaudy numbers are impossible to ignore. He has thrown for 3,955 yards and rushed for 852 while finding the endzone 43 times. His touchdown to interception ratio of 39-4 is almost unheard of.
He is undoubtedly supported by the best receiving group he has had and, of course, running back Derrick Henry, a future Hall of Famer who is still going strong despite turning 31 this week. He’s close to eclipsing 2,000 yards from scrimmage.
Minnesota’s defense would have its hands full, stopping two of the most explosive players in this era of football. The good news is that Flores’ crew is the best in the business at stopping the run and in overall defense, according to EPA/play, an efficiency metric.
The Vikings need to win three more games to reach the Super Bowl.
Editor’s Note: Information from rbsdm and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt