Expect a Vikings Win on Thursday Night Football
K. Joudry
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Admittedly, I’m taking a counterintuitive approach on this one. Confidence in The Zim Reapers is at an all-time low following the brutal defeat to the Lions. Nevertheless, I’m going to zig while others zag. I’m expecting the Vikings to win on Thursday Night Football.
My rationale isn’t supported by sophisticated Xs & Os analysis. I’m not identifying critical matchups that lean toward the purple. Rather, I’m merely recognizing one of the central parts of the Vikings experience: prolonged suffering from a team that consistently defies expectations.
Coming out of the bye, Vikings fans were feeling optimistic about the Dak-less Cowboys. Minnesota, of course, made things needlessly difficult for themselves, leading to the Cooper Rush defeat. They followed that game with a tough loss to the Ravens (a game that involved giving up multiple two-score leads and then questions about Zim’s job security).
What did they do to respond? Pull off massive wins against the Chargers and Packers, bringing the team right back into playoff contention. No one expected the Vikings to win those games, so they promptly went out to snag both wins.
Last week, the 49ers gave Minnesota more than it could handle. Many fans still took an optimistic approach since the Lions were next on the schedule. The pre-game optimism was all for naught. Instead of a getting back to .500, the Vikings once again find themselves behind the sticks in the NFC standings.
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It’s this reality that makes me think it’ll be a Vikings victory on Thursday Night Football. The Steelers are coming off a clutch win against the Ravens, squeaking by with a modest one-point win. Not unlike the Vikings, their path towards the playoffs involves the Wild Card. It’s likely they’ll roll into the TNF game motivated, and yet I still lean purple on this one.
With a loss, fans could completely abandon what little hope they have left. 5-8 would be the death knell for the playoffs. It may also lead to a coaching change. Fans would therefore proceed through the rest of the year without the burden of expectations. The Vikings never make things so easy for their fans. Pulling off the unlikely victory would give fans just enough hope to break their heart yet again.
Plus, the Vikings have made it a habit to follow disappointment with unexpected competence. We’ve seen it multiple times so far this season. Why would they change now? This is who they are: a below-average team with above average talent, one that shows just enough brilliance to entice fans into thinking it could all work in the end.
A loss to the Steelers on TNF would, mercifully, put an end to season’s purple expectations. Expect the Vikings to respond by winning.
