Category: Minnesota Vikings news

Vikings keep moving up NFL power rankings ahead of Week 12

The Vikings are surging upward in the power rankings.

Following the Vikings’ 23-13 win over the Titans in Nashville this past weekend, Minnesota has moved up ESPN’s latest power ranking. Entering the weekend, the Vikings were the eighth-best team. But after the win, Minnesota has moved up to No. 6.

“Adofo-Mensah is the general manager of a team that has surprised the NFL by starting 8-2 despite the season-long loss of rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy (knee). His 2024 draft hasn’t helped much, similar to the 2022 and 2023 drafts, but Adofo-Mensah’s free agent class — including linebackers Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel and Blake Cashman, along with cornerback Stephon Gilmore — has been fantastic. There was never a high likelihood that Adofo-Mensah would be fired this winter, but the team’s performance raises the chances that he will receive a contract extension.”

The Detroit Lions are ESPN’s top team in the NFL following the Chiefs’ loss to the Bills. The Vikings’ next opponent, the Bears, are ranked No. 23 in the power rankings.

A familiar face could be the Vikings playoff opponent in opening round

As of now, the Vikings are projected to face Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons.

It’s not impossible for the Vikings to receive a first-round bye, but with the Detroit Lions extremely hot, Minnesota will need some magic to win the NFC North. If the Vikings can’t beat out the Lions, they would likely get a five—or six-seed in the playoffs.

According to the latest playoff predictor, the Vikings would be the fifth seed and get the chance to play a familiar face in the first round on the road. They would have to go to Atlanta to play the fourth-seed Falcons, who obviously have Kirk Cousins as their starting quarterback.

Cousins has had an up-and-down season with Atlanta in his first season away from the Vikings. Cousins was benched this past weekend after the Falcons were down late to the Denver Broncos.

In 2024, Cousins has passed for 2,807 yards and thrown for 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions. For Viking fans, beating Cousins in the first round would be a dream scenario.

Former Viking Jared Allen named Pro Football HoF semi-finalist

The former Minnesota Viking legend is on the short list to become a hall of famer.

Former Minnesota star defensive end Jared Allen, who played for the Vikings from 2008 to 2013, was one of 25 players who became semifinalists for the 2025 Hall of Fame class.

Allen came to the Vikings from the Kansas City Chiefs where he started his career. He played for the Chiefs from 2004-2007. After he left Minnesota, he played two seasons with the Chicago Bears before playing one final season with the Carolina Panthers.

Allen is considered one of the greatest players ever to wear Purple and Gold. He finished his Minnesota career with 85.5 sacks, which ranks fourth in franchise history. In 2011, he led the entire league with 22 sacks, which is a single-season Vikings franchise record. In that season he finished second in NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting behind Terrell Suggs.

Allen’s 136 career sacks rank 12th in NFL history. During his time in the league, he was named to five Pro Bowls. It seems like a matter of time before Allen gets his gold jacket.

The Athletic reports that Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell does not use game scripts

Most coaches use a script to call the first drive of the game, but Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell isn’t one of those coaches.

In football, you typically have a week to gameplan for the upcoming opponent, which means most teams have a scripted drive they plan on calling on offense. However, according to Alec Lewis with The Athletic, Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell is not one of those coaches. Lewis says O’Connell calls plays on the fly and makes adjustments when needed.

“Let’s set straight a misunderstanding about Kevin O’Connell’s play calling: The Minnesota Vikings coach does not call plays from a script. Some NFL coaches do, especially early in games. They spend ungodly time brainstorming the correct way to unveil their plan. In a sense, O’Connell is similar. There are plays he prefers over others, some of which he knows he will call in the first quarter. But it is never definite and is always adaptable on the fly.“

That’s eye-opening because, as we said above, most coaches do have some sort of script they call plays off of for at least the game’s opening drive. But the Vikings’ young, innovative coach is not one of those play callers.

Updated playoff and division title odds for the Vikings

Here are the chances the Vikings get to the playoffs and make it to the Super Bowl.

The Minnesota Vikings are coming off a 12-7 win over the Jaguars last Sunday. The win moved the Vikings to 7-2 on the season. While plenty of football is still to be played, Minnesota is in a good spot nine games into the year.

According to ESPN’s latest playoff picture, the Vikings have an 89% chance of making the playoffs. But with the Lions leading the NFC, winning the NFC North won’t be so easy. According to the odds, Minnesota currently has just a 12% chance of winning the North over Detroit.

With not having great odds to win the division, ESPN gives the Vikings an 8% chance of earning a bye. However, Minnesota does have a 9% chance of getting to the Super Bowl.

The Lions have the greatest chance of making it to the Super Bowl with a 33% chance. The Eagles are next with a 16% chance, followed by Green Bay with a 10% chance. ESPN has Washington tied with the Vikings with a 9% chance of getting to the big game.

Vikings kicker John Parker Romo was staying ready for his chance

Vikings’ kicker John Parker Romo was ready for his first action in the NFL,

It was beginning to feel like the same old story for the Vikings after rookie kicker Will Reichard missed field goals last week in the win over the Colts. But come to find out, the star kicker was injured and would be placed on the Injured Reserve, which meant Minnesota was in need of finding yet another kicker.

In came John Parker Romo. He was with the Vikings this summer and was cut in camp in favor of Reichard, but Romo stayed ready for his chance.

In his first-ever NFL game, Romo scored all 12 points for the Vikings during their 12-7 win over the Jaguars. He nailed kicks of 45, 33, 34, and 29 yards to help the Minnesota defense win the game.

On Monday, Kevin O’Connell told the media the conversation he had with Romo before the game.

“I told him before the game, I said it the night before the game in front of the whole team that we all have confidence in him, and you’re gonna go do your thing,” O’Connell said on Monday. “‘It’s just the same old thing, you’ve done this 10,000 times, but now you’re gonna be doing it to help the Minnesota Vikings win,’ and that’s exactly what he did.”

Salary cap implications complicate Sam Darnold being a Viking in 2025

The voice of the Vikings, Paul Allen doesn’t see Darnold back in Minnesota next season.

Plenty of Viking fans are left scratching their head following Sam Darnold’s three-interception performance on Sunday against the Jaguars. Minnesota got the job done and won 12-7 against Jacksonville, but Darnold arguably played his worst Viking game.

Darnold is tied with Geno Smith and Jordan Love for last in the league with 10 interceptions thrown. There was a reason the Vikings drafted Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy to become their new franchise quarterback, and even if Darnold can get back on track, it’s unlikely he will be in Minnesota after this year.

What Allen eludes to is the main issue with Darnold returning to the Vikings in 2025. It has nothing to do with his play but rather with the salary cap implications. Darnold is likely to get a contract earning between $20-$30 million a year from a team needing a quality starter, which Darnold has proven to be.

“I mean, if Sam Darnold wins the Super Bowl as quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings, he’s not getting 100 million guaranteed here,” Paul Allen said on KFAN1003. “He’s not, because Kwesi in that group has worked so hard for two and a half years to get salary cap flexibility. And in essence, jettison picks in certain parts of the draft to get Greenard, to get Van Ginkel, to get Cashman.”

The Vikings and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah are in prime posit[anyclip-media thumbnail=”undefined” playlistId=”undefined” content=”dW5kZWZpbmVk”][/anyclip-media]ion to make a splash in free agency, with a projected $76 million available to them. That will allow them to re-sign and extend some core players while also going out and addressing some team needs.

Bringing Darnold back makes those two goals more challenging for a franchise that has shown efficiency in player management.

Vikings made unique history on Sunday against the Jaguars

It was a weird game from all levels on Sunday.

Minnesota moved to 7-2 on the season after taking down the Jaguars in Jacksonville, 12-7. It was a unique game for the Vikings for multiple reasons. Quarterback Sam Darnold threw three interceptions and the Vikings still won the game without their star rookie kicker, Will Reichard.

But the main reason why the win was so unique was because teams were 0-147 since 2010 if they had three turnovers or more paired with zero touchdowns scored. Minnesota is the first team to win a game like this since Green Bay took down the Vikings back in 2006.

All three of Darnold’s interceptions came when he was looking toward start receiver Justin Jefferson. Darnold was locked in on his main target and forced throws his way.

But behind the leg of John Parker Romo and Brian Flores’ defense, the Vikings prevailed against a Jaguars team that was down Trevor Lawrence. Former New England quarterback Mac Jone might have helped the Vikings out as well.

Justin Jefferson passes Adam Thielen for No. 4 all-time in Vikings receiving yards

The Vikings WR continues to climb the ladder as the he makes his first catch of the day against the Jaguars in Week 10.

With his first catch of the day on Sunday, Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson passed Adam Thielen and moved into fourth for all-time receiving yards with Minnesota. Jefferson was sitting at 6,687 yards following his first grab of the day against Jacksonville.

Jefferson is now behind Cris Carter, Randy Moss, and Anthony Carter. Carter, the next man in line, had 7,636 yards as a Viking and Jefferson is well on his way to passing the former Viking legend.

The Vikings got things started quickly after holding the Jaguars on their first series. Then Minnesota went down for a field goal, but Minnesota allowed Mac Jones to lead the Jaguars down the field for a score. Sam Darnold turned the ball over, and the Vikings found themselves down 7-3 to the Jaguars.

Minnesota will need a bigger game from Jefferson, who has just two catches on the day against the Jaguars. Minnesota has struggled to get much of anything going on the offensive side.

Linebacker groups health highlights Wednesday’s injury report

With Jacksonville next on the slate, the Vikings saw three impact players sit out of Wednesday’s practice.

Minnesota will travel to Jacksonville for its next game. The Vikings released their first injury report on Wednesday ahead of the Jaguars’ game and Minnesota had three players not practice.

Linebackers Ivan Pace Jr., Andrew VanGinkel, and center Garrett Bradbury were all OUT. But both Bradbury and VanGinkel didn’t practice due to rest. However, Pace Jr. was listed OUT with a knee injury.

Linebacker Blake Cashman was back in practice but was on a limited basis. Cashman hasn’t played in the last two games, but the Vikings could really use his presence on the field in the coming weeks. Both Akayleb Evans and Gabriel Murphy were listed as limited as well.

Tight end Josh Oliver and safety Theo Jackson were both full participants. Oliver is progressing with his wrist, while Jackson’s hand is progressing, allowing them both to log full practices on Wednesday.

It will be essential to monitor the injury report as Sunday approaches.