Category: Minnesota Vikings

NFC playoff picture after Week 11

The Vikings are still very much in the running for a first-round bye and potential NFC North championship.

1st-Round Byes

  1. 49ers, 9-1
  2. Packers, 8-2

These two teams play each other on Monday Night Football in Week 12 in a game that has all of the playoff implications.

Wild Card Round

6. Vikings (8-2) at 3. Saints (8-2)
5. Seahawks (8-2) at 4. Cowboys (6-4)

The Vikings are inching closer to the top of the NFC North and potentially a first-round bye.

Minnesota has a bye in Week 12.

The Saints have a chance to knock Carolina out of the playoff picture in Week 12 at home.

The Seahwks have a big game in Philadelphia in Week 12 before hosting the Vikings on Monday Night Football in Week 13.

The Cowboys extended their lead over the Eagles in the NFC East, but have the Patriots in New England in Week 12. Good luck.

Hanging On

Rams, 6-4
Eagles, 5-5
Panthers, 5-5
Bears, 4-6

The Rams kept their playoff hopes alive (and probably knocked out the Bears in doing so), but are still two wins back from a wild card spot. They get to go up against Lamar Jackson in Week 12. Fun times!

The Eagles had their chance against the Patriots, but they are only a game back in the NFC East.

Looking at the history of Vikings hot starts

It marks the eighth time the Vikings have started 8-3 or better since the NFL switched to a 16-game schedule. 

The Vikings find themselves with an 8-3 record after 11 games.

It marks the eighth time the Vikings have started 8-3 or better since the NFL switched to a 16-game schedule.

Let’s take a look back at Minnesota’s previous hot starts.

2017

The Vikings started the 2017 season with a 9-2 record and ended the season with a 13-3 record. This was the weird year in which the team lost Sam Bradford to injury and then Case Keenum came out of nowhere to guide the Vikings.

Minnesota ended up losing in the NFC Championship game to the Philadelphia Eagles, which was especially disappointing considering the Super Bowl was in Minneapolis.

2015

This squad, led by Adrian Peterson and Teddy Bridgwater, started the season 8-3 and went 3-2 in its final five games to end the season with an 11-5 record.

This team probably overperformed a bit. Blair Walsh’s wide left field goal doomed the Vikings in the wild card round of the playoffs against the Seahawks.

2009

What a season this was. In Brett Favre’s first season in Purple, the team started out 10-1 and ended the season with a 12-4 record. Favre threw for 4,202 yards and 33 touchdowns. Ultimately, he led the team to the NFC Championship, but the team lost to the Saints in a controversial fashion.

We’ll let you decide for yourself, but if the Vikings win that game, they probably win it all.

2000

Minnesota started this season out 9-2. We’ll remember it more for the 41-0 embarrassment in the NFC Championship that year, but it was a pretty successful season. Daunte Culpepper was a second-year stud, throwing for 3,937 yards and 33 touchdowns, while Randy Moss had more than 1,400 receiving yards to go along with 15 touchdowns.

This was Dennis Green’s last full season as the team’s head coach.

1998

This is the season I’ll remember forever as a Vikings fan. I was eight, and watching Moss as a rookie, Cris Carter, Robert Smith and Randall Cunningham dominate offensively was so much fun.

The team started 10-1 and ended the season with a 15-1 record.

Of course, this season is also why people roll their eyes when they hear Gary Anderson’s name. Anderson missed a chip shot in the NFC Championship game against the Falcons after going a perfect 35-for-35 in the regular season.

If we could never talk about that again, that’d be super.

1997

This team started out 8-3 before losing four of its last five games to finish with a mediocre 9-7 record.

The Vikings, who were led by Brad Johnson, still made the playoffs and even beat the Giants 23-22 in the wild card round, but ended up losing 38-22 to the 49ers in the divisional round.

1992

And then we have the 1992 squad that started out 8-3 and ended the season 11-5.

The team’s defense was great, ranking in the top 10 in both yards and points allowed.

Despite having Anthony and Cris Carter, there really wasn’t much of a passing game for the team. While the team had Rich Gannon at quarterback, he wasn’t that Rich Gannon, yet.

The Vikings lost in the wild card round to the Redskins.

NFC North standings after Week 11

With their comeback win over the Broncos, the Vikings inched closer to the top of the NFC North.

Packers, 8-2

The Packers still sit on top of the NFC North after having Week 10 off.

In Week 11, the Packers have quite the challenge, facing off against the 9-1 49ers in San Francisco. That game will be on Monday Night Football.

Vikings, 8-3

What. A. Comeback. The Vikings came back after being down by 20 points to the Broncos at half, winning 27-23.

The Vikings now get a bye week, and it really couldn’t come at a better time. The team is dealing with injuries to Adam Thielen, Linval Joseph, Harrison Smith, Anthony Harris and Josh Kline.

Minnesota will be rooting for San Francisco on Monday night hoping it opens a door to an NFC North championship for the Vikings.

Bears, 4-6

The Bears fell to the Rams in an ugly game on Sunday Night Football, 17-7.

The loss might have just removed Chicago from the playoff picture. Per FiveThirtyEight, the Bears have just a one percent to make the postseason.

Mitchell Trubisky was benched late in the game and it’s probably time for the Bears to think about getting a new quarterback for 2020.

The good news: Chicago hosts the New York Giants in Week 12.

Lions, 3-6-1

The Lions are without Matthew Stafford, and might be for the rest of the season. That’s not great news. Jeff Driskel held his own against the Cowboys, but the Lions still lost 35-27.

Things get easier in Week 12. The Lions travel to Washington DC to play the Redskins, but the 2019 season has turned into a pretty disappointing one for Detroit.

Vikings vs. Broncos: A tale of two halves

The Minnesota Vikings got off to their slowest start of the season Sunday afternoon, falling behind the Denver Broncos 20-0 in the first half. The Broncos were able to expose the Vikings secondary, while the Vikings offense just couldn’t find their …

The Minnesota Vikings got off to their slowest start of the season Sunday afternoon, falling behind the Denver Broncos 20-0 in the first half. The Broncos were able to expose the Vikings secondary, while the Vikings offense just couldn’t find their rhythm. 

At halftime, the Vikings made some adjustments that clearly paid off as they outscored the Broncos 27-3 in the second half. In the Mike Zimmer era, the Vikings hadn’t won a game after being down 20 or more points.

It was a completely different team in the second half, where the Vikings did something no other team has done in the past 40 years. 

A huge reason for the success in the second half was due to the great performance by Kirk Cousins, who finished his day 29-35 with 319 yards and three touchdowns. 

In the second half, Cousins looked as good as any quarterback in the NFL, delivering a few of his best-thrown balls in a Vikings uniform. 

Without the strong play of Cousins against a solid Denver defense, Vikings fans would have left U.S. Bank Stadium with the same feeling they had at halftime. 

The secondary was a weak point throughout the game, but they stepped up when it mattered most. Jayron Kearse, who finished the Cowboys game intercepting the Hail Mary attempt, sealed the game again today by breaking up a pass attempt to Noah Fant. 

With Harrison Smith going down with a hamstring injury, and Anthony Harris already sidelined to start the game, someone needed to step up in the secondary. Kearse, the former seventh-round pick out of Clemson, did exactly that making multiple plays in the final minutes of the game. 

The Vikings are now heading into their bye week, which couldn’t have come at a better time. With so many Vikings starters hurt, this week will be crucial for their healing process. In two weeks, the Vikings travel to Seattle for a Monday night matchup between two of the hottest quarterbacks in football in Kirk Cousins and Russell Wilson.

Vikings get some help from tight ends in comeback win over Broncos

The Vikings haven’t gotten a whole lot of production from their tight ends this season, mostly due to their zone-blocking scheme. But in Sunday’s comeback win over the Broncos, Minnesota’s tight ends stepped up in a big way. Veteran Kyle Rudolph had …

The Vikings haven’t gotten a whole lot of production from their tight ends this season, mostly due to their zone-blocking scheme.

But in Sunday’s comeback win over the Broncos, Minnesota’s tight ends stepped up in a big way.

Veteran Kyle Rudolph had five catches for 67 yards and what ended up being the game-winning touchdown.

Second-year tight end Tyler Conklin had two catches for 28 yards. Rookie Iv Smith Jr. had three catches for 20 yards and the first touchdown of the game for Minnesota.

With Adam Thielen (hamstring) hurt, the Vikings are extremely thin at wide receiver. While Stefon Diggs is doing his part, getting help from a capable group of pass catchers at the tight end position is big for the Vikings.

Vikings hit bye week at good time

The Vikings go into their bye week having won five of six games, but the injury bug has bit them hard.

The Vikings moved to 8-3 on the season with their comeback 27-23 win over the Broncos on Sunday.

While Minnesota has won five of its last six games, the fact that the Vikings have their bye in Week 12 comes at a pretty good time.

The Vikings were missing Adam Thielen (hamstring), Linval Joseph (knee), Anthony Harris (knee) and Josh Kline (concussion) against the Broncos and All-Pro safety Harrison Smith (hamstring) left the game and did not return.

Those player now have two weeks to prepare for the Seahawks in Seattle on Dec. 2.

The Vikings, who are currently the second wild card team in the NFC standings, have quite the schedule ahead of them to close the season:

Week 13: @ Seattle
Week 14: vs. Detroit
Week 15: @ Los Angeles Chargers
Week 16: vs. Green Bay
Week 17: vs. Chicago

The win over Denver was huge for Minnesota’s playoff chances. Per FiveThirtyEight, the Vikings have a 91 percent chance to make the playoffs.

Kirk Cousins comes up clutch in Vikings’ historic comeback win over Broncos

The Vikings came back from a 20-0 halftime deficit and beat the Broncos 27-23 on the shoulders of quarterback Kirk Cousins.

If you were out doing yard work during the first half of the Vikings and Broncos game on Sunday, good job by you.

Hopefully you didn’t miss the second half, though.

The Vikings came back from a 20-0 halftime deficit and beat the Broncos 27-23 on the shoulders of quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Cousins threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns in the win – 261 of those yards and all three touchdowns came in the second half when Minnesota had its back against the wall.

There will be the Cousins haters out there surely, claiming that the Vikings should have never been down by 20 in the first place. But after a primetime win last week and a comeback win on Sunday, you have to feel pretty good about Cousins if you’re a Vikings fan. And he’s done this without his top receiver, Adam Thielen, in the lineup.

On the season, Cousins has thrown for 2,756 yards, 21 touchdowns and just three interceptions. That puts him on pace for 4,008 yards and 30 touchdowns. More importantly, he has the Vikings out to an 8-3 record going into their Week 12 bye week.

Vikings S Harrison Smith hurts hamstring, doesn’t return vs. Broncos

In the second half, Pro Bowl safety Harrison Smith left the game with a hamstring injury and did not return.

The Vikings came away with a 27-23 comeback win over the Broncos on Sunday afternoon, but it came at the expense of one of their best players getting hurt.

In the second half, Pro Bowl safety Harrison Smith left the game with a hamstring injury and did not return.

We can’t really speculate how severe the injury is, but Vikings fans are plenty familiar with how hamstring injuries can linger. Examples: Dalvin Cook in 2018 and Adam Thielen in 2019.

The good news is that the Vikings have a Week 12 bye so Smith will have two weeks to rest before the team travels to take on the Seahawks in Week 13.

Smith went into the week graded as Pro Football Focus‘ ninth-ranked safety in the league.

Vikings RB Dalvin Cook becomes 2nd RB to hit 1,000 yards in 2019

He only had 26 rushing yards against Denver, but it was enough for him to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career.

Vikings running back Dalvin Cook didn’t have his best game on Sunday against the Broncos.

Cook only had 26 rushing yards against Denver, but it was enough for him to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career.

He went into the game needing just nine yards to hit 1,000 yards. With that, he became the second running back in the league to hit the 1,000 yard mark on the season. Browns running back Nick Chubb hit 1,000 yards on Thursday night against the Steelers.

Through 11 games, Cook has 1,017 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns to go with 45 catches for 459 yards. That puts him on pace for 1,479 rushing yards, 16 touchdowns and 65 catches for 667 receiving yards.

We’ve seen just how dangerous a healthy Dalvin Cook can be in 2019. Not only is he a Pro Bowl and All-Pro candidate, he should be in the MVP conversation if the 8-3 Vikings keep winning.

Cook is the eighth player in team history to hit the 1,000-yard mark. The others are Adrian Peterson (x7), Robert Smith (x3), Michael Bennett, Chester Taylor, Chuck Foreman (x3), Terry Allen (x2) and Ted Brown.

Cook and the Vikings have Week 12 off before traveling to Seattle to play the Seahawks in Week 13. The Seahawks (8-2) rank 12th in the league, allowing 101 rushing yards per game.

Gallery: Vikings pull off comeback after being down 20-0 vs. Broncos

The top photos from the Vikings’ 27-23 win over the Broncos in Week 10 at U.S. Bank Stadium.

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