The most pivotal game on the Minnesota Vikings schedule
The Minnesota Vikings go into the 2024-25 season as a team that is clearly facing a major challenge in the NFC North.
There are a number of major issues, and it starts with the competition. The Detroit Lions are the defending division champions, and head coach Dan Campbell’s charges have their eyes on making the Super Bowl for the first time in team history. The Green Bay Packers found their way at the conclusion of last season and made the playoffs as a Wild Card team. Quarterback Jordan Love led them to a playoff road victory over the Dallas Cowboys and came close to registering an upset over the San Francisco 49ers.
The Chicago Bears appear to be ready to play a far more competitive brand of football with No. 1 draft pick Caleb Williams under center and three excellent wideouts in D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen and rookie Rome Odunze. The Bears also appear to have a hard-hitting and effective defense.
The Vikings will try to compete with Sam Darnold at quarterback this season. After parting company with Kirk Cousins in the offseason, the Vikings drafted J.J. McCarthy from Michigan in the first round. He had the look of the team’s QB1, but he suffered a torn meniscus in the first preseason game and will miss the season.
As a result, Darnold will have to be the man under center. While Darnold appears to have good skills and an excellent working relationship with head coach Kevin O’Connell, he has not demonstrated consistency throughout the first six years of his career. Darnold has been a journeyman, having played with the New York Jets, Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers. He has had several good games, but he has never been able to string excellent games together.
Schedule maker has not done the Vikings any favor
Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
A team that is facing multiple challenges like the Vikings almost certainly needs to get off to a good start to have any chance on pulling off a season that allows the team to overcome expectations.
If that is going to happen, head coach Kevin O’Connell has to have this team prepared to play sharp football from the start. There appears to be a much better chance of that taking place in 2024 than it did last year. The Vikings were 3-0 in the preseason and appeared to take the summer games more seriously than they did in the past.
The opening game of the season will see the Vikings go on the road to face the New York Giants, a team that may have even more questions than the Vikings. The Giants finished 6-11 last year as the team’s offense never found its rhythm and the defense struggled as well. It should give Darnold and All-Pro wideout Justin Jefferson a chance to make an opening statement.
Giants head coach Brian Daboll is under the gun this year and so is quarterback Daniel Jones. The Vikings should have a very good chance to come out on top in this game. They are 1.5-point favorites over the home team, and letting this opportunity slip away could be disastrous.
That’s because the schedule turns absolutely brutal in Week 2. The Vikings host the San Francisco 49ers and the Houston Texans in Weeks 2 and 3. The 49ers are considered favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl and they are a team that is loaded with talent on both sides of the ball.
Start with running back Christian McCaffrey and throw in quarterback Brock Purdy, along with a slew of great receivers and a nasty defense. The Vikings actually upset the Niners last year on Monday Night Football, so the visitors should be pumped to get some revenge.
The Texans were the surprise team in the league last year as they won the AFC South with a 10-7 record and beat the Cleveland Browns 45-14 in the Wild Card round of the playoffs before falling short against the Baltimore Ravens. Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud was brilliant with a 23-5 TD-interception ratio and he should be better this season.
Former Vikings defensive stalwart Danielle Hunter signed with the Texans in the offseason and he will try to punish his old team with his ability to pressure and sack Darnold.
After those two games, the Vikings go to Green Bay to play their archrivals in their first division game of the year. Love looked like one of the best quarterbacks in the league at the end of last season, and winning a game at Lambeau looks like a major issue for the Vikings this season.
Pivotal game in London vs. Jets
The Vikings will jump on a plane the following week to take on former rival Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets.
Rodgers is likely to be playing with something to prove this season because an Achilles injury knocked him out for the season in Week 1 last year, and he has heard the whispers that he’s too old and too much of a diva to lead the Jets to the promised land.
The Jets appear to have a solid team, but playing in England could once again be a benefit for the Vikings. They are 3-0 in their previous games in Great Britain, and English fans have supported them wholeheartedly and with full throat.
In 2013, the Vikings beat the Steelers 34-27 at Wembley Stadium. They followed that with a 33-16 triumph over the Cleveland Browns at Twickenham Stadium in 2017. The Vikings also gained a narrow 28-25 triumph over the New Orleans Saints at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2022. The Vikings may feel like London is their second home
The chance to back the Vikings with their hard-earned pounds at the betting window is likely to turn the British “punters” on. While the location should be helpful to the Vikings, this is clearly a game they must have.
It is very likely they will be 1-4 or 2-3 going into this game, and they follow with games against the Lions and the Los Angeles Rams after getting a bye upon their return from Great Britain.
Losing to the Jets could mean that the Vikings take a 1-5 record into two of the toughest games of their season. If they happened to lose both of them, they would be 1-7 near as the halfway point of the season approached.
That would almost certainly mean the 2024 season would be a disaster.
A win in England over the Jets in what appears to be the most crucial game on their schedule could allow the Vikings to pivot and build a successful season. A loss would almost certainly mean they are doomed.
The post The most pivotal game on the Minnesota Vikings schedule appeared first on ClutchPoints.
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