Our Minnesota Vikings WIN AGAIN! After beating the New York Jets 23-17 in London, we are now 5-0 heading into a MUCH NEEDED bye week! We have beaten the Giants, 49ers, Texans, Packers, and Jets. The last 4 teams are all Top 10 betting favorites for the Super Bowl. This is an insane start to the season. If that isn't impressive enough for you, the Vikings have held the following leads in each game, in order: 21-3, 20-7, 21-0, 28-0, and 17-0. This is an even crazier stat! I wanted to mention this because so many people are trying to downplay the Vikings start by saying "we haven't played well in the second half of a few games." Who cares?! That's what usually happens in the NFL. Consistently getting out to big leads is the true indicator. I also need to remind my readers of what I had said in my post after the Packers game... "I want to be very clear, the NFL is an entertainment buisness just like WWE wrestling. The NFL and referees prefer to have close games rather than blowouts to make their product look better." I hate to break it to everyone, but we aren't going to beat every team (especially the top teams) 34-7 like we did to the Texans. Heck, we have the league's best point differential through 5 weeks at +63. The Vikings are absolutely the best team in the NFL and it really hasn't been close when considering our undefeated record, the point differential, and our opponents so far. Minnesota is kicking ASS and I LOVE IT!
Before we go any further, let's look back at Birdman's Blog's prediction for the Jets game before providing some overall thoughts:
"Week 5 Vikings vs Jets in London:
The 4-0 Minnesota Vikings will travel to London to face the 2-2 New York Jets. We know how the season has gone for the Vikings and I think Darnold, Jefferson, Jones, and the Defense will continue to play really solid football. The Jets lost to the 49ers, then beat 2 bad teams (Titans and Patriots), and are now coming off a terrible loss to the Denver Broncos. With that being said, the Jets do have a solid defense and have Aaron Rodgers, Breece Hall, and Garrett Wilson on offense. This game will be closer than we think, especially since it will be played in London where games can get sort of weird. I predict a 24-17 victory for the Vikings. Let's improve to 5-0 and go into the Bye Week feeling great! SKOL!"
For the 5th week in a row, Birdman's Blog has been correct! I predicted a 24-17 victory and the Vikings won 23-17! Let's keep the good vibes rolling!
Sam Darnold's Flowers:
I want to take a moment to give some major props to Sam Darnold. Too many Vikings and NFL fans are being overly critical of Darnold's play this season, especially against the Jets. The dude is playing like an absolute winner, something we haven't had in a QB since 2017. The Jets have arguably the best pass defense in the NFL. He also took an extremely hard hit to his ribs early in the game and still persevered through it (consider this with his already banged up knee from the Texans game). Plus, no QB is going to "tear up" this Jets defense if they are healthy all year. Darnold has continually helped the Vikings build these large leads in all 5 games, as I listed out earlier, and then comes through with scoring drives when we need a final score to ice each game. This weekend was no different. His gutsy FG drive late in the Jets game to give us a 23-17 lead was huge as it forced the Jets to have to score a TD instead of a FG. This obviously led to the game sealing INT by CB Stephon Gillmore. Sam Darnold is absolutely playing like one of the best QBs in the NFL and it's awesome to watch (he currently has the 4th best odds for MVP). Go ahead and watch his press conference after the Jets game, Sam is an absolute leader for this Vikings team and it has been so fun seeing him get a real shot to revitalize his career! Keep it up, Sam! I SEE YOU BALLIN'!
Quick shoutout to Rookie Kicker, Will Reichard, & what my preseason prediction for him was:
"SPECIAL TEAMS:
The Vikings finally found an actual kicker. Alabama, and NCAA all-time leading scorer, Will Reichard is a massive upgrade. He will bring a combination of power and consistency to the kicking position the Vikings haven't had in a long time. He has been training to be an NFL kicker since he was in his mother's womb. Viking fans will still feel uneasy when it's FG time, but he will become Mr. Automatic very quickly."
Will Reichard is already one of the best kickers in the NFL. He is 16/16 on extra points, is 9/9 on field goals, and is 3/3 on field goals from 50+ yards with a long of 58 yards. Yeah... he is quickly becoming Mr. Automatic.
Vikings Dominant Defense:
The Vikings defense continues to play like a Top 5 unit in the NFL. Brian Flores and the defense just forced Aaron Rodgers into playing his worst game of his 20 year career in the NFL. Yes, you read that correctly. This was the first time Rodgers has ever thrown 2 interceptions in the 1st Quarter, he had a passer rating of 54.9 (which is only the 6th time in his career he has been below a 55 rating), a 3 interception game (only his 6th time), and 4.5 yard per pass attempt (only the 4th time at that number or less in a game). It is also the first time in his career to record all 4 of those bad stats in the same game! This Vikings defense is FOR REAL! Andrew Van Ginkel had another incredible pick 6 early in the game to give the Vikings a 10-0 lead. There is honestly too much veteran leadership and depth on this Vikings defense for this to change. This unit is going to keep causing havoc the rest of the season and help keep this magical season going!
Justin Jefferson:
Justin Jefferson continues to show why he is the best Wide Receiver in the NFL. Even though he didn't record a TD in this game, he still came up with crucial catches and finished with 6 receptions for 92 yards against arguably the best pass defense in the NFL. He is now 3rd in receiving yards through 5 weeks. He is so good that we sometimes take him for granted with performances like this... steady production that has quietly helped lead the Vikings to a 5-0 start in what appeared to be a gauntlet of a schedule to begin the year. JJ doing his thing!
One Nitpick (pointed out by my amazing brother, Justin):
In the 2nd Quarter with 12:19 left and a 10-0 lead in the ballgame, KOC and the Vikings decided to go for it on 4th&2 at the Jets' 34 yard line. This decision not to kick the field goal to gain an extra 3 points ended up coming back around and giving Aaron Rodgers a REAL chance to beat us on the final drive. Stop leaving points on the field for no reason. We have the best field goal kicker in the NFL and a really solid defense. Take the points and stop messing around.
Final Thoughts heading into the bye week:
This is the last thing I will say to Vikings fans complaining about the occasional offensive woes... It is okay to be critical of the Vikings, but put this week into perspective. The Vikings just defeated one of the best defenses in the NFL, they played 6 time zones away, it was raining most of the game, and it was played on a London soccer field. It has been an emotional start to the season, but the Vikings have played unbelievable and are now 5-0 with a +63 point differential! Nobody has it better than US! Per one of my Vikings friends "We are not a fluke, This isn't 2022. We will go further in the playoffs than we have in the last 6 years. And yes, it's because we added by subtracting. This team is filled with 53 dogs that are all willing to work on Tuesdays!" Well said!
The bye week comes at a very opportune time for the Vikings. We will need Aaron Jones to rest his hip and come back healthy, as he has been a very important piece on offense. We should be getting superstar TE, TJ Hockenson, back in week 7. And Sam Darnold is going to get his knee and ribs a much needed 2 week rest! Having all of these guys back and healthy should make this offense even more lethal than it's already been. Rest up, Vikings! Come back ready for another tough game against the Detroit Lions!
Let’s go!
The Vikings have scored more points than each of their first 5 opponents. Yay.
SKOL VIKINGS! 😁