The Minnesota Vikings host Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons.
Head-to-Head Record – 21-12
Vikings Home Record vs the Falcons – 12-5
Streak – W1
Most Points Scored – 47, Sept 14, 1968
Widest Margin of Victory – 40, 47-7, Sept 14, 1968
Most Recent Matchup –
My 2024 Prediction Record: 9-3
2024 Vikes Views Poll Record: 10-2
The last time they played: Jaren Hall made his first start of his career. It was short lived as he went down injured early. Josh Dobbs brought the team back with the winning pass to Brandon Powell with 22 seconds remaining in the game. It led to a fun few weeks until the Dobbs experiment started to fail.
Interesting Tidbits from the Vikings Weekly Release:
- For the 10th time in franchise history the Vikings earned 10+ wins in the team’s first 12 games of a season. Head Coach Kevin O’Connell has accounted for two of those 10 occurrences during his three seasons leading the club.
- Minnesota has scored at least 20 points in 11 of its 12 games this season, tied for the most games with 20+ points league wide (Baltimore, Buffalo, Detroit, Tampa Bay, Washington). It is the most games with 20+ points in Minnesota’s first 12 games of a season since 1998 (12 games).
- The Vikings have had three-consecutive road games 11 times in team history. Weeks 10-12 of the 2024 season marked the first time the team won all three games.
- Prior to the Vikings 13-point comeback against the Cardinals in Week 13, Darnold was 0-23 when trailing by 13+ points as a starter. He engineered his second fourth quarter comeback and third game-winning drive of the 2024 season, tying his single-season career bests in both categories from 2019.
- Darnold enters Week 14 with a seven-game streak with 200+ passing yards per game, the second-longest active streak in the NFL (Geno Smith, 11 games), and has had three-straight weeks with at least 200 passing yards, two passing touchdown and no interceptions, tied for the longest active streak league wide (Bo Nix and Tua Tagovailoa). It is the first such streak by a Vikings QB since Kirk Cousins in Weeks 9-11 of the 2021 season.
- Jefferson (6,937 career receiving yards) is just 63 receiving yards short of reaching 7,000 career receiving yards. He would be the first player in NFL history to achieve the feat in his first five seasons in the league.
- Jefferson’s 20 receptions of 20+ yards leads the NFL this season. Since entering the league in 2020, Jefferson has hauled in 124 receptions of 20+ yards, 22 more than any other player during that span (CeeDee Lamb, 101).
- With 184 rushing attempts through 12 games, Jones is one of just six RBs in the NFL with at least 180 carries, averaging at least 5.0 yards per touch. He is joined by Saquon Barkley (246 attempts/6.4 yards per carry), Derrick Henry (240/6.1), Bijan Robinson (193/5.2), Alvin Kamara (206/5.1 yards per carry) and Josh Jacobs (221/5.0).
- Smith played in his 188th career game in Week 13 vs. Arizona, tying him with T Tim Irwin (1981-93) and WR Cris Carter (1990-2001) for the 10th most games played in Vikings history. Irwin (1981-93) coached Smith in youth football in Knoxville.
- Smith is slated to make his 188th career start in Week 14 vs. Atlanta, which will tie Randall McDaniel for the fourth-most starts in Vikings history
How I See it Playing Out
Cousins is coming off a 0 TD, 4 INT game. He’s under a lot of pressure to turn it around. Kirk had a hot October and was swag surfing. The team was 4-2 and confidence was high. The next 6 games weren’t as nice to Atlanta. The team is 2-4 and some fans are starting to wonder if it’s time to put in 1st round pick Michael Penix Jr.
It’s a big week for Cousins to prove he still can lead a team on a playoff run. The Falcons are still in 1st place and have everything to play for. The Vikings need to win to keep pace with the Lions and Packers. I believe Brian Flores is going to stop the Falcons rushing attack and make Kirk throw. Keep the pressure on Kirk. He’s a mixed bag at best in that situation historically. The Falcons are 22nd on defense against the pass. Darnold should be able to find some windows for Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. Mix in a healthy dose of Aaron Jones and the Vikings should be able to move the ball. A couple of late turnovers help seal the deal for the Vikings.
Vikings 31 – Falcons 20
