Vikings Links:  The Train Is Rolling!

This team simply continues to battle and find ways to win! Whether you believe they will do well in the playoffs or not, the journey has been great. Sam Darnold is proving to be a clutch performer in late game must score drive situations. The defense is proving that they can get stops late in the game. The interesting thing to me is that the team still should get better.

Minnesota Vikings News and Links

NFL picks, score predictions Week 14: Minnesota Vikings vs. Atlanta Falcons

Vinnie Iyer, The Sporting News: Vikings 31, Falcons 27

Iyer: “Kirk Cousins is playing poorly and struggling with interceptions going into his tough road game at his former home in Minnesota. Brian Flores and the Vikings’ defense will work to be aggressive to put pressure on him, but Cousins will rebound with a motivated performance to keep the NFC South leaders in the game. In the end, counterpart Sam Darnold gets to go to work on a weaker pass defense at home.”

Bill Bender, Sporting News: Vikings 30, Falcons 27

Bender: “The Vikings have mastered the one-score victory with Sam Darnold. He has two TD passes and no interceptions in each of his past three games. Atlanta is 5-4 S/U in games decided by eight points or less, and Kirk Cousins, who has not thrown a TD pass in three games, breaks out of a midseason slump to keep it close against his former team.”

Jeremy Cluff, Arizona Republic: Vikings 27, Falcons 20

Cluff: “Kirk Cousins makes a return to Minnesota coming off a four-interception game in the Falcons’ third-straight loss. We don’t think it will be a happy homecoming.

Matt Johnson, Sportsnaut: Vikings 31, Falcons 17

Johnson: “Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores has put most quarterbacks in a torture chamber this season, with blitzes and coverage looks that lead to interceptions. Minnesota will dial up the aggressiveness even more against Kirk Cousins, who has thrown 6 interceptions in the last three games and taken 7 sacks over that span. The Vikings’ propensity for close games could make this an intriguing finish, but Minnesota has huge advantages both defensively and offensively.”

Ben Rolfe, Pro Football Network: Vikings 27, Falcons 17

Rolfe: “Cousins is not playing at a high level right now, and we just saw him struggle against another top-five defense in the Los Angeles Chargers. The revenge-game element and Cousins’ familiarity with Minnesota is certainly a concern, but I am riding the Vikings.”

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Why the Falcons’ defense should get risky versus the Vikings

The Atlanta Falcons’ defense had one of their best if not their best performance on Sunday when they held the Los Angeles Chargers to just 187 total yards of offense, 131 passing yards, 56 rushing yards, forced two fumbles, recovered one of the fumbles, sacked Justin Herbert five times, and did not allow the Chargers’ offense to score a touchdown. How can the Falcons’ defense have a repeat performance against the Minnesota Vikings this Sunday? The Morning Shift gave their take earlier today.

“I think if you can come up a little bit and say look we gotta play a little risky. If we can make Sam Darnold hold the ball a tick longer he will throw it to you. We’ve seen that, but maybe you can get home, and that’s the hope.” Beau Morgan said.

“Do whatever you gotta do to get home.” Beau said. The Falcons’ five sacks last Sunday kept the Chargers in long down and distances, which caused the Chargers’ offense to only be 3-11 on third down, and that caused the Falcons defense get a lot of stops, so if they want to have the same success this Sunday in Minnesota when they take on the Vikings they will have to pressure Sam Darnold the same way they pressured Justin Herbert.

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Analysts continue their reluctance to put the Vikings in the top five in latest NFL Power Rankings

As things currently sit, the Vikings have a really good football team and they proved it with a 23-22 win over the Arizona Cardinals. Are the Vikings truly a top five team in the National Football League? The latest NFL Power Rankings have a varied opinion of just that.

ESPN’s NFL Nation

Last week: 5

This week: 6

First-time Pro Bowl nominee: Linebacker Jonathan Greenard

Greenard has been one of the NFL’s best pass rushers. He is tied for fourth in the league with 10 sacks, and his 36 pressures rank 11th. Greenard also has made the transition from a classic 4-3 defensive end to an outside linebacker role that has required him to drop into coverage an average of three times per game — all while playing a career-high 81.3% of his team’s defensive snaps. — Kevin Seifert

Yahoo! Sports’ Frank Schwab

Last week: 7

This week: 5

CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco

Last week: 5

This week: 5

NFL.com’s Eric Edholm

Last week: 6

This week: 5

The Vikings’ defense bent but didn’t break Sunday, holding the Cardinals to one touchdown in six red-zone possessions and limiting Arizona to three points in the final 19-plus minutes. Minnesota’s D was on the field for a whopping 77 plays, blitzing often, and had to be physically whipped, especially coming off a grueling overtime win in Chicago the week prior. But this game really was about Sam Darnold and the offense also stepping up after a slow start, delivering two huge drives late. It wasn’t pretty at all, as the Cardinals controlled things for most of the afternoon, but the Vikings moved to 10-2 and all but locked up a playoff spot. The division isn’t lost yet, and amazingly, neither is the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The Vikings are a somewhat-flawed operation, but you can’t argue much with the results: 10 wins, plus a two-point home loss to the Lions and a 10-point road loss to the Rams that they had a shot to tie up late.

USA Today’s Nate Davis

Last week: 8

This week: 9

The Sporting News’ Vinnie Iyer

Last week: 5

This week: 5

Bleacher Report’s NFL Staff

Last week: 5

This week: 5

Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr

Last week: 5

This week: 4

The Ringer’s Diante Lee

Last week: 8

This week: 8

Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio

Last week: 6

This week: 5

The Athletic’s Josh Kendall

Last week: 6

This week: 5

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Vikings injury updates: Stephon Gilmore, Josh Oliver, Will Reichard

Stephon Gilmore

Gilmore left the game in the first half with a hamstring injury and did not return. He was replaced by Fabian Moreau, who was kept busy.

“Gilly did get a low-grade hamstring (strain),” O’Connell said. “Still getting some evaluations on what that looks like. I do not believe it is a longer-term injury and I’m not quite ready to rule him out for this week. Want to see how he feels as we work through it.”

Josh Oliver

Oliver has missed the last two games with what the Vikings have listed as both ankle and wrist injuries, but O’Connell said he expects to get one of his top tight ends back this week against Atlanta. The expectation is that it will be a fairly normal practice week for Oliver.

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Vikings’ offense can become even more dangerous with one simple tweak from HC Kevin O’Connell

The Vikings are consistently at the top of the NFL when it comes to generating explosive plays. Quarterback Sam Darnold is third in the National Football League in big time throws with 25 while first place quarterbacks Josh Allen and Joe Burrow are tied for first with 26. He also has the third-highest average depth of target at 9.3 yards and the third highest time to throw at 3.11 seconds, meaning he’s attacking down the field.

Per Fantasy Points Data, the Vikings are facing a league-high 65.2% of two-high coverage and post/wheel is a great way to attack that. Use that little modification to attack the defense and create an explosive play.

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Former UFL star Jalen Redmond emerging as impact player for Vikings

Earlier this year, Jalen Redmond was dominating for the Arlington Renegades of the United Football League. The former undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma, who was cut by the Carolina Panthers last year, had 4.5 sacks and 18 tackles in four UFL games before getting injured.

The Vikings took note and signed him to a contract this summer — and that decision has paid off. Redmond is coming off his best game of the season, earning a game ball for his play against the Cardinals in Sunday’s win. The 25-year-old defensive tackle still isn’t seeing a ton of snaps, but he might be earning more playing time with his recent production. He looks like a player with a chance to make a real impact for the Vikings both this season and beyond.

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4 Vikings lead their positions in Pro Bowl Games voting

Wide receiver Justin Jefferson, outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel, cornerback Byron Murphy and long snapper Andrew DePaola are all atop their respective positions in the NFC, according to the league.

Murphy could be more expensive to keep. He wanted to get a new deal before the season but Kwesi was not ready.

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Bears Urged to Consider ‘Crazy’ Trade for NFC Rival’s Head Coach

After firing Matt Eberflus on Friday, the Chicago Bears are now one of three NFL teams who will be looking for a new head coach in 2025, with more teams likely to join them in the coming weeks.

It’s not every day a head coach gets traded, but that’s exactly the “crazy” idea one ESPN reporter pitched as a potential solution for Chicago, now at 4-8 and on the verge of a fourth-straight losing season.

ESPN senior NFL writer Kalyn Kahler suggested Monday that the Bears should pursue Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell, given a couple of notable connections.

“This is going to sound crazy, but the Bears need to think crazy. They should trade for Kevin O’Connell,” Kahler wrote on X. “Caleb and KOC love each other. I don’t know if the Vikings would ever part with him, but Chicago should at least try. Added bonus: I believe his agent is Trace Armstrong.”

O’Connell, 39 and now in his third season at the helm, has led the Vikings to a 30-16 record since 2022, including a 10-2 mark this year and a division title and NFC Wild Card appearance in his first season.

In response to Kahler’s pitch, The Ringer’s Danny Heifetz asked the question many were thinking: “If you’re Minnesota, how many firsts do you need to send KOC to the Bears?”

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Yore Mock

Trade Recap

Minnesota Receives:

2025: Round 2, Pick 41

2025: Round 3, Pick 87

2025: Round 4, Pick 123

New Orleans Receives:

2025: Round 1, Pick 28

…

Minnesota Receives:

2025: Round 4, Pick 102

2025: Round 6, Pick 196

Jacksonville Receives:

2025: Round 3, Pick 97

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Minnesota Receives:

2025: Round 4, Pick 126

2025: Round 7, Pick 252

Los Angeles Receives:

2025: Round 4, Pick 123

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41. Omarion Hampton RB North Carolina 6’0” 220

87. Xavier Watts S Notre Dame 6’0” 203

102. Alfred Collins DL Texas 6’5” 320

126. Jeffrey Bassa LB Oregon 6’2” 230

146. Melo Dotson CB Kansas 6’1” 190

164. Connor Colby IOL Iowa 6’6” 310

196. Simeon Barrow Jr. DL Miami (FL) 6’3” 290

242. Jake Majors IOL Texas 6’3” 315

252. Jaylin Noel WR Iowa State 5’10” 200

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