NFL
By Steve Rogers
The Minnesota Vikings are fresh off “The game of the year!” against the Buffalo Bills, where they were able to pull off an incredible comeback and, in overtime, upset win 33-30. This game is so iconic. It really had it all. The Vikings got up early, then fell behind as far as 17 points before climbing back with unbelievable plays. Whenever they needed a big play on offense, Dalvin Cook had a career-long 81-yard touchdown run. Justin Jefferson had another career-best game for 193 yards on ten catches and a score. More than that, Jefferson, on a crucial gotta have it 4th and 18 late in the 4th quarter, pulled in what has to be the “Catch of the year!” if not the “Catch of the decade!” but honestly it’s simply “The Greatest Catch Ever In The History of The NFL!”. Kirk Cousins threw up a 50/50 ball high to Jefferson. In fact, it was about to be intercepted when Jefferson leaped as high as possible, and with one hand between the defenders, two hands wrapped his hand around the ball. Then, as he fell back to earth horizontally to the ground, he contorted himself to keep his hand under the ball and take it away from the defender in a single motion!
Now, to week 11, where the Vikings come home to begin a stretch of three straight home games against solid, tough winning teams in the Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, and New York Jets. First up this week is the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys are fresh off a stunning 14-point meltdown leading to an overtime-deflating defeat on the road against the Green Bay Packers. The Cowboys have to regroup and come right back up north and face the scorching-hot Vikings, who have won seven straight games against all levels of completion. Dallas continues to be dysfunctional. What do I mean? Well, they lack discipline. Dallas makes costly mistakes, like far too many penalties. On the year, they have 64 penalties for 501 yards, an average of 55 yards per game. The Cowboys can go through three to four-game stretches and look like they’re clicking on all cylinders. Then suddenly, the wheels fall off, and they look discombobulated and lose to a team that is circling the drain of flushing their whole season. The Dallas Defense keeps getting gashed in the run game. They face a big challenge again, trying to stop Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison. Cook is starting to get rolling over the last few weeks, highlighted by his career-long 81-yard touchdown run last week against the Bills.
The Vikings present much more significant challenges across the board offensively than the Cowboys faced in Green Bay. The question does start to be asked, just how many more games can these Vikings win in a row? Frankly, after Beating the best team on their schedule really, there is a path for them to run the table. The Cowboys are one of the winning three teams left on the Viking’s schedule, along with the New York teams, the Jets, and the Giants. Beyond those games, the Vikings face the Loins, Bears, Packers, and Colts. Those four teams have a combined 14-24-1 record. Think about this the Vikings just came back from down 17 points. The Cowboys just blew a 14-point lead. That is becoming the Viking’s calling card. They are the official “Fourth-Quarter Comeback Kids.” No lead is safe against this Minnesota squad. Whether self-inflicted or not, this team is battle-tested like few teams in the league.
The saying is it takes immense pressure to create diamonds. Well, then, the Vikings are shining at this point. Heading into the season, Justin Jefferson went on record saying he wants to get 2000 yards. After last week’s 193 yards, he is back on pace for a chance at doing that. Here is a new quote from Jefferson on his next-level out-of-this-world game-saving catch against the Bills “It felt like it was unreal. Like a movie. The big games, the big moments, when people are looking for you to make a play, that’s what I like the most.” He’s already one of if not the best wideouts in the game, but he continues to strive to grow and improve even more. Now his confidence is sky-high, too, and he’s hungry to go find or make big plays in big-time moments. Jefferson is now getting some buzz towards the MVP conversation. If he continues to get close to that 2000 yards number and his team wins their division, he will definitely be in consideration. I also like the Dalvin Cook and Alexander Matison dual combo complementary running backs in this game. I think they will find opportunities to be as successful on the ground as Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon were last week.
My Prediction
The Experts are giving the Vikings the underdog status at home even though they have not lost at home all year. The Vikings are 4-0 at home. The Cowboys are 2-2 on the road this year. This is a continuing theme and/or problem year in and year out for the Cowboys. They go on runs where they look indestructible, then suddenly, out of nowhere, shoot themselves in the foot and go on 2 -3 game cold stretches. I feel like this is probably one of those stretches for the Cowboys. I like the Vikings at home. I like the Vikings as the underdog. I think we will see the star of the game wearing everybody’s chain after the game. The purple after-party continues to roll along. Eight in a row for coach O! I think there will be another Vikings defender named Player Of The Week. Not only am I picking the upset, but they more than cover one point. The score will be Vikings 34-24 Cowboys. That’s right, the Viking’s first double-digit win since week one at home against the Packers! I’m not sure if the Vikings know how to lose anymore at this point.
The Spread has Dallas by 1.5 points. The Money Line has Dallas at -120. The Vikings are at +100.
The Over/Under is set at 47.5.
