NFL
By Steve Rogers
What: NFL NFC North Week 3 Vikings vs. Lions
Where: US BANK Stadium
When: 12:00pm CT
How to watch: FOX network
Week three is here, and so are the Detroit Lions. The Lions are coming in roaring offensively, as they have been averaging 35 points each game so far. They came up just short of beating the Philadelphia Eagles in week one. Conversely, the Vikings got smacked by the Eagles this last Monday night. The Lions did win their week two matchup against the Washington Commanders. So the Lions come into this game 1-1 on the year and against two NFC East teams, meaning this will be their first NFC North division game. The Lions are also on the road for back-to-back games. I wonder if that will play any factor at all being in hostile grounds along with being in hotels for two straight weeks.
The Lions have been working hard to develop the talent on their roster, and it’s starting to work out. Look no further than wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown Who has quietly become not just Jared Goff’s best target but one of the NFL’s best targets. As if having 90 receptions with 912 yards in his rookie year wasn’t enough to make people sit up and pay attention, he’s possibly chasing the record books not once but two different ways this weekend against the Vikings; coming into this game, he has caught at least one touchdown in six consecutive games. A streak under age 23 puts him in rare elite company with Randy Moss and Rob Gronkowski as only the third player to do so. That means if he can grab one on Sunday, he would set the mark at seven straight! Do you think that’s not good enough? Okay, well, neither does he, so; for the last eight games in a row, he has been catching at least eight passes. St. Brown is tied for the NFL record, so if he is able to catch at least eight against the Vikings, he could set the NFL mark.
Now let’s shift to the purple side of this matchup. This is a chance for the Vikings and Kirk Cousins to kind of hit the reset button from that embarrassment of a performance on prime time last Monday night. It should be helpful to come home and have the best fans in the league have your back and be ready to skol chant early and often. It’s also worth noting this is a REGULAR noon time game, meaning good old “Normal” “Do You Like That!?!” Kirk Cousins should be back to his usual high-end performing self. Look for some opportunities to open it up and take the top off the defense of Detroit with Justin Jefferson, who is also looking to bounce back after a bad game, and K.J. Osborn. I’m not sure why Adam Thielen is being targeted so little thus far in the early stages of the season. Maybe this is the week Thielen gets his number called as the key target? One thing is for sure though the Vikings need to find a better rhythm of run and pass or be better at running the ball when they need to. Week one was more like what I think they would like to see the pass setting up the run and getting nice chunks with each. They need to keep Dalvin Cook Cooking near 100 yards a game on the ground, plus two or three receptions for another 25-50 yards. Irv Smith finally got involved and scored the only touchdown for the Vikings last week. However, he also dropped a would-be touchdown pass from Cousins.
My keys to success for the purple and gold this week. First, they need to refind themselves from week one and forget week two. Second, they need to get Cook going early and take the pressure off Cousins. Third, they need to continue to carve out a role for Irv Smith to further complicate matchups in the secondary. On the defensive side, the Vikings need to establish solid pressure on Goff and keep him guessing. Jumpy feet, hesitation, and second-guessing wrecks havoc on the quarterback’s psyche. Next, they need somebody to fill the mighty shoes of Harrison Smith, who is out this week due to a concussion. Hopefully, the rookie Luis Cine is ready and up for the task. Third, the defense as a whole needs to not get gashed by the run game and one of the best o-lines in the league. If the Vikings can do those three things on each side of the ball, they should be able to get the victory at home.
The home team Vikings, are a 6-point favorite for Sunday’s game. The Matchup Predictor is giving the Vikings a 65.7% chance to win. The Money Line is -260 for the Vikings and +210 for the Loins. The over-under is at 52.5. I might be inclined to take the over this week since I think it will take at least 34 points to get the victory this week for either team. I am taking the Vikings in a semi-shootout 34-27. Join our partners at BetUs and use PROMO CODE TEAM NBS As always, SKOL VIKINGS!
