NFL
By Steve Rogers
The Minnesota Vikings(6-2) are back in the winning column after their primetime win over the Indianapolis Colts at home last Sunday night. That was the first of three consecutive games against the AFC South and the Vikings’ first and last home game for November. That’s right the Vikings are opening up an MLB-like three-week-long stretch of games away from home. The first two road games will see the Vikings travel through the last two AFC South teams the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-7) and the Tennesee Titans (2-6). The AFC South is the softest division in the AFC. Three of the four teams have a sub-.500 record. The division-leading Houston Texans have a point differential of only +1.
The Vikings will start this month-long journey away from home in Florida to take on the Jaguars. The Jaguars began the season as one of the teams that was supposed to be on the rise, especially after they went financially all-in on quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence signed a five-year deal worth $275 million, $200 million of which is fully guaranteed, $37.5 million as a signing bonus, and an annual average of $55 million. Unfortunately, Lawrence’s play hasn’t elevated like his bank account and tax bracket have. After injuring his left non-throwing shoulder last week Lawrence “Is trending towards not playing,” according to Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson.
Bleeding Teal
The Jaguars aren’t just taking hits on their win-loss record their taking ; they’re the injury report across much of the stmanyrs. Especially, especially. If the list aren’t labeled you’d probably, think it’s some die-hard Jaguars fan’s fantasy team.
Trevor Lawrence starting QB shoulder is questionable
Brian Thomas Jr.’s starting WR chest is questionable
Gabe Davis starting WR shoulder is questionable
Christian Kirk starting WR collarbone IR out for the year
Ezra Cleveland starting LG ankle out (former Viking)
The Jaguars have been hit so hard by injuries specifically to the wide receiver room that Parker Washington and Tim Jones are their only healthy wideouts. Although they currently don’t have any injury designation it’s worth noting both starting running backs Travis Etienne Jr. and Tank Bigsby spent the whole week limited in practice due to injury issues. This Jaguars team is coming into Sunday’s game against the Vikings extremely short-handed.
The Jaguars offense is going to be more like the junior varsity Jaguars than the varsity squad they started the year with. Mac Jones is likely to be the starting quarterback. Outside of tight end, Evan Ingram Jones won’t have many options to spread the ball to. Bigsby and Etienne Jr. will likely share the running workload even if they’re less than 100%. The Jaguars offense has been averaging less than 22 points per game. Against the Vikings’s defense, that’s allowing 18.8 points per game. Look for the Jaguars to struggle mightily to move the ball effectively.
Why Vikings Will Be Victorious Visitors
The Vikings are favored by a touchdown on the road this week. Sam Darnold is playing at a top-10 quarterback level. He has 17 touchdowns. That ties him with Buffalo Bills Josh Allen and Atlanta Falcons Kirk Cousins. Darnold is also tied with Cousins with seven interceptions. Darnold has the fourth-best passer rating at 107.8. That puts him in pretty good company as Jow Burrow is 108.1 only .3 of a point ahead of Darnold and Jayden Daniels is 1.1 points behind Darnold at 106.7. Darnold should have his best day passing this Sunday against the Jaguars as they are averaging giving up a passer rating of over 100 per game. Darnold could be in line for his first 300-plus-yard game of the year.
Justin Jefferson is becoming the most dominant non-quarterback offensive weapon in the league. Jefferson only needs 103 yards to break Tory Holt’s record for most receiving yards in their first five seasons. Holt set the record for yards with 6,784 in 80 games. This Sunday will be Jefferson’s 69th game. Justin ‘Jets’ Jefferson should be able to soar over 103 yards against the Jaguars.
Jordan Addison is reemerging as a legitimate number-two wideout across from Jefferson after dealing with an ankle injury earlier in the year. Jalen Nailor is sneaking his way into the third-receiver spot as he continues to take advantage of the opportunities he’s getting from head coach Kevin O’Connell. Look for this to be the real coming-out party for the return of tight-end T.J. Hockenson. Vikings running back Aaron Jones will look to continue being one of the more impressive free-agent signings not just by the Vikings but throughout the NFL. Jones has brought balance and a bit of punch to the run game and to the Vikings offense as a whole.
Defensive Dominance
The Vikings defense got back to form last week against the Colts. For starters, they nullified healthy All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor. Taylor was held under 50 yards rushing 48 in total. The Vikings have been solid against the run all year. It might be even more impressive that they kept Joe Flacco under 200 yards passing 179 to be exact. The Vikings shut out the Colts for the first three quarters. The Vikings held the Colts without an offensive touchdown. The Colt’s first offensive points came almost three minutes into the fourth quarter on a 42-yard field goal by Matt Gay. Gay also added another field goal from 52 yards away with less than a minute left in the game. The biggest takeaway was the Vikings allowed ZERO red zone snaps to the Colts. Given the number of injuries among the Jaguar’s offense look for the Viking’s defense to replicate this feat for a second week in a row.
Final Observations
The Vikings and Jaguars are two teams that are trending in different directions on several different levels. The Vikings are winning at a high rate and look to be a real contender heading into the playoffs. The Jaguars are struggling to find a winning formula or have any consistency. The Jaguars are also suffering from injuries to many of the most important key players and positions. Aside from losing left tackle Christian Darrisaw for the year with a knee injury, the Vikings are about as healthy as an NFL team can hope to be 10 weeks into the season.
Ironically that injury forced the Vikings to make a trade to find a fill-in or replacement for Darrisaw. They landed on Jaguars left tackle Cam Robinson. After only a couple of practices, Robinson got the start last week against a familiar AFC South opponent the Colts. Considering the quick turnaround Robinson’s performance was ultra impressive. He allowed zero sacks. After the game head coach Kevin O’Connell awarded Robinson a game ball for his impressive performance. Now in one of the fastest reunions, Robinson is back in Jacksonville to face his former team and teammates two weeks after being traded.
The Viking’s defense has made the starting quarterbacks they’ve faced thus far look like backups. Now they are looking at facing Mac Jones as an actual backup quarterback. That’s an advantage for the Vikings. The Jaguars might be without their top three wide receivers. Again, that’s an advantage for the Vikings. The Vikings offense has been averaging more than 26 points per game. The Jaguars are giving up 28 points per game. The Vikings offense should have a field day against the Jaguars. Darnold will have his first 300-yard passing game and throw 3 or 4 touchdowns. Jefferson will go off for over 125 yards receiving and a score. Hockenson will get his first touchdown. Jones should flirt with 100 yards rushing. The Vikings will win by more than seven. The over/under is 43.5 I like the over here. The final score will be 37-13 Vikings.
