Viktor
Well-known member
- Mar 19, 2019
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No. 16 (up 1 spot): Frank Schwab – Yahoo! Sports
The Vikings won't be fun to play for future opponents. They have three legitimate stars on offense in Dalvin Cook, Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen. And Mike Zimmer's young defense is getting better.
No. 16 (up 3 spots): Pete Prisco – CBS Sports
With three straight victories and a soft three-game stretch coming up, they have turned their season around. They have real playoff chances now.
No. 18 (up 1 spot): NFL Staff – Bleacher Report
Break up the Vikings.
To be fair, the Vikings did not exactly light up Soldier Field in their Monday night victory over the Bears. Dalvin Cook had 96 yards on the ground, but those 96 yards came on 30 carries.
But with Cook bottled up, Kirk Cousins took to the air, exorcising some of the ghosts of his previous 0-9 career record on Monday Night Football in the process. Rookie Justin Jefferson continued to impress, catching eight passes for 135 yards. Veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen was on the receiving end of both of Cousins' scoring throws.
A few weeks ago, the Vikings were 1-5 and given up on by most. It's still going to be an uphill climb to get back to the postseason, but they are now 4-5 heading into a stretch of winnable games against the Cowboys, Panthers and Jaguars.
This is a Minnesota team that could be 7-5 when it travels to Tampa in Week 14.
Not that long ago, that appeared laughable.