How you feeling about Vikings chances Sunday night?

I'm apprehensive. I would feel a lot more confident if we were playing at home instead of Detroit.

The Lions are still a dangerous offense, think this is going to be a shootout type game.

Ultimately, it's going to come down to who can force the most turnovers/stops and who gets TDs instead of FGs.

I was more worried about the Packer game. I am not sure how I feel about this one. I just want Darnold to keep playing his game. That defense has to step up big on Sunday. It will be interesting to see how this goes.

I've been right 14 out of 16 times picking them, so I'm going with a win on sunday night.

MAD GAINZ wrote:
I'm apprehensive.  I would feel a lot more confident if we were playing at home instead of Detroit.

I agree.

A couple of things that may benefit the Vikings:
 
1.) Recently played and won in arguably the loudest stadium in Seattle.

2.) Detroit coming in on a short week having played on Monday, plus having New Years celebration going mid-week may have an affect on the team's preparation.

Earlier in the week I was thinking Detroit would get us and we'd take the hard route to winning it all, but I've been feeling better about this one in the days since. I think Supa mentioned in another thread, but we gotta stop St. Brown somehow. Whether that's blanketing him and letting Williams go off or by getting pressure on Goff, which is usually harder than it seems, we can't keep letting this guy catch 12 balls a game on us.

I'm sure Gibbs will find holes and they'll be able to move the ball, but I like our team a lot. Reichard-- make us proud, lad!

I think the Vikings have a good shot at winning. But if it comes down to a game winning field goal from 45 to 50 yards out and Reichard trots out, with the way he kicked against the Pack, not sure I will be able to watch. Thought they had the win when Gary Anderson trotted out onto the field for the field goal and we all know how that turned out.

StickierBuns wrote:
JMO, I think Minnesota is going to play looser and more care-free on the road. Green Bay was a big win in prime time, added even more confidence. Its almost like house money, I think their vibe is YOLO, lets just fucking ball. I envision an entertaining and close game, back and forth, and Meathead is going to get his tit in the ringer Sunday night by putting his nuts on the table in a spot he shouldn't. There's pressure there for Detroit, I don't think their endgame included fighting for the NFC #1 seed and division crown on the last game of the year. I think they thought it was all cruise control 5 weeks ago. Now they got a heavyweight fight on their hands. Ain't nobody scared in Minnesota, trust me on this. LionNation will have some tight sphincters in the stands for this game, regardless of false bravado. The Vikings are pretty healthy.

I'm only confident in that the stage, the situation, the stakes aren't too much for the Vikings. Detroit is a very good team. They are playing at home, they should be favored. But these purple dawgs won't be backing down, so let's do this. Got a phone call with my little birdie later this morning, we'll see what he has to say.

100% correct on the health factor.  We've had some injuries to work around throughout the season and lost Darrisaw for the year...  but heading into Week 18, we have most of our starting lineup from Week 1 intact and our depth is there.

Meanwhile Detroit is down their starting RB, defense has been hit hard by injuries, and it's shown in how many points they've given up in December.

Still think this is going to be a 27-24 or 31-27 type game.  I'm curious what your little birdie thinks heading into this week.  Vikings can absolutely win this game.

Greylock wrote:
I think the Vikings have a good shot at winning. But if it comes down to a game winning field goal from 45 to 50 yards out and Reichard trots out, with the way he kicked against the Pack, not sure I will be able to watch.  Thought they had the win when Gary Anderson trotted out onto the field for the field goal and we all know how that turned out.

Or Blair Walsh missing a chip shot to make the playoffs...

I think Dan Campbell makes a bone-headed move that keeps the game tight (just like when he gifted us points early in the first game with a gamble). Detroit, even with a banged-up defense will be incredibly physical -- borderline dirty -- and if they cause a turnover or two the Vikings are toast. I suspect they will be willing to gamble on giving up big plays, because they feel like all they need are one or two defensive stops and a turnover to win this game. So, I expect a lot of blitzing and aggressive play calling from Aaron Glenn -- he has the offense to bail him out.

It will be interesting to see what BFlo comes up with against the Lions offense. For the past several weeks teams have come out with a quick passing game to negate his blitzes. It's hard to sack the QB when he is getting rid of the ball in under 2 seconds. My expectation is we will see a lot of quick passing early with a heavy dose of Gibbs from the Lions, with more downfield passing if we make adjustments to stop the run. Problem with the Detroit offense is you can't cheat them anywhere and Goff rarely misfires. St.Brown, Williams, LaPorta, Gibbs, Goff are every bit as good as Jefferson, Addison, Hockenson, Jones and Darnold. Where the Lions have the advantage is their O-line, which is probably the best unit in the NFL right now.

I hope the Vikings come out with a chip on their shoulders and play at or above Detroit's physicality -- that's what it will take to win, in my opinion.

This team has a different vibe than previous teams. This is not 2022 where we are miraculously finding ways to win games at the end. We are playing solid football throughout most of the game. One really promising factor is that both Atlanta and the Packers came out and really socked it to us in the first quarter, playing much more physical than us and really trying to bully us. However, this team did not overreact or back down like we have seen in other years, they may not have been able to match the physicality, but they did it with finesse and grit. They are resilient, they stay with the plan and they seem to have a swagger about them that they know they are going to win. The pass play to Ham on 1st down of the last drive and then the two passes on the next 2nd and 3rd down says it all, we are playing to win games.

Agree with Sticky in that the Lions have been the toast of the league and were expected to cruise to the division and number one seed. Now they could potentially end up a 5th seed, playing next week on the road. Think an underrated factor is that there is a ton of pressure on them and do not forget this is also a franchise with a history of losing. We have not had the same expectations and not many are expecting us to lose, so in some ways, not a lot for us to lose in this one, think we come out and play our game and take it to them.

Our 4th down defense may decide it.

Talking to some Lions fans and last year was the year that was just fun for them....

Things got serious this season and expectations rose a lot.

I agree with others in this thread - the heat is more on Detroit than Minny. Lets see if we bring our A game and if Detroit lives up to the moment in a lots at stake regular season game?

I would favor Detroit slightly. The reason is trick plays and 4th down attempts that are often successful. However eventually it could be there demise. Win this week would be huge

Still Hurtn wrote:
I would favor Detroit slightly. The reason is trick plays and 4th down attempts that are often successful. However eventually it could be there demise. Win this week would be huge

Their offense is in a different league, even with just Gibbs at RB. 

Vikings D has to play its best game for this to be competitive. 

This is where it would be nice to have a more effective running game and keep Goff and all that firepower on the sidelines.

We've lost 4 in a row to Detroit because we can't stop their offense. If Flores comes up with something we could win, otherwise I see a shootout loss. Maybe 52-49, something crazy like that.

comet52 wrote:
We've lost 4 in a row to Detroit because we can't stop their offense.  If Flores comes up with something we could win, otherwise I see a shootout loss.  Maybe 52-49, something crazy like that.

Yah, Ben Johnson has out chessed Flo...

So close last game  - but close counts in hand grenades and horse shoes.

If I recall, coach got conservative the last Lions game, took the ball out of Sam’s hands. Punted back to them & they drove for the game willing field goal. Lesson learned & applied last week against the fudge. KOC trusts Sammy more now…! 1-0 baby! 

Canthony wrote:
I was more worried about the Packer game. I am not sure how I feel about this one. I just want Darnold to keep playing his game. That defense has to step up big on Sunday. It will be interesting to see how this goes.

Same. I'm not saying this is going to be an easy game, but I feel oddly confident that the Vikes are going to win this by about 10 points. In all the hype about the dreaded Lions not many people seem to realize just how bad their defense is. Goff is good for at least one turnover, and Campbell is good for at least one boneheaded decision. Vikings 40-30.

MaroonBells wrote:

Same. I'm not saying this is going to be an easy game, but I feel oddly confident that the Vikes are going to win this by about 10 points. In all the hype about the dreaded Lions not many people seem to realize just how bad their defense is. Goff is good for at least one turnover, and Campbell is good for at least one boneheaded decision. Vikings 40-30.

I'll give you a virtual hug if you're right

purplefaithful wrote:

I'll give you a virtual hug if you're right