Winner

The Texans made sure this off-season they would address their weaknesses. And they did just that, getting a star edge rusher in Danielle Hunter. The four-time pro bowler amassed 16 sacks last year and is going to absolutely rejuvenate the Texans d-line. The price was hefty with a 2 year 49 million dollar contract.

That’s not all the Texans did, a 7th round pick was sent to the Bengals for RB Joe Mixon. Many argued the weakest point of the Texans’ roster last year was the running back position, well now this should be fixed by getting a star guy in Joe Mixon. Also a couple of acquisitions to get DE Denico Autry and LB Azeez Al-Shaair. Finally, the resigning of Noah Brown on a 1 year contract was a good depth piece to be a productive guy for QB CJ Stroud.

In the Middle

The Falcons did a really good job of getting guys to majorly upgrade their roster. Former Vikings QB Kirk Cousins signed on a 4 Year, 180M dollar contract to provide them an automatic upgrade. I would be lying if I said I didn’t have my concerns for Cousins but the reality of the situation is, he will be better than Ridder.

Cousins has the weapons to thrive in an offense with Kyle Pitts, Bijan Robinson and Drake London, the question is Cousins going to be the same off the injury? The money is hefty as well with a 45 million average of each year. 25 million is guaranteed each year with the rest of the money being escalators to get him to 45 million.

Also acquiring former Chicago Bears WR Mooney was a nice addition even though the contract was large, Mooney’s vertical skill set is exactly what the Falcons were missing. 

Loser

For the salary cap fake crowd, this one is a silencer. The Buffalo Bills had to release several key players including All-Pro Corner Tre’Davious White, Saftey Jordan Poyer and O-linemen Ryan Bates due to trade.

As long as the Bills have Josh Allen they should be fine, but these key losses are incredibly concerning and will be interesting to see how they will address the needs in the draft. It’s not all doom and gloom though, as left tackle Dion Dawkins has extended his deal for three more years. 

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By: Jake Rajala

The Minnesota Vikings will play with their hair on fire against their NFC North divisional foe in the Green Bay Packers this weekend. Over the prior 10 contests between the Vikings and Packers, the team that once featured the Purple People Eaters has won five games and tied one contest. With that said, I’m going to untwine five reasons why the Vikings can continue to have the upper ground on the Pack and come out with a victory this weekend.

• Danielle Hunter

“It is time” – Kevin Greene

The Minnesota Vikings fearless edge rusher Danielle Hunter was undoubtedly on pace for a career season in 2021. He registered six sacks, 10 QB hits, and 6 TFLs in seven match-ups last season. Unfortunately, the world ended for Hunter when he suffered a torn pectoral against the Dallas Cowboys. I trust in him mopping the floor against a Packers OL that has a somewhat rusty David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins.

• Dalvin Cook

It may be easy to peg Dalvin Cook as a reason that the Viks can ruin the Packers day on Sunday. Nonetheless, I expect him to be heavily leaned on against a Packers defense that will be hard to defeat in the passing game. Cook is healthy (for now) and he can really deliver against a Packers defense that gave up 163 rushing yards and 3 rushing TDs to him not too long ago.

• Jalen Reagor

I love that the Vikings made a sneaky move to acquire Jalen Reagor. He may be an NFL bust at WR, but he could be an x-factor and a difference maker as a KR for the Vikings moving forward. Interestingly (to say the least), he scored a 73-yard punt return touchdown against the Packers in his career.

• Andrew Booth Jr.

I believe that Andrew Booth Jr. is already one of the most gifted CB3s in the league & he will establish his dominance against the likes of Randall Cobb and Christian Watson in their NFC North battle. Perhaps he will show on Sunday that he deserves to be in the DROY race.

• Irv Smith Jr.

Irv Smith Jr. is healthy (after missing the entire 2021 season) and ready to unleash hell against opponents. Irv Smith Jr. The Packers allowed the 11th most fantasy points to TEs last season and it’s clearly a superb opportunity for the Vikings TE to shine right away.

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By: Jake Rajala

The Minnesota Vikings have a Prometheus-like edge rusher in Danielle Hunter. The Vikings mythical pass rusher Jared Allen recently stated that Hunter told him that he was going to break his sack record (22). I believe that the Jamaican-born football player (Hunter) should feel very enthusiastic about his chances of unleashing 20+ sacks and a DPOY-winning season in 2022.

It was clear that Hunter was on an unearthly pace in 2021 with six sacks, 10 quarterback hits, and six tackles for loss in seven contests. His best performance unequivocally came against the Arizona Cardinals – where he unleashed three sacks, seven tackles, and two stuffs. PFF gave him a fine 80.8 grade for his 2021 performance.

Hunter will not only be healthy, but he will also be licking his chops against weak divisional foes (such as CHI and DET). He was mopping the floor against his competition last season, yet he only played one game against the Lions and zero contests against the Bears. Similar to Aaron Donald in his latest DPOY-winning campaign, the Vikings edge rusher should look to rack up his stats against CHI and DET in the near future. Let’s not forget that Hunter has a thing or two for proving to A-Rod that he didn’t see the light until he was already a man.

Hunter will not only benefit from staying on the field and going into John Wick-mode against his archnemesis, but I also foresee the Vikings passing offense to actually help Hunter, as well. I expect the Vikings new-look passing attack w/ a healthy Irv Smith Jr. to really light up the scoreboard – which should force opposing signal-callers to aim to keep pace with Captain Kirk. Hence, Hunter will have a plethora of moments to pin his ears back and unveil unusual sack figures.

The Vikings blood-thirsty pass rusher plays the golden position (edge rusher) to win DPOY, too. Of course, T.J. Watt won DPOY last season (after tying Michael Strahan’s sack record of 22.5 sacks). It should be noted that Football Outsiders feels the odds are stacked against Watt repeating his 2021 DPOY feat. I also believe the 31-year-old Aaron Donald, who is still arguably one of the Mount Rushmore defenders, to not win DPOY (for the second year in a row) if a pass rusher has at least very close to a record-breaking sack season w/ other top-tier edge-rushing statistics in 2022. Allen and John Randle defied expectations in their Vikings journey. Perhaps Hunter can climb mountains and take an unexpected leap towards defensive gold next season.

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By: Jake Rajala

The Kirk Cousins-led Minnesota Vikings are more complex than the INFP personality type. Nonetheless, there is one thing clear in regards to the Vikings outlook in 2022 — the Vikings have a lot of talent and energy under Kevin O’Connell. With that said, I’m going to untwine three bold predictions for the Vikings in 2022 — as the sky might just be the limit.

Danielle Hunter is first-team All-Pro

The Vikings unearthly edge rusher Danielle Hunter ousted 14.5 sacks in 2018 (while making second-team All-Pro) and 14.5 sacks in 2019. I believe he was climbing the ladder last season, as he unveiled six sacks, 10 QB hits, and 38 combined tackles in seven games. Unfortunately, he suffered a season-ending pectoral injury during the Cowboys contest last season. I imagine a hungry, healthy Hunter with better pass-rushing opportunities will have his best season in 2022 — which should translate to second first–team All-Pro honors.

Irv Smith Jr. catches 10+ touchdowns

The young Vikings TE Irv Smith Jr. hauled in five touchdowns in 13 games during the 2020 season. Smith Jr. missed the entire 2021 season via a meniscus injury. I expect the Vikings TE to be out for blood in a more creative offense under O’Connell moving forward. The days of planning to run the ball down the defense’s throat have adjusted to a high-powered, creative passing attack with the former Rams offensive mind at the HC helm. I also expect the aging Adam Thielen (24 touchdowns in the past two seasons) to share some of his red-zone success with the healthy TE.

The Vikings will beat the Packers twice

The Vikings managed to beat their despised opponent in Green Bay once last season. Well, I believe it’s time for the Vikings to upset the Packers in each match-up in 2022. The Saints have been hell-bent on beating Tom Brady and I believe a Vikings defense led by Hunter will help the Vikings win in two likely shoot-out matches against Rodgers. Rodgers might thrive and be a pillar of consistency in the remainder of the schedule, but I believe the Vikings can attack the Packers’s weaknesses even better than last season.

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By: Jake Rajala

The Minnesota Vikings defense rightfully resembled The Great Wall from the movie “The Great Wall” in 2021. The Vikings ranked 24th in PPG allowed and the Vikings pass defense sadly ranked 28th in passing YPG allowed a season ago. Nonetheless, I’m going to simply untwine three reasons why the Vikings defense will significantly improve in 2022.

The return of Danielle Hunter

The Vikings pass rush and pass defense will greatly benefit from a healthy Danielle Hunter (10 missed games in 2021). Hunter was from another planet in 2019 (14.5 sacks) and 2020 (14.5 sacks). Most importantly, Hunter was on pace for his best NFL season (six sacks in seven games). I expect the Vikings pass rusher to really feast against the young Bears and mediocre Lions in four games next season.

Lewis Cine

I believe that the Vikings were lucky to obtain Lewis Cine 32nd overall after NBC Sports reported that the Buccaneers had a strong interest in him. The former Georgia Bulldog and second-team All-SEC from Haiti will really help Harrison Smith on the back-end in his rookie season. His range can be a boost that MIN has desperately needed. The other rookie Andrew Booth Jr. could be a sneaky CB3 and have a similar impact as the Saints 2021 third-round pick CB Paulson Adebo, as well.

Jordan Hicks

Jordan Hicks was one of the most underrated FA signings. Outside of Za’Darius Smith’s arrival, the Vikings ILB Hicks will bring a boom to the Vikings defense. It was inspiring that the Vikings transitioned into a 3-4 defense, but it was amazing that the Vikings signed Hicks and created a potent LB duo. Hicks has ousted numerous seasons with 3+ interceptions and a few seasons of 110+ combined tackles. He is a true complete ILB next to the Pro Bowl Eric Kendricks.

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By: Jake Rajala

The Minnesota Vikings haven’t won the frigid NFC North since 2017. It’s clear that the Green Bay Packers have been a true superpower in the NFC North, as they’ve won their division in each of the past three seasons. With that said, I believe fate (and talent) will lead the Vikings to an NFC North title in 2022. Here are a few reasons why the Vikings first-year head coach Kevin O’Connell can win an NFC North title next season.

• Healthy star players

The Vikings had many key players miss significant game-time in 2021. Adam Thielen missed four games, Danielle Hunter missed 10 matchups, and Dalvin Cook was out of the line-up for four contests.

They clearly missed Hunter more than anyone else last season. The Vikings had 51 sacks (second in the league), but they also gave up the fifth-most passing yards in 2021. Hunter was also on a monster pace, as he notched six sacks in 7 games a season ago. The Vikings impressively managed to win eight games last season with many of their Top 10 players MIA. Expect Hunter, Thielen (10 touchdowns in 2021), and Cook to be important profiles for their team in 2022.

• The demise of the Packers

It’s safe to say that the Packers don’t need to worry about adding a quality WR2 this offseason. They really need to focus on adding a talented WR1! It’s great news for the Vikings that Aaron Rodgers doesn’t have Davante Adams in his arsenal anymore. The Packers also don’t have DE Za’Darius Smith (26 sacks from 2019 and 2020 combined), who was actually inked by the Vikings in free agency. The Packers starting TE Robert Tonyan is also coming off a torn ACL, so Rodgers could struggle to be in sync with an impressive weapon.

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The Minnesota Vikings feature the pass rusher Danielle Hunter, who is undeniably one of the top pass rushers in the NFC. Hunter’s talent has been noticed by numerous other NFL squads in the league and it’s been reported by Bleacher Report that other teams have interest in the trade market. According to Judd Zulgad of SKOR North, the Bills were one of the teams to inquire about Hunter.

The Bills have been a popular trade destination for Hunter, as Pro Football Focus suggested that the Bills should trade for Hunter in late February. There is no rejection of the talent Hunter displays. Here is a closer look at the magic that Hunter has unveiled in his career thus far:

• Two-time Pro Bowl selection
• Three seasons of 12.5+ sacks
• Five seasons of 15+ tackles for loss

The 27-year-old edge rusher is still a very superb pass rusher (six sacks in seven games last season), but he has had some injury concerns in the past two seasons. He missed the entire 2020 season with a torn pectoral muscle and he missed 10 games last season with a torn pectoral injury. It’s clear that he’s still elite, but he’s had injury issues and he has a $20 million roster bonus due on March 20th.

The Vikings could look to retool their roster this offseason and Hunter might be a smart player to move on from at this point. It’s also true that the Bills would be a very logical fit. The Bills had the number one overall defense in 2021, but they were ranked 12th in sacks. They could be interested in adding an elite edge rusher that can shine on the big stage against the likes of Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow.

The Bills have shown that they won’t take the gas off the pedal, as they’ve already acquired the elite Stefon Diggs in recent memory. They should strike big on another profile in Hunter. The LA Rams brought in Von Miller in 2021, the Chargers brought in Khalil Mack in 2022, and now it may be time for the Bills to bring in the imposing, shifty Hunter.

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By: Grant Schwieger

The 2021 Minnesota Vikings were a team many said needed to get off to a hot start as their schedule got more difficult as the season went on. Naturally, the team responded by starting the season 0-2. Of course, many Vikings fans will point out that the team is a Dalvin Cook fumble and Greg Joseph 37-yard field goal away from being 2-0.

Minnesota writer Will Ragatz found this statistic that given Minnesota’s win probability before those two events, there was just a 1.3% chance the Vikings started the season 0-2. There is nothing that defines the Vikings more than their love to lose in the worst way possible, so not many fans are astonished by those outcomes. Now Minnesota gets the ironic title of “Best 0-2 Team in the NFL,” a crown too many Vikings fans are proud to don. With a winless two weeks, there are plenty of negatives to go around TCO Performance Center. However, given that the team was so close to victory in both contests, there are still positives as well. Let’s take a look at some of the good and some of the bad for Minnesota through two weeks.

Good: KJ Osborn!

A WR3! The Vikings did it! KJ Osborn’s emergence is easily the best story so far this season. Osborn has caught all 12 of his targets so far, for 167 yards and his first career TD.

He is the only WR in the NFL with 10+ targets to catch every pass thrown his way. The leap Osborn has taken is simply incredible, given he was on the roster all of last year and did not register a single offensive snap. In fact, before training camp, Osborn was left off of many Minnesota roster projections. That begs the question, why was he not on the field over Chad Beebe last season? The Vikings’ staff does not deserve the benefit of the doubt, as Justin Jefferson was not unleashed until Week 3 last season. However, Sam Ekstrom of Purple Insider detailed Osborn’s offseason training, and KJ spent a lot of time training with Jefferson, Jarvis Landry, and Stefon Diggs. That is some solid company, and he appears to have learned quite a bit from those wideouts.

Justin Jefferson said this week he has noticed more safeties on his side of the field this year and defenses are scared to press him. This leaves more opportunities for Osborn, and Adam Thielen who is off to a hot start, to take advantage of. Here’s to Osborn keeping up this pace for 15 more games and solving the ever-revolving door that has been Minnesota’s WR3 for years.

Bad: The Cornerbacks

2020 saw the Vikings put forth one of the weakest secondaries in Mike Zimmer’s tenure in Minnesota, held together by duct tape and Elmer’s glue by Harrison Smith and Anthony Harris. Minnesota swapped out almost the entire cornerback room this offseason, yet through two games, Smith and now Xavier Woods are the ones keeping this secondary from embarrassment. Patrick Peterson was the crown jewel of the secondary additions, and while he has not been awful, he has not been worth the $8 million guaranteed Minnesota gave him to wear purple and gold again. One thing that almost an entirely new secondary leads to is miscommunications.

Breakdowns like this should never happen, and Zimmer was probably blowing steam out of his ears afterward.

Then there is the mess that has been Bashaud Breeland so far. He is not only the lowest-graded Viking per PFF but also the lowest-graded CB in the entire National Football League. The good news is that coverage is volatile. The best CBs will have bad games, and the bad ones will find ways to bounce back here and there. All is not lost with Breeland, and he should not be written off yet.

However, there are plays like this against AJ Green that should not be happening. Green was a liability when on the field last season and Breeland should be expected to handle WRs like him. He has been the definition of volatile when it comes to PFF grades in his career, so do not be surprised if he comes back with a lockdown game sometime this season.

Mackensie Alexander was brought back to be the Vikings’ slot CB this season and has allowed 9 catches on 10 targets for 119 yards so far. Those 9 catches allowed are tied with Breeland for the most on the team. Kris Boyd has been on the field for 4 coverage snaps and allowed 2 catches for 19 yards on 3 targets, with the third target being a play where he got absolutely toasted but luckily the pass fell incomplete. Cameron Dantzler was inactive Week 1 and played well in 16 snaps Week 2, so at least there is that. But as a collective group, the Minnesota CBs share a large responsibility in the team being 0-2.

Good: Danielle Hunter is BACK!

The Vikings’ star pass-rusher has returned to the field and looks oh so good. Hunter just brings an element to the defense no one else on this team can come close to touching. He started a little slow in Cincinnati but was making his presence known all day against Arizona.

He is currently tied with Michael Pierce as Minnesota’s second highest-graded defender, tied for 11^th in the NFL in pressures with 9, and third in the NFL with 4 sacks (all among edge defenders). Last season this Minnesota squad lacked someone who could single-handedly wreck an opposing play from the defensive line. Hunter has already done that on multiple occasions in his 113 snaps thus far, including this one narrated beautifully by the GOAT Gus Johnson.

As Hunter gets back into his groove, he will likely get better and better and make even more of an impact on a play-by-play basis. There should be plenty of excitement surrounding Hunter as the season goes on.

Bad: Tackling

The Minnesota Vikings have had a top-4 PFF tackling grade in 5 of 7 years under Mike Zimmer, in 2014 (1^st), 2015 (4^th), 2017 (3^rd), 2018 (1^st), and 2019 (1^st). Having consistency in a metric like that is an incredibly impressive feat. However, they were 26^th in 2020 and are 30^th so far in 2021. They have missed 24 tackles in 2 games, tied for the most in the NFL.

As a disclaimer, the weapons the Cardinals have on offense are missed tackle machines, starting with Kyler Murray and now sweet-footed rookie Rondale Moore. However, the Vikings missed more tackles against the Bengals (14) than the Cardinals (10). Eric Kendricks and Bashaud Breeland both have 6 missed tackles apiece. Breeland has missed 33% of his tackle opportunities, a big contributor to his previously discussed atrocious PFF grade. Kendricks is much more of a surprise, currently owning the worst missed tackle percentage of his career through two games (17.6%). No one else on the Vikings’ defense has more than 3 missed tackles.

Missed tackles can change in a hurry, so this does not mean this trend will continue throughout the season. The quad injury Kendricks has been dealing with could be a factor, but his play has still been impressive outside of that. The more concerning statistic here is Zimmer’s defenses have largely been one of the best in the league in terms of tackling, and this downward trend does not reflect positively for him. Plays like allowing Rondale Moore to keep running along the sideline to get Arizona into field goal range at the end of the first half in Week 2 are unacceptable and need to be fixed for Minnesota’s season to turn around.

Good: Kirk Cousins

Kirk Cousins’ first two weeks in 2021 have marked the first time since he has been in Minnesota that he has been consistently good in both games. His 2018 Week 2 performance in Green Bay, the infamous Daniel Carlson Tie Game, takes the cake in terms of the best game in the first two weeks, however. He is currently a top-4 graded QB in the NFL and the Vikings’ highest-graded player.

He has always been a good QB when his offensive line can keep him clean, and 2021 has been no different, as he owns the highest PFF grade in the NFL when kept clean. The main qualm most have with Cousins has always been the intangibles, however. A lot of criticism he faces involves a lack of leadership, lack of mobility, and lack of a clutch gene, the inability to come through when his team needs him most. Cousins has delivered on the latter so far in 2021. The “wins are a QB stat” crowd will quickly point to the Vikings’ 0-2 record to disprove that, but frankly, Kirk has not been to blame for most of Minnesota’s issues.

Plays such as the one above are ones that Vikings fans have clamored for over and over again during Cousins’ time in Minnesota. He also had a 29-yard scramble that was another example of plays he rarely makes.

Not only does he own the longest streak in the NFL of attempts without an INT, but he has also just one Turnover Worthy Play through 2 games. Given Cousins’ knack for starting seasons off on the slower side, this start has been encouraging. He still owns a cap hit of $45 million for 2022, so Minnesota needs to see a full season before deciding on that front. The best-case scenario might just be Kirk performs well enough to entice a team to trade for him next offseason. If that is the case, he is off to the perfect start.

Bad: Luck

Sometimes things happen when there is no one to blame, you just have to shrug your shoulders and say to yourself “what do ya do?” That is exactly how Minnesota fans felt after former Gophers TE Maxx Williams caught a pass deflected THREE times by Minnesota defenders, in stride, for 34 yards against Arizona.

Somehow, someway, plays like that happen to the Vikings seemingly every week. Plays like that can be huge swings in a game, and there is nothing anyone could have done about it!

Dalvin Cook’s fumble in overtime against Cincinnati is another form of this. Minnesota gets unlucky that there are no camera angles available that clearly show Cook is down before the ball comes out, so the refs are forced to go with the original call on the field. Had the officials called Cook down originally, they surely would have decided to keep that call as well. The same goes for what looked to be a Justin Jefferson TD against the Bengals. This play had no impact on the game because Cook ran it in after they marked Jefferson down at the one anyways, but Jefferson (and his fantasy owners) wants that one to count for his stats.

Even Greg Joseph’s missed 37-yard kick at the end of the Arizona game is just plain unlucky. It’s not like he shanked it, he just ever so slightly pushed it wide-right. Vikings fans have been conditioned to expect it at this point.

Since 2017, kickers facing the Vikings have the best EPA/play in the NFL and the Vikings own the 4^th worst EPA/play when kicking themselves. That results in Minnesota proudly representing the worst net EPA/play in the kicking game over that period. Kicking year-to-year is so unstable that it is truly incredible how consistently poor Minnesota has been in that department. Will the luck ever turn around? Maybe. Will we be alive to see it? Probably not. Will Matt Prater still be nailing 60+ yard kicks against the Vikings in 2050 at age 66? Most definitely.

The post 3 good and 3 bad things for the Vikings team in 2021 appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Grant Schwieger

Is it crazy to say a game in Week 2 of the NFL season, before Minnesota has even played at home, feels like a must-win already? The Vikings entered Cincinnati last week as road favorites and quickly alerted their fans and the league why being confident or optimistic about them is a terrible idea. There were more than 8 months between Minnesota’s last two games, yet Week 1 seemed as if the team picked up right where they left off at the end of the 2020 season. This team is too good to be blown out every game, but they also are not good enough to put away the teams that they should. This results in a lot of gut-wrenching endings like the game against the Bengals was in every sense of the word.

No one wants to start 0-2, but the season is 17 games long now. The season would not be over. However, games against the Seahawks and Browns loom on the horizon and the Vikings might be underdogs in both of those as well. There is also this statistic that team reporter Courtney Cronin dug up:

There is no reason to ignore the obvious. If the Vikings start 0-2, Minnesota might be in for a looooong season. The Vikings face the tall task of taking on a Cardinals team that dropped 38 points on the road in Tennessee. Let’s take a look at what the Vikings need to do in Week 2.

Slowing down Kyler Murray and Company

If Mike Zimmer gets double-digit hours of sleep this week while trying to gameplan for Kyler Murray, I think we would all be surprised. There is simply no way to truly prepare for someone who can do this.

Zimmer intelligently said earlier this week that he knows the Vikings’ defense will not be able to keep Murray in the pocket all day, and of course, he is right. That does not mean they can’t slow him down, though. The entire defense has to stay disciplined and trust their assignments and their teammates. For Minnesota to do that, though, they would need their defense, specifically their linebackers, to be healthy. That doesn’t look to be the case with Anthony Barr out and Eric Kendricks questionable as well. If the Vikings are trotting out a full backup LB core on Sunday, this could be one of those times Minnesota gets blown out.

After looking past Kyler Murray’s insane athletic ability, there are Arizona’s receiving weapons. They have future Hall of Famer DeAndre Hopkins as a headliner, but he and Christian Kirk, AJ Green, and Rondale Moore all received 5+ targets in Week 1. Running back Chase Edmonds also caught all 4 of his targets and is joined by James Connor in the backfield. The Cardinals’ offensive line is also not a big weakness. Either the Vikings’ pass-rush needs to overtake the game (Arizona RT Kelvin Beachum will be a game-time decision, looking at you, Danielle Hunter), or the secondary needs to have the game of their lives and fly towards the ball. Murray led the NFL in Big Time Throws (per PFF) with 6 in Week 1, but he is also good for about one Turnover Worthy Play a game over the last 2 seasons as well. This Minnesota coverage unit needs to take advantage of when that play pops up. There can be no mistakes like this one from Kris Boyd Week 1.

Containing Chandler Jones

As good as Murray and the offense were for the Cardinals last week, Chandler Jones single-handedly made their game a blowout. He had 7 pressures, 5 sacks, including 2 forced fumbles in just 33 pass-rushing snaps. The Titans mistakenly kept their LT Taylor Lewan isolated on Jones all game and it resulted in Lewan’s worst pass-blocking game in what is his 8^th season. Bad news for Vikings fans, Taylor Lewan is MUCH better than Rashod Hill. The good news is, though, that Tennessee outlined exactly what NOT to do when facing Chandler Jones. Expect a lot of chips from TEs and RBs and double teams sent Jones’ way. That may open the way for JJ Watt and the rest of Arizona’s pass-rushers to make an impact, but Minnesota just cannot afford to replicate plays like this from last week.

That was one of the best games that Jones has ever played as a pass-rusher, so Minnesota might just be hoping for some regression on his part in Week 2. He is, however, wanting a new contract, so his motivation seems to be at an all-time high. If the Vikings are unable to contain Chandler Jones and Kirk Cousins sustains some of the hits Ryan Tannehill did last week, this game might end with Sean Mannion or Kellen Mond under center. Expect a lot to be thrown Jones’ way by Klint Kubiak.

Exploiting the Arizona Secondary

If there is one area of this Cardinals team the Vikings should be able to take advantage of, it is their secondary. They brought Malcolm Butler over in the offseason to be their #1 CB, and he has since retired. Budda Baker is an underrated safety who has been solid his entire career, but his safety partner Jalen Thompson is mostly unproven. Byron Murphy, Robert Alford, and rookie Marco Wilson make up Arizona’s top three CBs. Murphy is in his third season and has had an up and down career thus far. Alford played Week 1 for the first time since 2018, and Wilson is a 4^th round rookie.

This Cardinals secondary performed pretty well last week, but that was mostly due to Chandler Jones and the Titans self-destructing. Tennessee owns what is easily the NFL’s top WR duo in AJ Brown Jr and Julio Jones, yet the two received only 13 combined targets, the first of which being an incompletion to Brown with 10:59 to go in the second quarter. If Minnesota waits that long to target Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen, Kirk Cousins and/or Klint Kubiak may find fans with pitchforks at the Minneapolis airport when the team gets home.

If the Vikings want to expose this Cardinals secondary, they need to make life easier on themselves with play-action, something the Titans did not do last week. Former Tennessee Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith led such great offenses the last few years that he is now the head coach in Atlanta. Ryan Tannehill had the highest percentage of play-action dropbacks in the NFL last year. Last week, Tannehill had the second-lowest percentage. The blame for that complete 180 on offense for Tennessee falls on new OC Todd Downing. Is it difficult to run play-action when you are down by 25 points? Yes, but it also might be the reason why you are down 25 points. Play-action has been a staple of Kubiak-led offenses for years, so this should not be an issue for Minnesota.

The Vikings also might finally have themselves a solid third WR in KJ Osborn. He caught all of his 7 targets for 76 yards, forcing one missed tackle, and converting 3 first downs, the biggest of which being on 4^th and 4 on Minnesota’s game-tying drive in regulation. The Vikings do not need Osborn to be a star, they just need him to be capable of taking advantage of the opportunities left by defenses focusing on Jefferson and Thielen. Through one week, he seems up to the task. Osborn could prove to be an important piece to this offense moving forward.

Prediction

It is hard to be optimistic entering Week 2 for Minnesota after Arizona’s beatdown of Tennessee and the Vikings’ loss in Cincinnati. However, games like this are why the NFL is so unpredictable. Minnesota could easily come out and look impressive on the road, similarly to how they did in Seattle last season. That game, of course, ended in heartbreak for the Vikings, which is how I envision this one going as well. The Cardinals try to throw the ball too much to AJ Green instead of their three superior receiver options, allowing Minnesota to keep it close. Arizona’s rushing game will prevent the Vikings from getting the ball back at the end of the game, though, with the final score being Arizona 27, Minnesota 20.

The post Vikings at Cardinals Week 2 Preview appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Conner Wickland

1. The Return of Danielle Hunter

Yes, Danielle Hunter stormed to the quarterback with an impressive sack on third down midway into the 4th quarter, giving the ball back to a Minnesota offense that was trailing by three points. But before that point, the Vikings’ defensive superstar was largely unseen. In fact, apart from this play resulting from a blown protection call, Hunter did not register a single QB pressure during the entire game. Despite playing 87% of the snaps on Sunday, Hunter’s former teammate Riley Reiff was able to take him out of the game. 

While it’s unclear if Reiff was extra motivated to win in his revenge game against the team that released him, it was a rough start for Hunter. However, you can expect him to shake off the rust soon. This was Hunter’s first game back since missing the entire 2020 season with a neck injury. Still, the Minnesota Vikings were confident enough in his ability to give him a reworked deal this offseason, paying the defensive end a $5.6m signing bonus and the ability to make $20m next year to ward off a potential hold-out.

One game won’t tell the story of the Minnesota Vikings, and it definitely isn’t the end of Danielle Hunter’s career.

2. Newfound Special Teams’ Dominance

One of the surprise storylines coming out of week one was the Vikings dominance on special teams. Surely, this would’ve been the main talking point had NFL officials overturned a Dalvin Cook fumble and allowed third-year kicker Greg Joseph to hit a game-winning field goal. Joseph came into the season with questions after not finding a long-term home with either the Cleveland Browns in 2018 or the Tennessee Titans in 2019. He put that all to rest after nailing a career-long 53 yarder at the end of regulation and then hitting it again after being iced by Cincinnati Bengal Head Coach Zac Taylor.

But Greg Joseph wasn’t the only success story to positively shock Vikings fans on special teams. The newly signed punter Jordan Berry impressed with long, arching punts – six of them going for 45 yards or more – often pinning the Bengals offense back out of scoring range. This included an overtime launch of 63 yards that stuck the Bengals at their own 10 yard-line. Despite only being signed nine days before kickoff, the 30-year old Jordan Berry is already solidifying his spot as the long-term punting option for the Vikings.

3. The Emergence of K.J. Osborn

For years, the Minnesota Vikings have struggled to fill the wide receiver positing past their front two stars. In 2018, The Vikings leading wide receiver behind Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs was Laquon Treadwell, with 302 yards. In 2019, it was Olabisi Johnson with 294 yards. Last year, they swapped out Stefon Diggs for Justin Jefferson, but their third wide receiver Chad Beebe only fit into the mix with 201 yards.

The Vikings have used their tight ends to pick up the pace in years past, but they were dealt a huge blow when Irv Smith Jr was sidelined with a huge preseason injury that ended his breakout season before it began. The team responded with a high-priced trade for Jet’s Tight End Chris Herdon, but entered Sunday looking like the same old offense that would rely on Thielen and Jefferson to handle the load.

Instead, we watched K.J. Osborn make the most of his opportunities in this offense. He made a great drive-saving play on 3rd and 24 that set up the Vikings for an early Touchdown in the second quarter, and ended the day with 76. While it’s way too early to extrapolate from one game, Osborn would be on pace to end the year with 1,292 yards, a far cry from the sub-400 yard performances of Minnesota Wide Receivers in the past.

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