Week 12: Many Thanksgivings for a big Vikings win?

Case Keenum made a statement on Sunday.  Thankfully, whenever he makes a statement, the Vikings as a whole seem to follow, and they did in a 24-7 win over the Los Angeles Rams, whom everybody was hyping up as the next big thing prior to the game.

The game itself was a grinder; the Vikes only had a couple of great scoring opportunities prior to the fourth quarter.  One was a touchdown for Latavius Murray. The other two featured Kai Forbath doing his best Blair Walsh impression, which is hopefully just a phase. 

Regardless of how part of the game looked, the box score read 24-7 when it was all said and done, propelling the Vikings into the upper level of the NFL with an 8-2 record.  The Vikings already play again today (happy Thanksgiving, everyone) with a chance to go to 9-2.  If they win and indeed build a massive lead in the NFC North, the discussion will begin.  I don’t know about you guys, but I’m dreading this particular discussion: could the Vikings represent the NFC in their own Super Bowl?

I haven’t entertained the thought this entire year, and it’s a first for the team, as they went 8-8 and missed the playoffs the year that the Metrodome hosted Denver and Buffalo.  I’ve preferred to enjoy the season one week at a time, and it’s been a really good one in spite of knee injuries.  As far as the game today against Detroit, it’s a thrill to have the team play two years in a row on Thanksgiving after having not played since the game against Dallas years ago (no, not the famous Randy Moss game, there was another).

I’m simply hoping for a better result this time around.  I mean, half the team isn’t on IR like last year at this time, and the offensive line is simply better than the last two years.  I’m all for what Case is doing, but if this team ever becomes Teddy’s again, I think he’d do just fine behind an offensive line that won’t have him running for his life. 

Here’s hoping we can be thankful for a big Vikings win in a few hours.    

Week 11: Tune in this week for the next exciting episode; Spygate 2: Electric Boogaloo, or Keenum makes his Case!

Well, the decision to start either Case Keenum or Teddy Bridgewater just got a whole lot simpler.  It has been an interesting scenario, to say the least. 

Keenum came out looking like he knew this could be his last game if things did not go well against Washington.  If he was feeling any pressure like that, he handled it extremely well, two ugly interceptions aside.  My main concern coming out of this game is the defense.  Did Washington just give the rest of the league a roadmap to beating the Vikings defense?  The Vikings also thwarted the bye week curse from last season by winning after it.

The team is now 7-2, having won five games in a row.  If this feels vaguely familiar to you, it should; the team did the same under Teddy Bridgewater’s leadership in 2015, his last season in the league.  This team might be better than that team, given the injuries to leading RB Dalvin Cook and Sam Bradford, and they still racked up five wins to climb to first place in the NFC North.

The big storyline this week is the LA Rams.  They are also 7-2, which means they must fall if the Vikings are to be taken seriously as contenders.  This game will likely tell us a lot about both teams.  The other storyline is the fact that Greg Olsen, a future opponent of the Vikings, will be on the broadcast team.  It’s likely that nothing will come of this, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.  If the Panthers stomp the Vikings in a completely unrealistic way later this season (like 41-donut), we will all know why. 

It almost makes you wonder if there’s a conspiracy to stop the Vikings from hosting and playing in the Super Bowl this year.  Almost.  I mean, Bountygate happened.  So anything’s possible, really. 

Though, the fact that the team is actually good enough for a conspiracy to hypothetically happen feels pretty grand.     

Week 10: You say good bye week, now I say hello!

The bye week is over, and here we are.  Lots to talk about in this latest blog post.

There are rumors that Aaron Rodgers could come back for the Week 16 game, which works perfectly as a revenge angle…but the Packers had better win some games in the meantime or it won’t even matter.  There’s that pesky matter of the Vikings being 6-2, and the fact that two of their three NFC North opponents currently own tiebreakers.  

Before they worry about their State Farm Savior, they should think about winning some games first, especially since they would fall to last place if Chicago beats them this coming Sunday.  It’s hard to come back from three losses in a row, never mind four. 

The only way the Packers factor into any of this is if they win some games and the Vikings and Lions flounder.  As for our Vikings, we’ve got a sneaky tough one this week against the Redskins, who are only 4-4 but just upset Seattle.  It’s another important one, like every game, most of all because it’s a road game and the Vikes have a two-game cushion that we do NOT want to lose with the Lions having a tiebreaker over us.  If the Vikings can win these next two games, they will be in excellent shape.  I feel Detroit beats Cleveland, but wins this week and next week would put us a solid three games ahead.

The beauty of the NFL, however, is that nothing is certain.  Even at 6-2, there is a quarterback controversy brewing with the return of “Touchdown” Teddy Bridgewater.  Case Keenum has done an admirable job with the situation presented to him, and I still think the job is his to lose.  The rest of this season is going to be an interesting one, that’s for sure.  With the bad taste of last season post-bye week fresh in our mouths, here’s hoping that this year goes a lot better.

As a final point, I feel bad for Sam Bradford.  Thanks for giving us a chance in 2016, dude, and here's to a speedy recovery and possible return.

In the end, it’s all about winning YOUR games.  It’s a simple concept, really, and the Vikes are in a great place.  Now they need to fight to keep it.