On “Thursday Night Football” a week ago, as the Vikings were enjoying a well-earned bye week while sitting atop the NFC at 5-0, analyst Kirk Herbstreit was dissecting the conference’s top teams with Prime Video play-by-play voice Al Michaels.
RandBall: If Vikings are being disrespected, Lions game is chance to silence remaining doubters
When a team has surprising success, it takes a while for the narrative to catch up to the results. The 5-0 Vikings can take a big step in both areas with a win Sunday over the Lions.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
October 18, 2024 at 4:06PM
San Francisco, Herbstreit argued reasonably, should still be considered a team to beat in the NFC despite a sluggish start to the season. But then he kept talking and riled up the fan bases of two teams set for a showdown this weekend.
“But who else besides them?” Herbstreit said. “Dallas. Green Bay. Tampa.”
No mention of the Vikings or Lions, which made Herbstreit a trending topic/target on social media. It was just one person’s quick and casual accounting of the NFC race, and perhaps an unintentional oversight.
You could also read it this way, though: For as much as the Vikings (and to a lesser extent, the Lions) have needed to prove themselves this season, there are still doubters out there who aren’t sold.
That’s one of many story lines that makes Sunday’s battle at U.S. Bank Stadium such an intriguing opportunity for the Vikings, as I talked about on Friday’s Daily Delivery podcast.
The Lions are the reigning NFC North champs and came very close to reaching the Super Bowl a year ago. They are currently 4-1 — most recently seen thrashing the anointed Cowboys 47-9 — and perhaps more interestingly rated No. 1 in ESPN’s Football Power Index.
The Vikings? They’re No. 8 in that same metric, which uses several factors to account for a team’s strength. Minnesota has already defeated San Francisco (No. 4) and Green Bay (No. 6), two of those contending teams Herbstreit mentioned while snubbing the Vikings, in addition to Houston (No. 9) and the Jets (No. 11).
FPI deems the Vikings to have the league’s best defense while having a middling offense and special teams. The Lions rank in the top six of all three FPI categories, leading to their No. 1 overall rating.
The Vikings are a slight betting favorite (1.5 points at the moment), though that has come down from the opening line — suggesting bettors so far are backing Detroit and are skeptical of Minnesota.
In terms of projected records, FPI says the Vikings are in line to win 11.5 games this year; Detroit is at 11.4.
That should tell you all you need to know about how important the game is in the standings. A Vikings victory would establish a huge division edge. A Detroit victory would open it up to everyone.
It will probably come down to turnovers and protecting the quarterback, which is the modern NFL. It’s been a long time (decades?) since a game between these teams was so anticipated.
And a Vikings victory would have to silence any remaining doubters who see their surprising start as more flimsy than sturdy.
The Vikings let go of one of the few remaining players from their 2022 NFL draft class on Saturday morning, cutting cornerback Akayleb Evans after his role on defense had dissolved. He could return to the practice squad.
