For their Week 13 matchup, the Minnesota Vikings will head to Atlanta on Sunday to take on the Falcons in the brand new Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Matchups with the Atlanta Falcons during the past two decades have not been that kind to the Minnesota Vikings. Everyone knows what went down against the Falcons in 1998 and a highlight of former Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick cannot be shown these days without including the clip of the quarterback causing two Vikings defenders to crash into each other during a touchdown run of his back in 2002.
However, since Minnesota hired Mike Zimmer to be the team’s head coach in 2014, the Vikings have not lost any of their games against the Falcons. Minnesota defeated Atlanta 41-28 in 2014 thanks to rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and the Vikings got a 20-10 win over the Falcons a season later in Atlanta.
As for this week’s showdown between two of the NFC’s top teams, what does The Viking Age writing staff predict will happen when Minnesota attempts to capture their eighth win in a row on Sunday against the Falcons?
Adam Carlson:
Vikings win 31-27
The Minnesota Vikings are on a seven-game winning streak and look to continue rolling as they face off against one of the most explosive teams in the NFL in Week 13 of the NFL season, the Atlanta Falcons.
Offensively, the Vikings will look to pound the football on the ground using Jerick McKinnon and Latavius Murray. The Falcons are giving up 4.4 yards per rushing attempt this season and have seen eight touchdowns ran in on them through the first 12 weeks. Minnesota’s offensive line should be able to push the defenders back to make room for their running backs.
Meanwhile, Adam Thielen will continue his streak of being the most targeted Vikings receiver and catch at least five passes in this game. Sprinkle in catches from Stefon Diggs, Kyle Rudolph, and Jerick McKinnon, and quarterback Case Keenum will have a solid game that won’t be statistically impressive, but efficient.
Defensively, Minnesota will need to contain one of the most explosive franchises in the NFL. Atlanta averages 8.1 yards per catch and complete 67.7 percent of their passes, and those numbers skyrocket when looking at passes from Matt Ryan to wide receiver Julio Jones. But focusing too much on Julio can open things up for his teammates, meaning Rhodes will get a lot of one-on-one time against the NFL’s second-leading receiver.
Minnesota can’t have their defense focus entirely on the passing game though. Atlanta averages 4.4 yards per rushing attempt and has scored 10 rushing touchdowns. The big plays aren’t relegated to throws either, with 11 runs this year going for 20 or more yards so far this year.
This will be one of the most competitive games of the season for Minnesota, and it will go down to the wire. The Vikings’ defense will bend, but not break against the Falcons and allow the boys in purple to emerge from Georgia victorious.
Adam Patrick:
Vikings win 27-18
Many people seem to be freaking out the impressive offensive numbers that Atlanta put up last week in their game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Falcons finished with 34 points and 516 total yards of offense in their matchup with the Buccaneers, both season highs.
Tampa Bay has one of the worst defenses in the NFL this year, so maybe settle down a bit about Atlanta’s offense getting back to the form it had in 2016.
That being said, the Falcons’ offense is still very capable of putting a bunch of points up on the scoreboard at any time. But that time will not be this week against the Minnesota Vikings.
Atlanta will quickly realize why the Vikings have one of the top defenses in the NFL this season. Minnesota will force the Falcons to turn the ball over three times and the Vikings’ pass-rushers will find a way to end the day with four sacks.
On the offensive side of the ball, Minnesota will attack Atlanta’s weak run game for most of the day and end the matchup with an easy 150 rushing yards. Vikings running back Latavius Murray will continue his recent string of impressive performances by adding two more touchdowns to his 2017 total on Sunday and help lead the team to their 10th win of the season.
Griffin Nelson:
Falcons win 27-23
Atlanta must’ve finally taken some Tylenol and thrown down a greasy plate of Waffle House hash-browns, as they are showing flashes of recuperating from the dreaded Super Bowl hangover. Their offense is starting to pick up steam by force-feeding Julio Jones. Crazy how that works, huh? Their D-Line, led by Adrian Clayborn, is wreaking enough havoc to cover for the absence of their best cornerback, Desmond Trufant.
The Vikings are riding high as well, but the interior offensive line showed their first glimpses of fragility since Week 5. Case Keenum is playing out of his mind, and he will have to produce the same kind of playmaking performance that earned him the title of NFC Offensive Player of the Month if the Vikings plan to steal a victory on the road.
This game has all the components of a barn-burner. With how crowded the NFC playoff picture has become, Atlanta can’t afford a loss in this one. And though it is an important game for Minnesota, they by no means are in a do-or-die scenario.
If this game was played in Minneapolis, I don’t think it’d be much of a contest. U.S. Bank Stadium is becoming an incredibly difficult place to travel to, which bodes well for a possible rematch during the playoffs. But given Atlanta’s home-field advantage, and the dire straits they find themselves in, I suspect the Falcons will pull it out in a close one.
Jordan Schmidt:
Vikings win 28-24
The Minnesota Vikings head into Atlanta to take on the Falcons. Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen called quarterback Case Keenum a, “true leader,” after their road win against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day.
Keenum will lead the Vikings to their 10th win of the season on Sunday. The quarterback is leading a very effective offense right now. Minnesota wide receivers Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs will be too much for Falcons’ secondary to handle as both receivers will have 100 yards receiving.
Atlanta’s defense has been excellent of late but they haven’t faced a balanced offense like the Vikings. Minnesota’s ability to run and pass will create problems and slow down the speedy Falcons defense.
The Vikings’ defense will need to rise to the challenge this week as they go up against a talented offensive group of Atlanta. Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones is coming off a monster game but will have a tougher time this week against Minnesota corner Xavier Rhodes. It will be interesting to see if the Vikings let Rhodes go one-on-one against Julio or put a safety on top.
Minnesota’s front seven will create problems for the Falcons on Sunday. Griffen will be chasing Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan all day and come up with two sacks. The Vikings’ ability to shut down the run game of the Falcons will be a key to their success of getting the win. Minnesota’s defensive game plan will be similar to the one they used against the Las Angeles Rams in Week 11.
Spencer Suckow:
Falcons win 27-23
Something has to give this Sunday in Atlanta.
The Vikings have one of the NFL’s best defenses, and the Falcons’ offense has seemed to finally recover from their Super Bowl/post-Kyle Shanahan hangover. The Falcons feature an offense with a litany of weapons, all of whom are capable of busting a game open at any given time with chunk plays.
A key reason why Minnesota has had such a successful season to this point has been their ability to limit those chunk plays from opponents. According to ESPN, the Vikings have given up the fewest amount of big plays among all NFL teams this season.
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For the Vikings to win, they’ll likely have to go back to the formula that they primarily used over the past decade. That is, control the ball offensively with the ground game and keep the ball out of the hands of a more explosive offense.
However, with how hot Atlanta’s offense has been of late, there’s a good chance that the Vikings won’t get the chance to control the game on the ground like they want to. This means that Minnesota will likely have to rely on Case Keenum to win them the game
While Keenum has been undeniably great over the past three games, he really hasn’t proved that he can win a close game as of yet. He may very well have to do that this weekend.
Next: Vikings Week 13 injury report
Additionally, for as exciting as his gunslinger style-of-play is, I can’t help but feel that it could end up costing the Vikings a game at some point. In what will likely be a close game on the road, “some point” could easily turn into “this Sunday”.