5 Bold Predictions: Minnesota Vikings vs. Miami Dolphins – Week 6
By Chris Schad
The Minnesota Vikings are hitting the road to take on the Miami Dolphins in Week 6, but is a third-string backup another trap game waiting to happen?
Heading into a Week 6 matchup against the Miami Dolphins, the Minnesota Vikings are 4-1, and they don’t care about how you feel about it.
Think of where the Vikings were a year ago. They were 2-3, heading into a road matchup with the Carolina Panthers. They blew a late lead and the season (and perhaps Mike Zimmer’s job) was on the line. Kirk Cousins led a game-winning drive in overtime and Minnesota escaped Carolina by clawing their way back to .500.
That scenario epitomized Vikings football over the past two seasons. Fall behind, get back to .500. Lose more games, get back to .500. Get close to a playoff spot, fall back to .500.
It was a gravitational pull that the Vikings seemed to have escaped this season. Despite a couple of close calls, Minnesota is now 4-1 and is traveling to play a Miami team that appears to be on the ropes.
The Dolphins started the season 3-0 but have lost their last two games. A firestorm surrounding Tua Tagovailoa and the NFL’s concussion protocol has cast a cloud over their season and has sent Teddy Bridgewater to the sidelines after he was diagnosed with ataxia.
That leaves seventh-round rookie Skylar Thompson to make the start for the Dolphins and a good possibility that the Vikings could improve to 5-1. But Minnesota has had trouble with third-string quarterbacks before, and the warm weather could lead to a trap game in Miami.
This makes for a game that’s hard to predict, but we’ll do our best in our latest installment of five bold predictions.