5 Bold Predictions: Minnesota Vikings vs. Los Angeles Chargers – Week 3

Prediction No. 4

The Vikings will win the turnover battle

This is the main goal of every team in the NFL but is the thesis to the Vikings’ success through the rest of the season. Minnesota has turned the ball over eight times through two games, and each fumble has come at a time that has stunted their momentum.

During Wednesday’s press conference, O’Connell almost listed each turnover one-by-one, including Justin Jefferson reaching for the pylon after a 30-yard reception, Brandon Powell fumbling after a big punt return, or Alexander Mattison fumbling while going to the ground. He also mentioned that the Vikings are taking extreme measures to fix the fumbling problem.

“We try to vary six or seven different ball security drills,” O’Connell said. “I’m sure you guys have seen a lot of the ones we’ve done since we’ve been here [that are] all designed to really emphasize different aspects of ball security. We work different types of gauntlets where we incorporate punching, different hammers, different pieces of equipment that you can find on the internet to work on ball security. If we didn’t have it before, we purchased it.”

Although O’Connell sounds like a mix of Kevin Garnett getting ready for Game 7 and Tim McGraw’s character in "Friday Night Lights", his message is a simple one. Take care of the ball, and the rest of the problems should sort themselves out.