5 Bold Predictions: Minnesota Vikings vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Week 1
By Chris Schad
Prediction No. 1
The Vikings will score a touchdown on their opening drive
The Vikings came into last year’s season opener with a lot of questions on the offensive side of the ball. With the starters getting little in terms of live reps during the preseason, there was a concern they would show some rust getting used to Kevin O’Connell’s system, and a slow start was inevitable.
Ten plays and 75 yards later, Kirk Cousins threw a touchdown to Justin Jefferson, and the Vikings went on to establish one of their trademarks of the 2023 season.
In 18 games, including the playoffs last season, the Vikings scored on the opening drive 11 times. More impressively, the Vikings scored 10 touchdowns on those drives and went 10-1 in those games.
Of course, that one was the playoff loss to the New York Giants, and Cousins noted that the Vikings have to continue to build off those fast starts in order to win those games.
“You certainly want to start fast, but you also have to finish strong,” Cousins said of the opening drive success. “If you have to pick one or the other, you’re going to always want to finish with a win and finish strong. But it definitely allows everybody to exhale a little bit, feeling like you’re ready to go and you came ready to go.”
The Vikings didn’t give many preseason reps to their starters this preseason, but they’ll be ready to go on Sunday. That should mean a touchdown on the first drive and an early lead against the Buccaneers.