Wild Card Weekend: Giants @ Vikings predictions

[quiznut1]

Let the fun begin everyone!

Can we beat this team yet again after winning on Christmas Eve?

Anyone thinking of or planning to go in person?

First home playoff game at US Bank Stadium since the Minneapolis Miracle nearly 5 years ago.

[Maelstrom88]

I think this is the best match up they could have hoped for. I did not want to play GB or DET. If the line holds up I predict a Viking victory.

[Maelstrom88]

Wow. Packers are knocked out by Detroit. Lions appear to be building something special.

[cmoss84]

Have a feeling Giants play us like Lions just played GB. Nothing to lose. Trick plays...but conservative trick plays to keep us off balance and our offense off the field.
If we don't turn the ball over we win. If we do we're in trouble.
Vikings 24-20.

[CharVike]

Wow. Packers are knocked out by Detroit. Lions appear to be building something special.

They had the Packers number this year. But I agree with the building something special. Their OL is very good and everything starts there. That gives their skill players an opportunity.

[Texas Vike]

Wow. Packers are knocked out by Detroit. Lions appear to be building something special.

They played so well in the final 3 minutes. They made some very ballsy play calls on that final drive. I was impressed. I'll be interested to see what they do in the offseason: resign Jamaal Williams? Beef up that D? Can they incorporate Jameson? They have weapons and play inspired ball. It's going to be interesting next year.

[Pondering Her Percy]

Not too worried about this game. I think we handle business against the Giants. I'm going with 31-24 Vikes

[VikingLord]

It's hard to believe the Giants will win, but then again, it's equally hard for me to trust the Vikings at this point. I'm glad the game is in Minnesota.

I will say that the first round of the playoffs seem to have set up favorably for the Vikings. The 49ers are arguably the hottest team in the NFC right now, but they drew the most dangerous first round opponent they could have drawn in a divisional team they've beaten twice this year. It is very hard to beat a divisional opponent 3 times in a season. The Seahawks have already seen Brock Purdy once this year and are as familiar with the 49ers as any team in the playoffs. If there is a likely first round upset brewing in the NFC, that game is it.

If the Seahawks were to win that game and the Vikings beat the Giants, that would set up another home game for the Vikings against either Tampa or Dallas. Dallas has been terrible outside on grass this year (1-4 IIRC) and has not looked great as of late, but I think the Vikings match up pretty well against either of those teams. Dallas did play their best overall game of the season against the Vikings earlier, but I doubt they would be able to repeat anything close to that in a rematch. Tampa with Brady is a dangerous team this time of year, but that is also a game I would feel pretty good about our chances in Minnesota.

The Eagles would dispatch the Seahawks I believe, and so, if everything went our way to that point the Vikings would be at Philly for another NFC Championship game. If Hurts plays and is healthy, I think the Eagles would win that. If Hurts didn't play or wasn't healthy, I think the Vikings would have a good chance of winning that.

The Vikings have overcome a lot this year. They don't have a great defense and have been woefully inconsistent. But still, the team has some talent and has shown a knack for coming up big when it matters. They've surprised me all year, both in positive and negative ways, so I don't know what to expect out of them in the playoffs, but in some ways that is a good thing. The 1987 team is the team that most resembles this year's Vikings. That team had talent too, but was inconsistent and IIRC they backed into the playoffs in that strike-afflicted season before going on a tear and coming within a whisper of the Superbowl. This team finished with a better record, but the same kinds of doubts around it. Are they really good? Will they make plays and perform to their talent level? Lots of questions that will be answered shortly.

[SunyP]

If the defense somehow steps up and plays average I think we win easily...if the defense plays as it has all year it will be a toss up!

[JJBreaksRecords]

With no mistakes, (including HC mistakes) and no turnovers we should beat them by 3. Jones has either been very lucky, or the giants have their QB for the next 10 years. He played really well in his last game against us.

[VikingLord]

With no mistakes, (including HC mistakes) and no turnovers we should beat them by 3. Jones has either been very lucky, or the giants have their QB for the next 10 years. He played really well in his last game against us.

It's funny you bring that up (Jones playing really well against the Vikings), because I was talking to another Vikings fan the other day and he mentioned how it seems like many of the teams we lost to played lights-out when they beat the Vikings, but not necessarily as good the rest of the year. I heard the same thing from a Packer fan when we discussed the last game when the Packers won easily. He said that was the best the Packers had played against anyone all year. We know the Cowboys haven't had another game like the one where they smoked the Vikings. The first half of the Colts game also was unlike any other game the Colts had managed all year. Luckily, they cooled off in the 2nd half.

In the 2nd game against the Lions, the Lions looked good, sure, but the Vikings had multiple chances to get back into that game and blew it. Heck, even the Eagles played pretty darn near flawless football in the first half of their opening game against the Vikings. The 2nd half was much more even.

The 4 Vikings losses this year were painful to watch, but I think it is also worth pointing out that the opposing teams in at least two of those losses played their best football of the entire season in those games while the Vikings might have played their worst football of the season.

That doesn't mean the same won't happen in the playoffs, but the Vikings 2022 season has been full of oddities. They've taken the best shots of several of the teams they've faced, but I don't feel like the Vikings have yet unleashed their potential best shots. Here's hoping they manage it in the playoffs. Would be great to see this team really explode on someone for a change.

[Pondering Her Percy]

It's hard to believe the Giants will win, but then again, it's equally hard for me to trust the Vikings at this point. I'm glad the game is in Minnesota.

I will say that the first round of the playoffs seem to have set up favorably for the Vikings. The 49ers are arguably the hottest team in the NFC right now, but they drew the most dangerous first round opponent they could have drawn in a divisional team they've beaten twice this year. It is very hard to beat a divisional opponent 3 times in a season. The Seahawks have already seen Brock Purdy once this year and are as familiar with the 49ers as any team in the playoffs. If there is a likely first round upset brewing in the NFC, that game is it.

If the Seahawks were to win that game and the Vikings beat the Giants, that would set up another home game for the Vikings against either Tampa or Dallas. Dallas has been terrible outside on grass this year (1-4 IIRC) and has not looked great as of late, but I think the Vikings match up pretty well against either of those teams. Dallas did play their best overall game of the season against the Vikings earlier, but I doubt they would be able to repeat anything close to that in a rematch. Tampa with Brady is a dangerous team this time of year, but that is also a game I would feel pretty good about our chances in Minnesota.

The Eagles would dispatch the Seahawks I believe, and so, if everything went our way to that point the Vikings would be at Philly for another NFC Championship game. If Hurts plays and is healthy, I think the Eagles would win that. If Hurts didn't play or wasn't healthy, I think the Vikings would have a good chance of winning that.

The Vikings have overcome a lot this year. They don't have a great defense and have been woefully inconsistent. But still, the team has some talent and has shown a knack for coming up big when it matters. They've surprised me all year, both in positive and negative ways, so I don't know what to expect out of them in the playoffs, but in some ways that is a good thing. The 1987 team is the team that most resembles this year's Vikings. That team had talent too, but was inconsistent and IIRC they backed into the playoffs in that strike-afflicted season before going on a tear and coming within a whisper of the Superbowl. This team finished with a better record, but the same kinds of doubts around it. Are they really good? Will they make plays and perform to their talent level? Lots of questions that will be answered shortly.

Great post. 49ers are definitely dangerous this year but I dont think it's because of Brock Purdy by any means. I think Shanahan is just a really good coach and it's one offense that doesnt have to rely on a great QB to be very successful. I mean if you look at the QB carousel Shanahan has had the last however many years, he's had success with a lot of them no matter who it is. However, if a team can figure out how to rattle Purdy (who's a great story but still susceptible to this) then I think SF can be beat and dont count out Pete Carrol finding a way to do that.

Since the 49ers got smacked vs. the Chiefs and went on that run, they really havent beat anyone special. They've had a pretty favorable schedule. I would say the best team was the Chargers and I have mixed feelings about them. The Chargers are the Chargers and have been notorious underachievers for years now. The rest of the teams they've beat have been fringe playoff teams to below .500 teams. I can 100% see the Seahawks beating them which would be huge for us.

Here's to us taking care of business and the 49ers losing! SKOL

[CharVike]

I think we win this but it will be a nail biter. Being at home is a huge positive but we need to play clean football. If we get sloppy that will allow the Giants to hang close and then probably win. The Giants are a one man gang on offense. But we held Barkley in check until we allowed that long TD run. Jones don't have many weapons. I expect the same with a bunch of short crossing routes and dump offs. When he looks downfield he will take off once he feels the pressure. The guy has very good speed. On our side JJ is due for a big game. What concerns me is our current OL. If Olli is out there again the Giants will attack him and he will break down. He allowed a strip sack against the Packers. That's a play we can't have. I see it 23-17 with a late Giant drive coming up short with an int inside the red zone for the win.

[CharVike]

It's hard to believe the Giants will win, but then again, it's equally hard for me to trust the Vikings at this point. I'm glad the game is in Minnesota.

I will say that the first round of the playoffs seem to have set up favorably for the Vikings. The 49ers are arguably the hottest team in the NFC right now, but they drew the most dangerous first round opponent they could have drawn in a divisional team they've beaten twice this year. It is very hard to beat a divisional opponent 3 times in a season. The Seahawks have already seen Brock Purdy once this year and are as familiar with the 49ers as any team in the playoffs. If there is a likely first round upset brewing in the NFC, that game is it.

If the Seahawks were to win that game and the Vikings beat the Giants, that would set up another home game for the Vikings against either Tampa or Dallas. Dallas has been terrible outside on grass this year (1-4 IIRC) and has not looked great as of late, but I think the Vikings match up pretty well against either of those teams. Dallas did play their best overall game of the season against the Vikings earlier, but I doubt they would be able to repeat anything close to that in a rematch. Tampa with Brady is a dangerous team this time of year, but that is also a game I would feel pretty good about our chances in Minnesota.

The Eagles would dispatch the Seahawks I believe, and so, if everything went our way to that point the Vikings would be at Philly for another NFC Championship game. If Hurts plays and is healthy, I think the Eagles would win that. If Hurts didn't play or wasn't healthy, I think the Vikings would have a good chance of winning that.

The Vikings have overcome a lot this year. They don't have a great defense and have been woefully inconsistent. But still, the team has some talent and has shown a knack for coming up big when it matters. They've surprised me all year, both in positive and negative ways, so I don't know what to expect out of them in the playoffs, but in some ways that is a good thing. The 1987 team is the team that most resembles this year's Vikings. That team had talent too, but was inconsistent and IIRC they backed into the playoffs in that strike-afflicted season before going on a tear and coming within a whisper of the Superbowl. This team finished with a better record, but the same kinds of doubts around it. Are they really good? Will they make plays and perform to their talent level? Lots of questions that will be answered shortly.

Great post. 49ers are definitely dangerous this year but I dont think it's because of Brock Purdy by any means. I think Shanahan is just a really good coach and it's one offense that doesnt have to rely on a great QB to be very successful. I mean if you look at the QB carousel Shanahan has had the last however many years, he's had success with a lot of them no matter who it is. However, if a team can figure out how to rattle Purdy (who's a great story but still susceptible to this) then I think SF can be beat and dont count out Pete Carrol finding a way to do that.

Since the 49ers got smacked vs. the Chiefs and went on that run, they really havent beat anyone special. They've had a pretty favorable schedule. I would say the best team was the Chargers and I have mixed feelings about them. The Chargers are the Chargers and have been notorious underachievers for years now. The rest of the teams they've beat have been fringe playoff teams to below .500 teams. I can 100% see the Seahawks beating them which would be huge for us.

Here's to us taking care of business and the 49ers losing! SKOL

I just don't see how this Seahawk team can beat them. Did Geno Smith all of the sudden become a very good QB? The 49ers are only allowing 70 yards a game rushing against them. The 49ers also have a dam good OL which helps their skill players big time. McCaffrey is a good player and Deebo should be back this game. Purdy has been a story and if he falls on his face the 49ers could be done. But that D keeps them in every game and they can flip a game. Anything can happen but I don't see the Hawks winning this.

[Pondering Her Percy]

I think we win this but it will be a nail biter. Being at home is a huge positive but we need to play clean football. If we get sloppy that will allow the Giants to hang close and then probably win. The Giants are a one man gang on offense. But we held Barkley in check until we allowed that long TD run. Jones don't have many weapons. I expect the same with a bunch of short crossing routes and dump offs. When he looks downfield he will take off once he feels the pressure. The guy has very good speed. On our side JJ is due for a big game. What concerns me is our current OL. If Olli is out there again the Giants will attack him and he will break down. He allowed a strip sack against the Packers. That's a play we can't have. I see it 23-17 with a late Giant drive coming up short with an int inside the red zone for the win.

2 things:

1.) Defensively, the first game, Daniel Jones lived off quick slant patterns. He doesnt often look downfield but we need to tighten up our coverage at the line to avoid the nickel and diming down the field.

2.) Offensively, yes the OL worries me. If Wink Martindale is smart, he sends blitzes to that right side early and often. Thibideoux vs. Udoh/Brandel worries me. However, I do think Udoh is a better tackle than he is guard and is a massive dude but the quickness factor of Thibideoux worries me. So I think in turn, we have to take a page out of Daniel Jones' playbook and also set up a lot of quick hitting passes so we dont allow that rush to get there.

Also, I'm sure they are going to throw even more looks at JJ this time around so I'm hoping we are ready for this and KJ is ready for this because that dude can do some damage when JJ is getting shut down.