The New York Jets (7-4) head to Minneapolis to take on the Minnesota Vikings (9-2) at 1:00 pm (EST) at U.S Bank Stadium. The Vikings are a 3.0-point favorite and are given a 69.0% chance to win according to ESPN’s FPI. With that let’s take a look at what to expect from the New York Jets vs. Minnesota.
New York
The New York Jets are coming off, not necessarily a big win, but one that looks to have begun to answer some questions and has the team on the right trajectory. The Jets beat the Bears 31-10 to get to 7-4 on the year. They now have their hands full as they take on the 9-2 Vikings. A win for the Jets would get them to 8-4 and would keep them in the running to win the crazy AFC East. A loss would put them at 7-5 and could be problematic in their chances at making a playoff run in the AFC or winning the division title.
What To Watch
What I’ll be watching is how the Jets defense goes about containing this Vikings offense. Minnesota had one of their most consistent performances last week against Belichick and the Patriots on Thanksgiving night. The Vikings went off for 358 yards and 33 points in their win over New England. New England found a way to stop the run, but Kirk Cousins torched the New England secondary with big games from Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, and T.J. Hockenson.
The Jets will need to find a way to stop the Vikings offense that might have turned a corner last week. The Jets have been playing well the past few weeks on the defensive side of the ball, allowing only 13 offensive points. On the year they allow 17.8 points per game with 328.5 yards of total offense (217.3 passing and 111.3 rushing). Last week the Vikings showed they can win even while being one dimensional. The Jets will need to find a way to stop the pass and or risk losing the same way the Patriots did.
Biggest Question
Can Mike White replicate what he did against the Bears again versus the Vikings? Now the Bears are a lot worse than the Vikings and didn’t even have Justin Fields playing, so it wasn’t a surprise to see that the Jets win. Backup quarterback Mike White went off for 315 yards and three touchdowns against the Bears. It was a great performance, especially when the quarterback position was in question. Now the Jets believe they may have found an answer in White.
This week they play a Vikings team whose defense, like the Bears, hasn’t been great this year. The offense, on the other hand, should provide some more pressure for White as it shouldn’t be anywhere near as bad as Chicago’s was. The Vikings defense, while not great, should be a bit of a tougher test, but not by much. Their secondary is beat up and they haven’t been able to get an effective pass rush as of late. It should be another opportunity for White to show everyone what he’s made of on Sunday.
Injuries
The New York Jets currently have four players on their injury list.
Questionable:
- Michael Carter (RB) – Ankle
- Duane Brown (OT) – Shoulder
- Kenny Yeboah (TE) – Calf
- Sheldon Rankins (DT) – Elbow
Carter and Brown both were non-participants at practice on Thursday. Both Yeboah and Rankins were limited participants at practice on Wednesday.
Minnesota
The Minnesota Vikings are coming off of a 33-26 bounce back win over the New England Patriots on Thanksgiving night. After getting routed 40-3 by Dallas, the Vikings, on a short week, came out and looked really good on offense. This was a much-needed win after an embarrassing loss to the Cowboys. The Vikings now turn their focus on the Jets who are coming off a win against the Bears.
A win for the Vikings would get them to 10-2 and would complete the sweep of the AFC east. It would also put the Vikings on the verge of clinching the NFC north, pending a Detroit loss. A loss wouldn’t be great, though it wouldn’t hurt their chances at making the playoffs or winning the NFC north. It would drop them to 9-3 and depending on the way they played would raise some questions and concerns about the team yet again.
What To Watch
What I’ll be watching in Sunday’s game will be the Vikings offense. Even more specifically if they can replicate their Thursday night performance. The Vikings played their most consistent game of the year on offense. They punted only three times and turned the ball over once but scored on five possessions. They did this even with Dalvin Cook being shut down by the Patriots defense. Kirk went off for 299 yards and three touchdowns, spreading the ball around, making their passing game look even more dangerous than it already was.
Minnesota will now face another good defense in the Jets on Sunday. New York this year has given up 328.5 yards of total offense and allows 17.8 points per game. Like last week and the week before the Vikings will face another good defense. It’ll be up to Kirk and Co. to find a way to expose the Jets defense like they did with New England’s and get another win.
Biggest Question
The biggest question I have is can the defense stop anyone’s offense? Yeah, this just isn’t can they stop the Jets offense, it is just a general, can they stop anyone? Mac Jones last week looked great. Yes, the Vikings defensively are beat up and it is a reason why they have struggled. Their secondary in particular has been plagued with four players so far either on the IR or missing multiple games.
Against New England they gave up 409 yards of total offense with 364 yards passing and 45 rushing. That last one, 45 yards rushing is a good sign. If they can make teams one dimensional it could be good if they can get their secondary healed up and back on the field.
Injuries
The Minnesota Vikings have four players currently on their injury list.
Questionable:
- Christian Darrisaw (OT) – Concussion
- Akayleb Evans (CB) – Concussion
- Harrison Smith (S) – Ankle
Injured Reserve:
Andrew Booth Jr. (CB) – Meniscus
The Vikings took another hit to their secondary with cornerback Andrew Booth undergoing surgery on his meniscus. The timetable for his return is unknown at the moment. Harrison Smith was a limited participant and Akayleb Evans was a full participant. Darrisaw is still in concussion protocol and there’s no timetable for his return after suffering two of them in back-to-back weeks.
Bold Prediction
My bold prediction will be that Kirk Cousins and Mike White will combine for 500 yards passing and five touchdowns. I see the Vikings defense making another quarterback in White look great again against them. Kirk, on the other hand, will have another great game against a great defense. The running games for each team will again struggle and the passing game will take center stage. It’ll be another fun one in Minneapolis.
Betting
The following betting lines are according to ESPN’s Pick Center.
Spread:
- New York: -3.0
- Minnesota: +3.0
Money Line:
- New York: +135
- Minnesota: -155
Over/Under: 44.5
Where To Watch
The New York Jets vs. Minnesota will air on CBS at 1:00 pm (EST). Commentating the game will be Charles Davis (analyst) and Evan Washburn (play-by-play). Streaming services that have CBS are Hulu (with live TV), fubo TV, Sling TV, DirectTV Stream, Paramount Plus (formally known as CBS All Access), and Youtube TV.
Prediction
This will be an interesting game. I can see this going a few different ways, but the one I see is a combination of the two. I could see this a defensive bout or two teams scoring a lot. So, I’m going to split the difference. The Vikings, as they almost always do, will score on their opening possession. The Jets will get a pair of field goals before Minnesota answers to go up 10-6 at the half.
Coming out in the second half New York will score a pair of touchdowns converting one two-point conversion taking a 21-10 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Then, as always, the Vikings will come alive in the fourth quarter and score a pair of touchdowns with a missed extra point on one of them getting up 23-21. The Jets will drive and make a field goal before Kirk Cousins leads another game winning drive ending with a Greg Joseph redeeming his missed field goal to win the game. Minnesota wins 26-24.