Too Optimistic? (Week 3): 3 Bold Predictions for Vikings-Bills

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Sep 22, 2018
Photo: Jonathan Daniel (Getty Images)

We all know a tie feels like kissing you sister, but there were a lot of positives to take from the game against the Packers, mainly from the offense in the 4th quarter. And, at least we can still call ourselves undefeated right? Let’s continue with the positivity… If the game didn’t end the way it did, we may not have made the moves that followed. After the tie, the Vikings moved on pick ups that brought in Aldrick Robinson, Dan Bailey and Tom Johnson.

Enough of last week! Here are this week’s bold predictions!

Laquon Treadwell will have over 75 yards receiving:

Normally having 75 yards receiving wouldn’t be too much of a bold prediction, heck Diggs got that on the deep throw from Cousins last Sunday!

But, when we’re talking Laquon Treadwell… 75 yards is pretty damn bold. The amount of emotions he must have had vs. the Packers is insane. He got his first NFL touchdown (in his 3rd season…) but dropped a bunch of balls and caused an interception. The drops caused a lot of Vikings-Faithful to call for his release from the roster completely… (however, this would never happen, as it would cost us over $1.15 million to cut him and we are currently sitting at 150K in cap space according to Ben Goessling).

It was a rough outing to say the least, but the move Treadwell put on his defender to get open for his touchdown, showed improvement. Aldrick Robinson was signed, and Stacey Coley got the axe. With that swap, we should see more competition for the WR3 spot. But, don’t get you hopes up too high just yet Treadwell haters, as Robinson will have to learn a whole new offense in less than a week.

75 yards is doable for Treadwell for multiple reasons. First, the Bills defense is bad. They gave up 47 points to the Ravens in week one and 31 to the Chargers in week 2. Treadwell is still the WR3 in those sets for now and Cousins still believes in Laquon. The Bills offense might be worse than their defense so this could be a blow out early on, pushing Thielen and Diggs to the bench sometime in the 2nd half.

Vikings defense has 5 INTs:

In only his second start, rookie Josh Allen may have a hard time. We all know how good this Vikings defense can be, but they have not been playing up to their potential, yet this season. This is their statement game. Putting constant pressure on Allen should be easy, even with Everson Griffen ruled out, and our secondary should dominate the Bills receivers. Josh Allen threw two interceptions against the Chargers. His day should be even worse this Sunday.

On a short week, the Vikings will want to put this game away early, to rest some of their starters. Turnovers are the easiest way to finish a game off quickly. Even if the starters are resting in the 2nd half, our defensive back group is deep enough to rack up interceptions off of this quarterback. Players like Mike Hughes, Holton Hill, George Iloka and Jayron Kearse may get extra reps on Sunday, but they are all still starting quality players and should look that way vs the miserable Bills offense.

Dan Bailey will go 4/4 on field goals:

Calm down everyone, we have a new kicker now! After showing rookie Daniel Carlson the door, the Vikings signed the second most accurate kicker in NFL history in Dan Bailey. Vikings fans have a bad history with kickers, even the good ones like Gary Anderson. Could Dan Bailey be the end of our sorrows?

This has to be the hope, as Mike Zimmer has almost gone through as many kickers as he has quarterbacks, during his tenure as the Vikings head coach. He seems to have solved the quarterback position… Could the kicker position now be solidified, not only for this season, but the near future?

Going 4/4 in his first game as the kicker for the Minnesota Vikings would be a great start for Dan Bailey.

Final Score Prediction: Vikings: 40 – Bills: 10

Ian Parrague @Superskolfan
Minnesota Sports Fan

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