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The Minnesota Vikings hold a 7-2 record after Week 10, with sights on the Tennessee Titans this Sunday afternoon. After returning on a winning track in the last 2 weeks, Minnesota is now mathematically in the motorist’s seat to reach the postseason.
What the Vikings Do BEST thru 10 Weeks
And while the 2024 project still has 8 video games on tap, Minnesota has actually done a handful of things rather well to date. These are 4 products where the franchise stands out.
Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images.
They’re ranked in no specific order.
1. Defense– In General
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Protective EPA/Play Ranking: 1st
Protective DVOA Ranking: 1st
Beyond 2 bad video games in Week 7 and 8 versus the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota’s defense is its primary calling card. Nobody can discuss it.
The offseason additions of Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, Blake Cashman, Stephon Gilmore, and others essentially altered whatever. Brian Flores changed a good defense in 2023 into a marvelous one this season.
Ranking tops in business per EPA/Play and DVOA is not unintentional.
2. The Turnover Margin
Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images.
NFL Ranking|Turnover Differential: 9th
Minnesota’s defense forces a lot of turnovers– which makes up for a lot of interceptions and fumbles. If the offense didn’t toss interceptions at its existing clip, nationwide media would most likely think about Minnesota an extremely genuine Super Bowl competitor.
Still, Minnesota is right-side up through the season-long turnover fight, a sign that it will reach the playoffs and perhaps even win a video game.
3. Point Differential
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NFL Ranking|Point Differential: 6th
The Vikings outscore challengers by 7.1 points per video game, ranking sixth-best in the sport. The rate has actually decreased since late, however point differential is adjudicated by the entire season sample.
Generally, groups that rank in the NFL’s Top 10 per point differential prosper in the postseason. Vikings fans recognize with an opposite group– the 2022 Vikings, who completed that season with a 13-4 record and -3 points differential.
That isn’t the case this go-round.
4. First Quarter Offense
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Minnesota begins video games this season truly, truly hot. September and October wins were the supreme examples.
These are the franchise’s by-quarter offending performance rankings:
Vikings Offense Ranking,
by Quarter,
EPA/Play:
First Quarter: 2nd
Second Quarter: 24th
3rd Quarter: 10th
Fourth Quarter: 26th
Improving the 4th Quarter production will be important down the stretch of the season and in the playoffs, however for now, Minnesota is rather proficient at the start of video games.
Dustin Baker is a political researcher who finished from the University of Minnesota in 2007.