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With the Minnesota Vikings traveling to Los Angeles this weekend to take on the LA Chargers, it sets up yet another cross-conference matchup between two teams that really need to come away with a win this week. Yes, every team wants to win every week, but it is naive to think that some games are not more important than others.
This is one of those games and both of these teams know it. These two teams have given their fans anxiety just about as much as any other teams in the first half of the NFL season. Both teams have consistently played in close games and both are still in the playoff picture.
For more insight on the Vikings' Week 10 matchup against the Chargers, listen below:
Here are our Vikings Week 10 predictions.
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Vikings Week 10 Predictions
4. Kirk Cousins will throw two interceptions
This one is a very bold prediction because Cousins has only thrown two total interceptions on the year, with 16 touchdowns. He has consistently kept his team in games and Minnesota has not lost a single game by more than four points. They have a very good point differential that you would expect leads to a better record. Minnesota losing games that it should have won, however, means they are due for a regression to the mean.
In that case, Minnesota will eventually run into a game where they do not keep it close. That could be the case this week, especially if Cousins throws a couple of picks like we are projecting here. They have had a hard time winning games even when their quarterback has been virtually flawless, things can get ugly when/if Cousins comes off of the rails even a little bit.
3. Justin Jefferson will not go over 100 yards
Up until last week, when DeVonta Smith got them, the Chargers had gone a month without allowing a wide receiver to go over 100 yards. They have one of the better secondaries in the NFL and their head coach Brandon Staley is a defensive wizard with defensive backs being his specialty.
As mentioned earlier about Cousins, the passing game is expected to be off this week, especially more than it has been in recent weeks. The Vikings like to spread the ball around anyway, so not being able to force-feed Jefferson is not the end of the world. The Vikings still have Adam Thielen and K.J. Osborn, the latter of which is going to be talked about next.
2. K.J. Osborn will score a touchdown
If the Chargers are going to make the Vikings spread the ball around a bunch, this will be the day that K.J. Osborn gets back into the endzone. With only five total targets through two games since his last touchdown (a game-winner in OT in Carolina), Osborn has got to be itching at the prospects of being involved in the game plan again.
This is the perfect week to make that happen. Osborn has shown flashes of being a number two wideout in this league and might just be the eventual replacement for Adam Thielen. For now, though, Osborn will just be happy with getting a few more opportunities to touch the ball.
1. The Vikings will not keep it close
With Cousins struggling and the team being forced to spread the ball around even more than usual, we are projecting the Chargers to run away with this one. Logic says that this will be a close game, as both the Vikings AND the Chargers have played an inordinate amount of close games already this season.
Having this many close games is a double-edged sword, though. Yes, it prepares you well for the playoffs when games are rarely a blowout. But on the other hand, if you are constantly in close games regardless of the opponent you are playing, that is a sign that you play to the level of your opponent. Good teams set their own level and make their opponents match it. This game will be a good judge of whether the Vikings are a “good team,” or not.
