It wasn’t too long ago that many people wondered whether the Minnesota Vikings would be sellers at the deadline. They had lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, dropping their record to 1-4, and lost star wide receiver Justin Jefferson to a hamstring injury late in the fourth quarter.
But, they didn’t let that get them down. The Vikings won two more games in a row before suffering another brutal blow, losing quarterback Kirk Cousins to a season-ending Achilles injury. Again, they overcame that adversity.
Minnesota acquired Joshua Dobbs from the Arizona Cardinals to eventually take over as the starter. He was quickly pressed into duty despite taking zero practice reps after rookie Jaren Hall suffered a concussion in Week 9.
All in all, it has resulted in the Vikings being the hottest team in the NFL, riding a six-game winning streak. They are now heading into a Week 11 matchup against another team feeling good about themselves, the Denver Broncos.
Denver comes into the game riding a three-game winning streak, as they haven’t lost since Week 6 against the Chiefs. Their season has turned around with some timely performances from quarterback Russell Wilson and a major turnaround from their defense.
Something will have to give when the teams match up, as someone’s winning streak will be coming to an end. Mike Santa Barbara of Yardbarker believes it will be the Vikings who come out on top Sunday afternoon, winning an exciting 30-28 game.
“Losing QB Kirk Cousins to a season-ending Achilles injury should’ve been the death knell that doomed the Vikings season. However, Dobbs has stepped in seamlessly, becoming the first player in NFL history to pass for 400-plus yards and rush for more than 100 yards without throwing an interception in their first two games with a new team. Denver may be playing well, but the current run the Vikings are on is the stuff of fairytales, and it’s hard to see the Broncos derailing this train,” wrote Santa Barbara.
What Dobbs has been able to accomplish this season is something Disney would use as a script for a movie. The Broncos are looking to write a fairytale story of their own and get back to the .500 mark after starting the season 1-5.
With more than half of the regular season in the books, this is an important game for both teams. A loss would certainly be more damaging for the Broncos, whose playoff hopes are much slimmer heading into that matchup than that of the Vikings.
Three weeks ago, this wasn’t a matchup that anyone had an interest in. But, fans of many teams in the NFL will now be tuning in as it has major implications on the playoff race and pits two of the hottest teams in the league against each other.
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