Will a hop across the pond deter the Vikings from their hot start? Our experts weigh in.
The Minnesota Vikings dip their collective toes into international waters this weekend as they’re in London to take on the New York Jets. The Jets, as you well know, are commanded by former Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
How will the Vikings fare in London? Can they avoid the dreaded letdown game after beating the Green Bay Packers last week? And most importantly: what’s the food play for a game that starts well, well before noon on a Sunday?
We’ve enlisted Daily Norseman staffers Christopher Gates, Sam Buegler and David Stefano as experts this week to answer all your burning questions:
Q1: What is your opinion of international games? Does it change if the Vikings are playing?
Christopher Gates: I’m generally not a big fan of the international games. I get what the NFL is trying to do and in theory it’s a good idea, but in today’s day and age I think the NFL is a global phenomenon and would be even if they weren’t playing games overseas. One of the big issues with the overseas games is what we saw in Week 1 when Green Bay and Philadelphia played in Brazil. A lot of these playing surfaces aren’t really great for the NFL game or anything and there’s a bigger risk of players getting hurt. I certainly wouldn’t want to see that happen to a player on any team, let alone the Vikings. The one positive about this is that the Vikings will be done on Sunday by noon central time, which leaves plenty of time to do other things. But other than that, I could do without the overseas games at this point.
David Stefano: I think the NFL going international is a good thing. It helps build up football fans, especially for our Minnesota Vikings. It also fosters friendships from various places around a common game. As for the Vikings playing in these games, they haven’t lost overseas since they started playing them in 1983, if I remember correctly. Now, if it’s taking away a home game from the fans in Minnesota, I can understand some frustration with that. However, it’s somewhat balanced out by the 17-game season, with that ninth home game being the one that goes overseas. It still stings for the people who want to go to the stadium, see the Vikings in person, and enjoy the festivities around home games. Overall though, I think it’s a positive development that the NFL is expanding its reach.
Sam Buegler: I don’t mind the international games. Clearly, the NFL wants to expand beyond the U.S., and I wouldn’t be shocked if I heard that they want to put a team in a different country. The impact on the players is the only potential issue, so having the bye right after our international game is helpful.
Q2: This feels like a classic Vikings letdown game — thoughts?
CG: In past years I might have agreed with that, but I don’t see that with this team. Kevin O’Connell has this team believing in themselves and Brian Flores is continuing to do great things with this defense. Sure, they may have given up a lot of points and yards in the second half last week, but Flores acknowledged that and I have a strange feeling we won’t see that happen again for a while. The Jets are a bit of a mess. . .the head coach and the quarterback don’t seem to be getting along and they have a player in Haason Reddick who has decided he’d rather eat $800,000 a week in fines than play for the Jets. New York was hyped up as a potential Super Bowl contender in the preseason, but I don’t see it. The Vikings shouldn’t have a whole lot of issues on Sunday.
DS: I disagree that this feels like a Vikings letdown game. When evaluating games, I primarily consider team motivations and the quarterback matchup. I believe there are enough veterans on this team to keep players focused on securing their fifth win. The Jets, on the other hand, are already discussing next week’s game against their division rival, the Buffalo Bills. They also seem to be dealing with internal dysfunction, appearing out of sync both among players and with coaches, making them vulnerable. Sam Darnold has been playing the best football of his career, while Aaron Rodgers is not. The Vikings can also go all out because they have an extra week of rest afterward, unlike the Jets.
SB: That fear is always lurking right in the back of my head, that this is the week that it all falls apart. However, I think that the thought of a letdown game has been prevalent in previous weeks as well. After beating the Niners, have a letdown against the Texans, after blowing out the Texans, have a letdown against the Packers. But each time we haven’t fallen victim to it. This team just keeps winning and playing hard, so – while the thought is still there — I feel like we have enough pieces and the drive to go out there and prove that we are legit contenders and won’t just fall apart after a big win.
Q3: If the Vikings win in convincing fashion, how does your view of the rest of the season change? How about if they lose?
CG: If they lose, all isn’t lost. The early season schedule for this team looked absolutely hellish when the schedules were first released and they’re going to get into the bye week with a 4-1 record at worst. That’s pretty solid given the expectations for this team before the season started. If they win, they’ll remain the NFC’s lone unbeaten team and stay in the pole position for the #1 seed in the conference with a big game against Detroit coming out of the bye. This team has some serious momentum right now and it appears to be sustainable. This is a game the Vikings should win, and if they can do that there’s no limit to what this team can accomplish this season.
DS: Not if, but when the Vikings win in convincing fashion, it will contribute to the special season feeling that’s developing among the team and us fans. It’ll make reaching the playoffs easier, but it’ll also heighten the worry we all experience due to our existing levels of Vikings PTSD. Still, who knows? This might just be the year.
SB: Either way I still have confidence in the team. The roster is put together so well to be able to complement each other, that no matter what happens I still feel confident heading into the next stretch. A big win would just show that the team is still able to keep their heads on even despite high power rankings, going to London, all of the distractions, while a big loss may just be an off game and a chance for us to recover and reassess how to make the team even stronger.
Q4: What’s the food and drink play for a game like this? It’s an early game, after all.
CG: Well, it’s an early enough wake-up where I’m probably going to have to get some caffeine from somewhere, even though I pretty rarely drink coffee. That’s something that can be done during the game. Before kickoff, it’s probably going to be eggs, bacon, and toast to get things started the right way.
DS: With this being an early morning game, brunch items will be on the menu — from eggs, bacon, and sausage to other snack foods. As for beverages, I’ve purchased ingredients for Bloody Marys and mimosas. After all, you’ve got to get fruits and vegetables in your diet.
SB: Gotta go for a big breakfast meal. Have some friends over and make a big breakfast with eggs, bacon, pancakes, the whole deal, and then have a good cup of coffee while enjoying the game. Then the more traditional football snacks come out if you turn on Redzone afterward.