NFL Week Eleven GOTW Vikings Vs. Cowboys

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MINNEAPOLIS – The Vikings are 8-1 and feeling really confident after the huge win in Buffalo last week. Minnesota is close to taking the NFC North crown as the rest of the division has little hope of catching up. If the Vikings win this game, they’ll be in a great spot in terms of winning the division and earning an NFL playoff seed. Will Kirk Cousins, Dalvin Cook, and Justin Jefferson make it happen again?

On the other side, the Dallas Cowboys are gaining momentum and looking like a serious playoff contender. For all the social media jokes the Cowboys face year after year, they consistently look like a team on a super bowl run but they never get the job done after the season. This game is a measuring stick for just how good Dallas really is. Some question whether or not Dak Prescott is an elite quarterback. Whether he’s elite or a system quarterback hardly matters as he gets things done in Dallas, period. A win in Minneapolis against this juggernaut Vikings team would go a long way to proving that Prescott is elite for those who want to continue the debate. Will Prescott and Receiver Cee Dee Lamb help the Cowboys get this much-needed road win?

This game has that feel that either team can take it. Toss the records aside for this one as it could go either way.

Prediction

Vikings 42 Cowboys 35

Other top games

New England Patriots (6-3) vs. New York Jets (5-4)

This continues to be one of the fiercest rivalries in the NFL. There’s usually some trash talk between the teams but it’s been quiet so far. It looks these teams will let the results “do the talking”.

Jets quarterback Zach Wilson recovered nicely from his injury earlier in the season and looks to continue the quest for the playoffs.

Patriots quarterback Mac Jones struggled the last three weeks and the Patriots look vulnerable at the moment. Jones had some injuries to deal with too but this could be nothing more than a simple “sophomore slump”.

Prediction:

Patriots 21 Jets 17

Los Angeles Chargers (5-4) vs. Kansas City Chiefs (7-2)

We have another exciting division rivalry to keep the Sunday excitement going. The epic showdown at SoFi Stadium features the Chargers and the Chiefs as both teams continue their paths to the playoffs.

In the Chargers’ case, that’s less of a guarantee since the team has five wins. Justin Herbert really needs to lead the team to a win to give the Chargers a better chance at the playoffs. A loss here could turn the momentum against them.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes seems to have a rhythm with new receivers. Playing without Tyreek Hill was a real challenge early on but he seems to have a rapport with JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdez-Scantling, and the rookie Skye Moore. It took time but here we are.

Prediction

Chiefs 35 Chargers 24

A trend to pay attention to:

A somewhat unheard-of development happened a few days ago. The NFL decided to move the Bills (7-2) vs Browns (3-6) game to Detroit after Buffalo and Orchard Park will hit hard by a snowstorm that dumped six feet of snow and made the stadium look like something straight out of an apocalyptic movie like “The Day After Tomorrow”.

Let’s think about something that the rescheduling of the game proves. Many NFL games may not feature the elements of bad weather for much longer. Now this game needed to relocate. There’s no way fans could travel safely to Orchard Park. That would be like trying to get into Cleveland during the April snowstorm of 2007 which actually resulted in a shutdown of Downtown Cleveland.

More NFL teams are taking advantage of the trend to either build indoor stadiums or add a retractable roof. This isn’t a new concept, however. This really started well before the days of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome and the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. To really put this trend in perspective, we have to go back to the 1960s. This trend actually began with the Houston Astrodome which opened on April 9, 1965.

Since then, the idea progressed. Now there are multiple stadiums that feature retractable roofs or are indoors. Ford Field (Detroit), Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis), Century Link Stadium (Seattle), Mercedes Benz Superdome (New Orleans) Mercedes Benz Stadium (Atlanta), AT&T Stadium (Dallas), U.S. Bank Stadium (Minneapolis), and several others. There are more than ten total stadiums with these features. There will be several more in the future.