By: Abby Altman

In week 1 of the NFL season, the Minnesota Vikings hosted the Green Bay Packers at US Bank Stadium. The Vikings began the game with a first possession touchdown, and built comfortably on their lead for the remainder of the game, leaving with a relaxing 23-7 victory. 

Week 1 gave Vikings fans all over, a new confidence in the team, as well as the new front office and coaching scheme. This confidence carried over with many fans into week 2, as the Vikings traveled to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles. 

In week 1, the Eagles beat the Detroit Lions by just 3 points, giving up 35 points to Detroit’s growing offense. 

Week 2’s matchup felt like a complete turnaround, for both teams. 

The Eagles took a 24-7 victory over Minnesota, leaving the Vikings looking lost and confused all over the field. 

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts threw for 333 yards, completing 26/33 pass attempts. Hurts had 3 touchdowns, 2 rushing and 1 passing. The Vikings zone coverages left the Eagles plenty of room to convert short and quick passes into 10+ yard gains. Philadelphia had 25 first downs to the Vikings 20. 

It wasn’t just the first downs, however, that kicked Minnesota in the butt. Kirk Cousins threw for 3 interceptions, 2 of which were caught by Eagles cornerback Darius Slay. Slay had a career game, tying his game record for interceptions, and setting a new game record, with 5 passses defended. 

The Vikings offense looked erratic, dropping passes placed perfectly by Cousins and mixing up routes, causing interceptions. 

Both of Slay’s interceptions came off of star WR Justin Jefferson. Slay allowed just 1 catch when covering Jefferson. 

When asked about Jefferson, Slay said “He’s one of the best in the world, but I’m one of the best in the world too.” 

Justin Jefferson was one of the most shocking pieces missing in the Vikings week 2 loss.  Jefferson had just 6 catches for a grand total of 48 yards. Compared to his week 1 performance, where Jefferson made 9 catches for 184 yards, Jefferson seriously struggled this week. 

The Vikings performance in the 1st half was almost shockingly bad. The Vikings went 3 and out on their first 2 drives and only connected for a touchdown on 1 drive. In the second half, the connections looked better between Cousins and his offense, but nobody was able to complete a drive to begin a comeback. 

In the 2nd half, the Vikings found themselves in the red zone on 4 different drives, but were unable to score on any of them. Cousins was picked in the endzone several times, despite the valiant efforts of the offense. 

“When I look back on tonight, ultimately I put this one on me,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said. “I don’t think I did enough for our team in-game.” 

While it was apparent that a number of factors contributed to the loss of this game, the Vikings and O’Connell seem to hold some confidence heading into week 3. 

The Vikings head back home for week 3 to take on the Detroit Lions for another divisional matchup. Both teams head into the week 1-1.

Update: The Vikings beat Detroit 28-24.

By: Toby Martin-Kohls

With the 2022 NFL Draft in the rearview, I’ll be taking a way-too-early look at the top two draft prospects for the 2023 draft.

This year’s draft was considered a poor class for quarterbacks by many experts and analysts. Only 1 QB was taken in the first round, which is rare in today’s pro game. QB is considered the most valuable position, so many are picked early.

In next year’s prospective draft class, two quarterbacks are expected to be the first two picks of the NFL draft. 

C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State

Stroud is a sophomore QB for Ohio State, a football powerhouse that plays in the Big 10 conference. He is expected to go pro after this upcoming season. 

He was a 4-star prospect coming out of Rancho Cucamonga, CA in the class of 2020. He had a mesmerizing senior season throwing for 3,878 yards and 47 touchdowns in just 13 games under Coach Mark Verti. He was the 42nd best prospect in the class and had other offers from other major programs such as: Michigan, Georgia, Oregon, and USC. 

Stroud possesses all the intangibles NFL evaluators are looking for in a pro QB. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has praised his work ethic and professionalism. He is capable of making throws all over the field but struggled a small bit with accuracy his freshman year. 

Another thing to watch for is his injury history. Stroud suffered a separated joint in his throwing shoulder during the first week of the 2021 season. While this might be a small concern, QB is so valuable to NFL scouts that his talent should overrule his injury history in this case.

Stroud set an Ohio State and Rose Bowl single-game record with 573 passing yards in a come from behind victory over Utah and finished the season with 4,435 passing yards, along with 44 touchdowns and just six interceptions. 

Bryce Young, QB, Alabama

Young is a sophomore QB for Alabama, which is currently the best dynasty in college football. Like Stroud, he is expected to go pro after this upcoming season.

According to the 24/7 Sports Composite rankings, Young was a 5-star prospect and No. 2 nationally, coming out of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, CA. He chose Alabama over offers from a variety of other big programs such as: USC, Auburn, Georgia, Miami, Ohio State, Oregon, and Texas. 

Young won the Heisman Trophy for best QB in college football in 2021 and also won the Maxwell Award, given to the all-around most outstanding player. He earned the starting job after sitting behind, now pro QB, Mac Jones (New England Patriots). 

He set the Alabama single-season marks for passing yards with 4,872 and 47 touchdowns. Evaluators say he is a smart, athletic passer that has a great arm and has the intangibles. He served as team captain for Alabama last season. He has a natural feel for the pocket, has scrambling ability, and doesn’t make many mistakes. His leadership combined with his football knowledge is a great combination to get picked early, especially at a premium position.

The knock on Young will most likely be his size. He is not the size of a prototypical QB. He stands at 6’ 0” and 194lbs. However, NFL execs and scouts say his athleticism and competitiveness outshine this physical attribute. This size and combo have worked in the NFL before at a high level, with the likes of 9-time Pro Bowler Russell Wilson and 2020 NFL Rookie of the Year Kyler Murray.

It will be interesting to see how mock drafts change over the course of this next season, and which teams will pick these two talented signal-callers. 

By: Abby Altman

On Sunday night, the Los Angeles Rams became the 2nd team in NFL history to become  Super Bowl champs in their home stadium. This rare feat has now been accomplished in consecutive years, last year being won by the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay.

The Rams took an early advantage in the game, stopping the Bengals on 4th and 1 in their first drive, gaining excellent field position at their own 49 yard line. The Rams capitalized with a 17 yard bullet from Matthew Stafford to Odell Beckham Jr. in the end zone.

The Bengals responded with a field goal drive, propelled by Ja’marr Chase’s 30 yard catch at the 15. Evan McPherson’s kick was good from 29 yards, to close out the 1st quarter Rams 7, Bengals 3. 

The start of the 2nd quarter began with a Rams touchdown to Cooper Kupp. The extra point was fumbled by Rams placeholder John Hekker, and intercepted by the Bengals, holding the score 13-3. With 5 minutes left in the half, the Bengals charged downfield, capping off their drive with a touchdown pass to Tee Higgins, made by the Bengals RB Joe Mixon.

2 minutes into the Rams drive, Stafford attempted a short pass to Odell Beckham Jr., which resulted in an incomplete pass, and Beckham on the ground with a non contact ACL tear. He walked off the field with assistance, and was eventually ruled out for the remainder of the game.

 The Rams were unable to score, ending their drive with an Interception in the endzone just before the 2 minute warning. The Bengals, unable to score, headed into the locker room with a score of Rams 13, Bengals 10.

The Bengals came out of halftime fired up. It took just 12 seconds for the Bengals to take their first lead of the game, on a 40 yard touchdown pass to Tee Higgins. The Bengals almost immediately got the ball back, on an interception by Chidobe Awuzie, intended for WR Ben Skowronek, who was in the game replacing OBJ. The interception turned into a Bengals 38 yard field goal by McPherson, putting the Bengals up by 7 in the 3rd quarter.

The 4th quarter started with the Bengals up by 4. With 12 minutes left in the game, Joe Burrow was sacked, and went down with an apparent knee injury. Burrow limped off the field, but declined medical attention. Burrow said he wasn’t coming out of the Super Bowl.

The 4th quarter remained scoreless until there was just 1:25 left on the clock, when Stafford connected with Kupp for the touchdown, putting the Rams up by 3. With 45 seconds left in the game, on 4th and 1, Joe Burrow was sacked, ending the game Rams 23, Bengals 20.

Joe Burrow was sacked 7 times in this game, 5 more times than Stafford, putting a heavy emphasis on the lack of a Bengals offensive line.

Burrow went 22/33 on Sunday, with just 1 touchdown, and no interceptions. Ja’marr Chase had 5 receptions for 89 yards, but was not able to land any of them in the end zone.

Stafford went 26/40, with 3 touchdowns, along with 2 interceptions. Cooper Kupp had 8 receptions for 92 yards and 2 touchdowns. Kupp was named Super Bowl LVI MVP.

By: Salman Said

Joe “Brrr” Burrow has had an outstanding postseason this year. His path to the Super Bowl has been remarkable, from defeating the Las Vegas Raiders to battling to remain alive against the AFC South’s top seed, Tennessee Titans. Joe Burrow led his team to its first AFC North title since 1988.

During the AFC Championship game, the Kansas City Chiefs, the team lead by 2018 MVP Patrick Mahomes, seemed invincible. DraftKing, the popular sports betting app, had the Kansas City Chiefs as the favorites to win by a large margin, and over 58% of all game bets were on the Chiefs to win.

The game appeared to be over before it even started, and the odds against the Bengals further grew when the Chiefs took a commanding 21-3 lead in the second quarter. During halftime, though, something sparked in the now-nicknamed Joe “Brrr” Burrow.

In what some might say was his greatest performance, Joe threw 2 touchdowns in the second half and battled through the pressure. He then led his Bengals to an upset win in overtime against the Chiefs.

Joe has been dubbed Joe “Brrr” Burrow for wearing a fur coat and a brand new JP9 diamond pendant to the stadium for AFC Championship game. When questioned if the diamonds were real, Joe said, “They’re definitely real. I think I make too much money to have fake ones.” His moniker “Brrr” is derived from the new slang term “ice”, which means diamonds. His diamonds are “icy”, therefore the onomatopoeia “Brrr” has a double-meaning to it, as it also refers to his “cool” demeanor when playing.

Joe’s incredible postseason will come to a storybook ending on Sunday, February 13th. He’ll be facing the 2019 Super Bowl runner-ups, and NFC West first seed, LA Rams in this now, so-called, legendary Super Bowl match-up. The star-studded Rams, led by Matthew Stafford, and ostracized wide-receiver Odel Beckham Jr, will be going against Joe “Brrr” Burrow and Super-Star Rookie, Ja’Marr Chase.

By: Abby Altman

With a 10-37 loss to the Packers in week 17, the Minnesota Vikings have been officially eliminated from playoff contention. This left many fans looking ahead to week 18, hoping to see a potential look into the Vikings future, through rookie QB Kellen Mond.  

Mond was a 3rd round draft pick out of Texas A&M, where he had a 59% completion rate, 71 touchdowns, and 27 interceptions through 4 years. Mond went 28/51 with 1 interception this preseason. 

Although many fans wanted to see Mond start in week 17, with Kirk Cousins under COVID protocols, Sean Mannion started, and Mond only saw 1 drive in the 4th quarter. Mond went 2/3 for just 5 yards. With no stakes in week 18, fans are looking to see Mond start against Chicago, but Zimmer shut down the idea quickly.

“Not particularly,” Zimmer told reporters when asked whether he wanted to “Get a look at Mond,” against the Bears. 

“Why not?”

“I see him every day,” Zimmer said.

Zimmer was recently fired from his head coaching position, along with Vikings general manager Rick Spielman. With Spielman gone, current QB Kirk Cousins’ future is up in the air. Spielman was instrumental in signing Cousins to a massive guaranteed contract, practically eliminating Minnesota’s cap space. 

Mond is officially listed as the Vikings third string quarterback, behind Sean Mannion as backup. Mannion has been in the league for 7 years, recording just 3 starts with 1 touchdown and no wins. Many fans are looking for Mond to see some more playing time when appropriate, which could be possible under the team’s future management. 

Kellen Mond is a big quarterback, with a strong arm. Athletically speaking, he is close to the opposite of Kirk Cousins. He is quick in the pocket and can make big plays with his legs, along with a great ability to sense the pass rush. 

Mond’s accuracy is one thing that could be keeping him off the field this season. In college, Mond only completed 59% of his passes, and 27 interceptions over his 4 seasons in Texas. Mond likes to take erratic, long passes downfield to show his arm strength, which leads to many potential risk factors. 

The Vikings offseason will be interesting in many ways, especially in the quarterback hunt, and the future of Kellen Mond.