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. 

By: Abby Altman

Close games that come down to the wire are something the Vikings know very well. It’s also something the team would be glad to see go, just for one week. The Vikings almost blew Pittsburg out of the water on Thursday, leading 23-0 at the half. Cook had 14 carries for 2 touchdowns and 153 yards in the first half alone, despite playing with a dislocated shoulder.

Jefferson began the Vikings first half scoring drive on a 14 yard touchdown, followed by a 29 yard touchdown by Dalvin Cook the next drive. With less than 3 minutes in the half, Cook stretched the lead to 23 with a 7 yard touchdown.

The Vikings defense also held Pittsburgh to just 66 yards on 26 plays, and got close to Roethlisberger countless times, recording 4 sacks.

The Vikings scored twice again in the third quarter, making the score 29-0 with just over a quarter to go. Then the old Vikings returned.

Pittsburgh’s first score of the game was on Najee Harris’s 3 yard touchdown with just over 2 minutes left in the third quarter. Less than 3 minutes later, Pittsburgh scored again after an interception thrown by Kirk Cousins.

The Vikings went 3 and out, and the Steelers quickly put up yet another unanswered touchdown, making the score 29-20.

Minnesota did not give up easily. The offense responded to the comeback with a 62 yard catch and run by KJ Osborn, giving the Vikings a 16 point lead. The Steelers countered with a 15 yard touchdown completed with a 2 pt conversion, making it a 36-28 ball game.

Down by 8, with seconds left on the clock, Rothlisburger fired to Pat Freiermuth in the end zone hoping that with the touchdown, and a 2 pt conversion, they’d be able to force OT. Vikings safety Harrison Smith was able to knock the ball out of Freiermuth’s hands on the try, alongside Xavier Woods ending that hope.

“We keep asking ourselves why we keep putting ourselves in this position”, said Cook. “That’s been us all year. Living and dying by that last drive. We’ve got to figure it out.”

The Vikings held the game 36-28, to keep their playoff hopes alive, although far in the distance. Minnesota now plays Chicago, the LA Rams, Green Bay, and Chicago again. Losing more than 1 game in this final stretch will likely put their playoff hopes to rest.