Inside The Vikings

Analyst Predicts Vikings Finish Tied For Last in NFC North in 2023

Conor Orr has the Vikings regressing massively with a seven-win season.
Will Ragatz|
Analyst Predicts Vikings Finish Tied For Last in NFC North in 2023
Analyst Predicts Vikings Finish Tied For Last in NFC North in 2023

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Minnesota Vikings

Everyone is well aware that some type of regression is headed the Vikings' way in 2023. They simply aren't going to go 11-0 in one-score games again, which will make it difficult to sniff another 13-win campaign unless they take massive steps forward as a team. And with so many veteran departures this offseason — Patrick Peterson, Za'Darius Smith, Dalvin Tomlinson, Dalvin Cook, Eric Kendricks, and Adam Thielen — that seems unlikely.

Some are higher on the Vikings' potential this season than others. SI's Conor Orr falls into the latter category. In his annual piece predicting the outcome of every single regular season game, Orr wound up taking the Vikings to go 7-10 and finish tied for last in the NFC North. He has the Lions at 11-6, the Packers at 10-7, and the Bears and Vikings winning just seven games.

Specifically, Orr has the Vikings starting 2-6 and going 2-7 in road games.

O.K. Perhaps we’re being a little harsh here. Also, the Vikings’ schedule is generous. Still, I feel like this is not a team that markedly improved despite having more than a few fortunate breaks a season ago. With the Kirk Cousins era potentially winding down, this feels more like a transition year than a building year in Minnesota. Week 2 at Philadelphia will be a nice test to see where they are early in the season.

Given that the Vikings' Vegas win total is just 8.5, a 7-10 prediction isn't actually all that crazy. It's not too difficult to envision things going that way if the Vikings' luck in close games completely swings in the other direction.

Personally, I'm a lot more bullish on the 2023 Vikings than most are. I predicted 11-6 when the schedule first came out in May and I'm going to stick with that, even if it ends up looking foolish. I think Kevin O'Connell's offense is going to be even more efficient and explosive in year two with the additions of Jordan Addison and Josh Oliver. Defensively, I believe in Brian Flores' ability to drag the Vikings to a respectable performance, even if there will be inevitable struggles at times.

It's going to be a fascinating season in Minnesota.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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