The Vikings went into Soldier Field last week and won a sloppy black and blue division game 9-3 against the Bears. This brings the Vikings to 2-0 on the season and in the NFC North. You couldn’t dream of a better start, especially given the circumstances and injuries the Vikings have had early on in the season. Have the Vikings gotten some breaks? Of course. Should we apologize for them? Hell no. They don’t ask how they ask how many, and right now we got 2 wins and our starting quarterback coming back this week vs the Buccaneers.
Game Information
Matchup: Minnesota Vikings @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Date/Time: 9/27/2026 3:05 CST
Location: Raymond James Stadium
TV: Fox
Season & Weekly Vibe Check
Current Mood Meter
🔥 Elite Vibes
😎 Feeling Good
🙂 Cautiously Optimistic
😐 Wait and See
😬 Concerned
🚨 Full Minnesota Panic Mode
Fan Vibe Check
This Week’s Mood: 😎 Feeling Good.
Starting any season 2-0 is great. Starting 2-0 with below average QB play, numerous injuries, and essentially no passing game while beating two division rivals? Even better. Jordan Mason is going to be out a few more weeks, and now there is some injuries on the D-line, but the good news is the Vikings are getting Kyler Murray back this weekend. What version we see of Kyler this weekend is TBD. However, the floor has been set exceptionally low so even moderate QB play should greatly improve the offensive and take some pressure off the defensive, which has been as good as we hoped coming into the season.
If Murray can avoid costly mistakes and distribute the ball to Jefferson and Addison on a regular basis, the Vikings should be able to put enough points on the board to be tough to beat every week. But it may take some time for Kyler to get the hang of KOC’s offense, so it feels a bit early to let our minds wander to far how good this team is going to be. I’m excited to see how the Vikings look this weekend. (I’m sure this won’t blow up in our face as a fanbase)
Thank God for Brian Flores
The Vikings defense lead by their fearless play caller Brian Flores are coming off one of their best performances since he stepped in as the Defensive Coordinator. That is saying something given some of the master classes his unit has put on since his tenure with the Vikings. Two weeks ago, the Bears put up 59 points against what was one of the best defensives last year. The following they ran into an absolute brick wall when facing the Vikings pressure heavy defense.
Caleb Williams is one of the hardest QB’s in the NFL to sack. The Vikings were able to do so 3 times last Sunday and they are getting contributions from a number of different guys. The Vikings got pressures from 15 different players in their game against Chicago. That is absurd. It’s also the result of Flores ability to confuse defenses at the line of scrimmage. I assume this is what it’s like listening to Flores in-between defensive series.
Around the NFC North
A quick recap of our division foes round out the vibes… We know the story of the Vikings Bears game. One thing to note is 9 is no longer the laughing stock of the NFL thanks to Caleb Williams academy award performance following his hamstring tweak. God Bless you Caleb.
The Lions had a rough go on TNF football on the road against the Bills. I still think the Lions will be good. A road game on Thursday in the Bills new stadium is a tough spot. Speaking of TNF… The Packers just got SPANKED against a bad Falcons team at HOME. This after barely beating a bad Jets team. Things are looking bleak in Green Bay right now. What a shame…
As noted earlier, the Vikings are in a great spot in the North given the two division wins and how everyone else has looked as of late.
Game Notes & Overview
The State of the Vikings
- Current Record: 2-0
- NFC Standing: 1st
- Last Week’s Result: W @ Chicago
- Key Injuries: Jordan Mason & Ty Ingram Dawkins
- Major Storylines: Kyler is back after his concussion
About the Buccaneers
- Record: 0-2
- NFC Standing: 15th
- Last Week’s Result: L vs. Browns
- Key Injuries: Rueben Bain Jr.
- Major Storylines: The Bucs are 0-2 and haven’t looked that good yet on either side of the ball. I except a desperate version of them this week.
Three Things That Will Decide the Game
- Clean game from Kyler.
- Passing offensive coming alive this week
- Take advantage of Baker’s gun slinger mentality
My Biggest Concern
It was a very small sample size, but Kyler did not look great in his first 11 snaps of the season. Hopefully it was week 1 nerves, but we won’t know for sure how he will look in this offense until we see at least a full 60 from K1. If he struggles this game could turn into an uphill battle.
Why the Vikings Could Win
They’ve won two games with not much of a passing attack. If Kyler can distribute the ball to our play makers, we should be able to take advantage of a defense that hasn’t been able to get much pressure on the QB.
The Vikings defense stays hot and rattles Baker Mayfield, who has yet to find his groove this year.
Betting Corner
Best Bet
Pick: Jefferson over 66.5 yards
Odds: -110
Why I like it: Jefferson is due for a 100-yard game. With his starting QB back, I expect him to get a lot of targets on Sunday.
Player Prop of the Week
Pick: Bucking Irving any time TD
Odds: +140
Why I like it: The Bucs don’t have much of passing game right now and are likely to lean on Irving this weekend. I think he has a good chance to find the end zone + I like the payout if it happens.
Bets I’m Staying Away From
Pick: The Over
Reason: The Bucs offense is struggling. The Vikings defense is hot. The Vikings offense should look better this weekend but not fully sold on them until we see Kyler put a full game together in purple.
Predictions
Just Win MN’s Final Score Predictions
Jakeybigs: Vikings 24, Buccaneers 20
Ben Vikings 17, Buccaneers 13
Woody Vikings 31, Buccaneers 23
Everyone cross their fingers. The Just Win MN boys have all picked the Vikes.
Spread Prediction
Vikings -1.5
Bold Prediction
Todd Bowles is fired after the game.
Bottom Line
The Vikings are coming into this game feeling good and getting their starting QB back, but I’m not ruling the Buccaneers out completely. They will be desperate and hungry for a win at home. But I think we see enough from the Vikings offense to get it done this weekend.
Game Prediction Tracker
Straight-Up Game Predictions
(Read our initial season predictions here)
Jakeybigs – 1-1
Ben- 1-1
Woody- 2-0
Against the Spread
Jakeybigs – 1-1
Best Bets
Jakeybigs – 1-1
That wraps our week 3 preview. I’ll being doing these all season long. Leave your comments where you think I’m right and where you think I’m an idiot. Either way let’s hope the Vikings pull out a W and start the season off 3-0. Until then SKOL & JUST WIN MN!
I can’t wait to see what B-Flo’s defense does against a struggling offense. SKOL
Good stuff Jake!