Bo Nix and the Vikings are the Surprises of the NFL Season

Today I have come to eat crow on two NFL things I wrote in my preseason preview from earlier in 2024. Let’s go.

The first comes from my 2024 draft preview. In lieu of doing picks one by one, I always talk about five prospects I like and five I think have the most bust probability. In my five busts part, I was pretty certain that Bo Nix was going to flame out and flame out fast. I even doubled down on it when the Broncos named him the starter for the season and released Russell Wilson. Nix has proven me very, very wrong. He is a more than capable starting QB in the NFL. He is not going to be the ROY or the MVP, not by a long shot. But Nix has proven himself to be far more than just a game manager. The Broncos may not have won their game the other night, but it wasn't due to Nix playing poorly. He kept them in the game from start to finish. He made play after play. He went toe to toe with Joe Burrow. And I understand that the Bengals defense is porous, but Nix has done this all year. He led a drive that should have led to a game winning field goal earlier this season against the Chiefs. He has won games from the start for the Broncos. He has done everything he has been asked to do by his staff, and the Broncos, while not a Super Bowl caliber team yet, seems to have found their starting QB for the next five to ten years depending on health. I thought he was going to look like most rookie QB's who are thrust into a starting role, but he has looked confident and capable. I'll be interested to see if this trend continues over the next few years, but I'd be shocked if he didn't improve over the seasons and become a pro bowl level NFL starting QB. I was wrong about him.

The other thing, and I was very aligned with a ton of people on this one, I thought the Vikings were going to be one of the worst teams in the NFL this year, and I thought they had the makings of one of the worst teams in NFL history. I looked at their offseason, who they got rid of, who they traded up to draft and who they signed to be their veteran QB and it all screamed two or three wins, at most to me. I was also not a firm believer in Kevin O'Connell as a NFL head coach. I told RD as much via text and conversations while recording the podcast. He is a Vikings fan, I'm a Packers fan, and I think maybe he even thought that the Vikings were going to be awful too. I was even more certain when they traded up to nine to draft Michigan QB JJ McCarthy. I adore that kid. He helped Michigan win the title last year. But, Michigan was all about their top tier defense and their excellent run game. McCarthy could make plays here and there, but that team won as a team, not because of their QB. But, when the NFL season started, not only were the Vikings winning, they were beating the snot out of their opponents. I figured it was just an early season surprise and they would come crashing back down to Earth soon. But that never happened. The Vikings are still killing it. They're playing for the number one seed in the NFC this Sunday. Sam Darnold has been great. He will be getting paid this offseason. Aaron Jones has been mostly healthy and playing well. Jordan Addison and Justin Jefferson are amazing, and Jefferson may be the best wideout in the NFL. But it is their defense that has been the big surprise and main reason why they've been able to sustain their high level of play. Brian Flores has done a masterful job with a defense that doesn't have any real stars. He has gotten the best out of that unit and he is more than deserving of a shot at being a head coach again. I'm astonished at how well they have played all season, and I am going to give most of that credit to Flores for putting them in the best position possible. As for O'Connell, he has earned my respect, not that he really cares. He has what it takes to be a NFL head coach, and what he has done with Sam Darnold is more proof that he is a "QB whisperer". The Vikings, as stated a few sentences ago, have a shot at the 1 seed. I assumed they'd be more likely to pick first overall in the upcoming draft. And as much as it stings to say this being a Packers fan, the Vikings are legit and they terrify me heading to the playoffs. They're a damn good football team with an excellent defense. 

That’is it. Now time to cook up some crow.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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