3 bold predictions for Vikings vs. Titans in Week 11: Darnold bounces back, Vikes defense dominates

If one were to look solely at a few simple stats from the Minnesota Vikings' Week 10 matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars without looking at the final score, most would likely think Kevin O'Connell & Co. won in a blowout.

For starters, the Minnesota offense held the football for 42 minutes and 19 seconds, the highest time of possession of any team during this 2024 NFL season. And in that time, the Vikings racked up 403 total yards (233 passing, 169 rushing), their third-highest total of the year.

In the short time the Jags actually possessed the ball, they didn't do much with it, gaining just 143 total yards, the fifth-fewest in franchise history. The Vikings' defense, which continues to be the league's top-ranked unit in terms of DVOA, forced three turnovers, recorded three sacks, and failed to allow a single point over the final 48 minutes and 44 seconds.

Blowout, right?

That would be a hard no. Instead of taking what should have easily been a 20-plus-point win, the Vikings escaped with a 12-7 victory, as the offense couldn't do a thing past the 20-yard line. In five trips to the red zone, Minnesota failed to find the end zone, instead being forced to rely on kicker John Parker Romo, who'd never appeared in a regular-season game, to put points on the board. To his credit, Romo went 4-for-4 in his NFL debut.

And two of those trips, of course, ended in interceptions from Sam Darnold, who threw three picks on the day, upping his season total to 10, tying him with Baker Mayfield and Jordan Love for the league lead. Add the three fumbles he's lost, and Darnold leads all NFL players with 13 total turnovers.

Bad games happen in this league, and Darnold is simply going to have to shake that one off as the Vikings prepare for a Week 11 matchup with the Tennessee Titans. And we think he will as Minnesota attempts to sweep the AFC South, which is where we'll kick things off.

Sam Darnold won't throw a pick and will have his first 300-yard game of the season

How's that for bold?

During the Vikings' 7-2 start, Darnold has yet to reach the 300-yard mark, topping out at 290 in Minnesota's Week 10 win over the Indianapolis Colts. But we think he can get there this Sunday.

Now, some of you might be thinking how that would be possible, as the Titans, despite their 2-7 record, somehow have the top-ranked defense in the league against the pass, allowing just 156.7 yards per game through the air.

But here's the thing with that. They haven't faced a ton of top-tier quarterbacks. Look at their first four games. They got Caleb Williams in his first NFL start. They had a past-his-prime Aaron Rodgers. They got Malik Willis instead of Jordan Love. They got the Miami Dolphins without Tua Tagovailoa.

When they finally faced an elite QB in Week 7 when they visited the Buffalo Bills, Tennessee got torched, as Josh Allen threw for 323 yards and two touchdowns.

Now, nobody's saying that Sam Darnold is Josh Allen. Because he's not. But he can have a similar kind of game against Tennessee. With Aaron Jones ailing a little bit with that rib injury, the Vikings might look to pass the ball a little more. And perhaps O'Connell wants his quarterback to get a little confidence back, so that might factor into his play-calling as well.

Not only do we predict Darnold to surpass 300 yards for the first time, but we're also calling for an interception-free game. As good as the Titans have been against the pass, they're not ballhawks, recording only three picks thus far, the fourth-fewest in the league.

Justin Jefferson will reach the 1,000-yard mark for the season against the Titans

If we're calling for a big day from Darnold, we're essentially forced to call for a big day from Justin Jefferson, not that we ever really need to be forced to predict that.

Jefferson is coming off his worst game of the season against the Jaguars, catching five passes for a season-low 48 yards. It's not that Darnold didn't target him, but more that he couldn't get the ball to him, as all three of his interceptions came on throws toward No. 18.

Despite the 48-yard effort, Jefferson still has 831 receiving yards for the year, second only to former LSU teammate Ja'Marr Chase, who's racked up 981 yards for the Cincinnati Bengals and also leads the league in receptions (66) and receiving touchdowns (10).

Chase, of course, took the league lead with a ridiculous 264-yard performance against the Baltimore Ravens to kick off Week 10 on Thursday Night Football.

Now, we're not saying Jefferson will have that kind of day. But we are predicting at least 169 yards, which will give him his fifth consecutive 1,000-yard campaign.

The Vikings will add at least two to their league-leading interception total

While the Vikings have allowed 231.9 passing yards per game, the seventh-most in the league, they've been able to offset some of the damage by notching an NFL-best 15 interceptions, two of which came in last week's win over Jacksonville.

The Minnesota defense has forced at least one turnover in every single game this season, and we're expecting that trend to continue against Tennessee, specifically on the interception front.

After sitting out for nearly a month with a right shoulder injury, Will Levis looked fairly solid in his return last Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers, completing 18 of 23 passes for 175 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions.

That last number is a big deal for him, as he struggled with picks prior to his injury, throwing seven in five games. So, coming off an interception-free week, one almost has to think he's due.

Given how good the Vikings are against the run, allowing just 79.0 rushing yards per game, the second-fewest in the league behind only the Ravens (73.0), the Titans may be inclined to go with a pass-heavy attack.

But that could prove costly, as we're calling for Minnesota to add at least two interceptions to its league-leading total. And if Camryn Bynum gets one of them and repeats his spot-on Olympic breakdancing imitation, we're all for it.