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Minnesota Vikings: Bleacher Report’s Safe Win Total Predictions

By Paul Bellesen

Sep 27, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings mascot Viktor before the game against the San Diego Chargers at TCF Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 27, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings mascot Viktor before the game against the San Diego Chargers at TCF Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports /
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After putting together a surprising season last year, the Minnesota Vikings look to take the next step forward this season.

Last season, the Minnesota Vikings took back the NFC North Division crown for the first time since the Favre days. They showed promise with a young talented defense dominating week in and week out.

Coming into this season, the Minnesota Vikings look to take another step forward. Their biggest offseason priority was fixing their offensive line. They took a couple steps to try and do that.

The Vikings signed Alex Boone, former San Francisco 49ers left guard, and Andre Smith, former Cincinnati Bengals right tackle. They also are getting John Sullivan back from injury and moving Brandon Fusco back to his natural position of right guard, in which he excelled at in the past.

Another hole in the Vikings offense was at wide receiver. The Vikings were missing a big, physical, possession receiver who could be a go to red zone target and help bail young quarterback Teddy Bridgewater out of difficult situations.

They used their first round pick on Ole Miss wide receiver Laquon Treadwell. Treadwell was the unanimous number one wide receiver coming into the draft, until the underwear olympics(NFL combine).

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With another year of the Minnesota Vikings defense growing under the teachings of Head Coach Mike Zimmer, and the growth of third year quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, along with the additions they made on the offensive side of the ball, the Vikings look to be in position to put together another great season.

Today, the guys over at Bleacher Report put together their win/loss predictions for all 32 NFL teams. Here is what they predicted for the Minnesota Vikings.

"One huge difference between the Vikings’ 2015 and 2016 schedules is that they now face an uphill struggle, going against the number one seeds in the NFC. Road trips to Carolina and Green Bay are likely going to open up as two-score lines, but every other game can be rationally agreed upon as one-score games.If we buy into the idea that they’ll split those one-score games, and that they’ll lose their two road trips to Carolina and Green Bay, that puts them at 7-9 for the year, under .500, while their over-under is currently a decision between the price point of double-digit wins.They have the most consistent running back in the NFL in Adrian Peterson, a shoo-in Hall of Famer, but in 2016, can you build back-to-back division winners off the strength of your backfield alone? Unless Teddy Bridgewater takes a step like Andy Dalton did in Cincinnati, transitioning from a game manager to a true factor, then it’s hard to make the case that the Vikings will be able to finesse their way to landing above .500 with their current schedule, even if they did go 11-4 in their last 15 games last season.For the most part, when a team goes over .500 in one-score games the season before, they tend to regress the next year, as they play a schedule above their true talent level, and the Vikings’ 4-2 record in those games in 2015 should actually hinder their success in 2016.Safe Prediction: eight wins"

Eight wins? That sounds a little light. Knowing the talent that they have on the defensive side of the ball alone, the Vikings should have no problem getting near a 10 plus win season.

Looking at their schedule, yes they do have to play the number one seeds for the other NFC divisions, but we also play the NFC East, AFC South and Chicago and Detroit twice this year.

Next: SI's Top 100 has Four Vikings

It would be safe to say that eight wins would be a disappointment for the franchise and the fanbase. Anything less than a playoff berth would be a disappointment. It looks like the guys at Bleacher Report need to watch a few more Vikings games and do a little more research on their roster and coaching staff.

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