Kansas City Chiefs vs. Minnesota Vikings: 5 Questions and NFL Week 5 Prediction

Gathering intel on Kirk Cousins and company ahead of the Chiefs' Week 5 road matchup in Minnesota against the Vikings.

For the second time since Patrick Mahomes took over as the team's starting quarterback, the Kansas City Chiefs will square off against the Minnesota Vikings in the regular season. For the first time, however, Mahomes is slated to actually play in the game.

In the last meeting between these two sides, it was veteran Matt Moore who filled in for the injured Mahomes and helped secure a 26-23 victory back in the 2019 season. Since then, Kansas City has added a pair of Super Bowl titles to its illustrious franchise history and Minnesota has either flirted with the postseason or managed to make it but later see its season end in dramatic fashion. Week 5's late afternoon game presents an opportunity for two of the most talented offenses in the league to put on another show as the Chiefs seek their fourth win in a row and the Vikings look to start a winning streak of their own.

What's important to know about Sunday's Chiefs vs. Vikings matchup? How could the action unfold? Will Ragatz of Inside The Vikings was kind enough to answer five questions for me to cover all of that and more.

1. Is there a sense of serious desperation surrounding the Vikings right now? This seemed like a team with legitimate playoff aspirations once again

WR: There definitely is. Last week's victory over the Panthers was needed to avoid an 0-4 hole, but the Vikings still have their work cut out for them if they want to go from 0-3 to the postseason. This is a team that came into this season fully expecting to defend its NFC North crown. A league-high 11 turnovers has been the Achilles heel for an explosive Vikings offense that ranks third in the league in yards per play. The defense struggled mightily in losses against the Eagles and Chargers, but Brian Flores's unit flustered Bryce Young last Sunday to help Minnesota claim win No. 1 on the year. The Vikings' schedule opens up a bit in November, so it would be huge if they can pull off a home upset against either the Chiefs this week or the 49ers in Week 7.

2. How do you expect Minnesota to attack Kansas City on both sides of the ball?

WR: Offensively, Kevin O'Connell wants to be balanced, if possible. The Vikings' running back duo of Alexander Mattison and Cam Akers looked strong in last week's win against Carolina, which was Akers's debut with his new team. This is an offense that has a good run-blocking O-line and one of the best run-blocking tight ends in the league in Josh Oliver. With that said, the Vikings' biggest strength is their pass attack. Justin Jefferson is the best wide receiver in football and is on pace to go down as one of the best to ever play, as long as he can stay healthy. Kirk Cousins, who leads the league in passing touchdowns, will look Jefferson's way often while also getting T.J. Hockenson, Jordan Addison and K.J. Osborn involved. The Vikings love to go for explosive plays off of play-action.

On defense, Flores and company face a much, much, much greater challenge against Patrick Mahomes than they did against Bryce Young. Flores loves to blitz, but that may not be advisable against the Chiefs. The return of Marcus Davenport gives the Vikings the ability to generate pressure while rushing just four. Against this Chiefs offense, the goal will be to get some pressure on Mahomes, vary up the coverage looks, and pray he makes a mistake or two like he did against the Jets. Lacking elite talent at the second and third level of their defense, the Vikings could be in for a long day.

3. Who's an under-the-radar Chiefs player the Vikings should be concerned about?

WR: I've heard Travis Kelce and Chris Jones are pretty good. Oh, under the radar? Rashee Rice seems like the type of secondary target who could give the Vikings some trouble. Assuming Jefferson and L'Jarius Sneed spend a lot of time facing each other, I'm excited to watch the matchup between Addison and Trent McDuffie, who many Vikings fans were hoping would be Minnesota's pick in last year's draft.

4. Who's an under-the-radar Vikings player the Chiefs should be concerned about?

WR: I already mentioned a couple in Oliver and Davenport. I don't know if they're still overlooked nationally, but Christian Darrisaw and Brian O'Neill, for my money, are the best tackle duo in the NFL (or at least right up there with Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson in Philly). A couple of other defensive standouts for the Vikings this season have been safety Camryn Bynum, cornerback Akayleb Evans and linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. who won a starting job this year as an undrafted rookie. He's a ton of fun to watch fly around the field.

5. How do you see this game playing out and who ends up winning?

WR: I actually think the Vikings have a decent shot in this game. They've been extremely impressive on offense when you remove the turnovers, which seemingly have to stop coming in bunches at some point. This team is finally feeling some momentum after winning their first game of the season, and they'll be looking to capitalize on their home-field advantage in a game where most people won't give them much of a chance. 

Meanwhile, the Chiefs have only averaged 20 points per game against non-Bears teams this season and don't seem to have much star talent beyond Mahomes, Kelce, and Jones. The issue is that those three guys are really, really good. Ultimately, I can't bring myself to pick Cousins over Mahomes, so I'll predict that the Chiefs win a close one. But I do think it'll be close. The Vikings generally find a way to play up or down to their level of competition. I'll go Chiefs 34, Vikings 31.

For additional coverage of the Vikings, be sure to follow Will's work on X @WillRagatz and check out Inside The Vikings for in-depth Vikings content.

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