Vikings-Jaguars Week 10 score predictions from the Vikings On SI staff

Will the Vikings take care of business on Sunday against a struggling Jacksonville team?

Oct 20, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) throws a pass against the Detroit Lions during the first quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Sunday's game between the 6-2 Vikings and the 2-7 Jaguars in sunny northeast Florida feels like a potential blowout spot for the visiting team. Jacksonville will be missing starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence, which means Mac Jones will be making his first NFL start in over 11 months. That's a tough assignment against the Vikings' elite defense, which might be getting stud linebacker Blake Cashman back from injury. At the same time, Sam Darnold and Minnesota's weapons could be in line for a big day against the Jaguars' woeful defense.

Anything can happen on an NFL Sunday, but it's safe to say our resident score predictors here at Vikings On SI are pretty confident in the result of this one.

Will Ragatz: Vikings 34, Jaguars 13

Five of the Jaguars' seven losses this season have come by one score, but that was with Lawrence at QB. Now it's Jones, who hasn't been very good since his rookie season in 2021. The Vikings are extremely menacing on defense if you aren't Jared Goff or Matthew Stafford, so this might be a long afternoon for Jones. On the other side of the ball, I think Darnold throws for four touchdowns against the worst pass defense in the league. The Vikings cruise to win No. 7, taking them over their preseason Vegas total with eight games to spare.

Joe Nelson: Vikings 50, Jaguars 10

The Jaguars are 100% going to beat the Vikings.... if Keenan McCardell runs off the Minnesota sideline and calls on Mark Brunell, Jimmy Smith and Fred Taylor to suit up for Jacksonville like they did back in the day. Since that’s not happening, the biggest shock Sunday will be if the Jags don’t lose by 20-plus points. 50-10 is the score the Vikings beat the Jaguars by in the first-ever meeting between these two teams, which was a Sunday Night Football game in December 1998.

Nolan O'Hara: Vikings 28, Jaguars 17

The Vikings' defense returned to form in last week’s win over the Colts. The Jaguars, who the Vikings face on Sunday, are coming off a lousy offensive showing in a loss to the Eagles and don’t have much better season-long offensive numbers than the Colts. The Jaguars are 18th in the league in points per game and 21st in the league in yards per game, and a shoulder injury means their starting quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, will be on the sidelines. That leaves Mac Jones up against a Vikings defense that’s been effective at generating turnovers all season. Brian Flores and the Vikings keep the momentum rolling with a victory in Jacksonville on Sunday.

Jonathan Harrison: Vikings 42, Jaguars 10

The Vikings will continue their roll through the AFC South with a dominating win over an injury-depleted Jaguars side. The Vikings' defense will flummox another bad QB (Mac Jones) while the offense uses this game to run up the score for once.

Tony Liebert: Vikings 31, Jaguars 17

With Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence expected to be out of this matchup due to a shoulder injury, all signs point towards an emphatic Vikings victory. But Jacksonville has nothing to lose, so it'll be important for Minnesota to not overlook this game. Ultimately, Jacksonville has the second-worst passing defense in the NFL and I think Justin Jefferson takes advantage and puts together one of his best performances of the season en route to an impressive win.

Here are last week's predictions. Season records for our pickers:

Will: 6-2
Joe: 6-2
Nolan: 4-4
Jonathan: 4-4
Tony: 2-6