It’s the 0-3 Miami Dolphins versus the 3-0 Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, the week’s most lopsided matchup by point spread. Of course, that doesn’t mean Minnesota is guaranteed to jaunt toward an easy victory, but Kevin O’Connell and friends should take care of business nevertheless.
And to get you ready for the event, consider these four bold predictions, prognostications that are designed to be wacky and “out there.”
Four Ways Vikings-Dolphins Could Get Weird — in a Good Way
1. MIN-MIA Turns into the “Kyler Murray Rushing Game”
Murray has carried the ball only four times for 26 yards in his first two appearances for the Vikings. That’s bizarrely quiet for a quarterback with 3,219 career rushing yards and 32 touchdowns. His best running season came in 2020, when he produced 819 yards and 11 scores, and he added another 572 yards in 2024. The legs are still part of the package – – at least they better be.
Miami utilizes a man-coverage-heavy defense under Jeff Hafley, which should tempt Murray to take off and scamper on Sunday.
VikesNow has already highlighted the forgotten advantage of Murray’s game. Sunday will feel like a return to normalcy. Give Murray 50-plus rushing yards, with one or two third-down scrambles reminding everyone why defending him used to be so irritating in Arizona.
2. Myles Price Does It Again with a Return TD
Price has already done the ridiculous once. Why not twice?
Through three games, he leads the NFL with 353 kickoff-return yards and 130 punt-return yards. His 21.7 yards per punt return also sits atop the league, and he’s the only player to house a punt so far this season. Tampa Bay learned the hard way when Price took one 86-yard punt return for a touchdown, helping the Vikings jump ahead early.
His September has earned NFC Special Teams Player of the Month honors, and his start to the season has been just absurd. Another touchdown would turn this from a fun three-week heater into a sheer masterclass.
Whether it’s a punt or kick, Price will strike oil twice in two games.
3. The Vikings Win by More than 3 TDs
Our Janik Eckardt has already planted his flag at 30-6 Vikings. Let’s stay in the same arena.
Miami’s roster and numbers invite the blowout prediction. They just do. The Dolphins have been outscored 86-36 through three weeks, allowing 6.1 yards per play. Opposing quarterbacks have averaged 9.1 net yards per attempt, worst in the NFL. Miami also enters without tailback De’Von Achane, stripping its offense of the player most capable of explosive transactions.
Meanwhile, Brian Flores has built a defense capable of burying struggling offenses before halftime. Flores’s defense pestered Chicago, holding the Bears to three points one week before another strong showing in Tampa. Before the game, many assumed that the Bears were an almighty offensive juggernaut. Nope.
The script here is different from the first three Vikings games. O’Connell’s men will get ahead early instead of asking the defense to save their buttocks late.
Vikings by 22-plus. Something in the 31-8 range feels appropriately spicy.
4. Gavin Bartholomew Hits Paydirt
Josh Oliver is headed for surgery after tearing his biceps, removing a tight end who played more than half the offensive snaps through three weeks. Bartholomew was already the next tight end on the active depth chart, so his offensive workload should jump – – like now.
Bartholomew’s back injury wiped out his entire rookie season. The Vikings also kept him as TE3 in their final preseason roster picture. He was a 6th-round draft pick in 2025 after catching four touchdowns during his final Pittsburgh season, and his college profile credited him with soft hands plus enough ability to work in-line.
Now comes his first real opening.
This will probably be something wonderfully boring: a play-action near the goal line and Murray drops a short pass into Bartholomew’s chest. Six points.
Bartholomew will score his first NFL touchdown Sunday.
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VikesNow Verdict: Murray running wild and Bartholomew finding the endzone feel plausible enough, while another Price return touchdown would turn his September into cinema.
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