The Minnesota Vikings mostly eschew the hackneyed motivational statements other teams have in their locker rooms, both at US Bank Stadium and in their practice facility in Eagan. They have a tribute to the players in the Ring of Honor, which now includes Jared Allen. There’s also a sign telling players that they can’t have smartwatches on the field – it’s against league policy. Other than that, it’s nameplates above the lockers and an electronic whiteboard for drawing up plays. Elegant in its simplicity.
But they should have an evolutionary chart. I’m talking about that image elementary school teachers have in their classrooms, the one with the hunched-over primate on the left and the fully formed man on the right. Slowly the primate stands more upright and becomes less hirsute. Eventually, the primate becomes a man.
Why should the Vikings have an evolutionary chart in their locker room? Let me explain.
The team started an evolutionary cycle when Kevin O’Connell showed up at the facility in Eagan with a sunny disposition and his illusion of complexity. They were a run-first offense and a 4-3 defense in Mike Zimmer’s eight years, and O’Connell and his staff were turning them into a modern passing offense while installing Vic Fangio’s 3-4 defense. O’Connell was taking a team that had become a neanderthal and was turning them into a fully formed modern team.
Despite starting the year 5-1, the Vikings hardly looked like they were standing upright. Outside of the Green Bay Packers game in Week 1, they looked like they were still breaking out of a crouch. The Philadelphia Eagles dispelled any notion that Minnesota was ready for primetime on Monday Night in Week 2. Since then, there have been a series of missteps. Still, the crawlin’ Vikings kept barely escaping the building they set on fire.
- The Vikings led the Detroit Lions for 45 seconds in Week 3. Detroit is now 1-6.
- They let the New Orleans Saints hang around in London, and New Orleans almost beat them without Jameis Winston, Alvin Kamara, and Michael Thomas.
- The 3-5 Chicago Bears chipped away at Minnesota’s early 21-3 lead and made things more interesting than they should have been.
- In Week 6, the Vikings looked like they were going to melt in the sweltering south Florida heat. The Miami Dolphins started their third-string quarterback and still hung around until late in the fourth quarter.
But the Vikings took an evolutionary step against the Arizona Cardinals. Kliff Kingsbury’s Air Raid offense is as modern as it gets. If Minnesota had played like they did against Detroit or Chicago, Arizona would have crushed them. Instead, they took a step forward. They finally scored 30 points. The defense, especially Za’Darius Smith, came up big in crucial moments. The special teams created a vital turnover late in the game.
The Vikings weren’t perfect by any means. They still had a lull in the middle of the game and relinquished a lead in the third. Greg Joseph missed his final extra-point attempt, which could have mattered late in the game. Ultimately, they got the lead back and kept Arizona at arm’s length, but they couldn’t ever pull away.
Still, they took a step. The Cardinals kept Justin Jefferson under 100 yards receiving, but Dalvin Cook had 141 all-purpose yards. Kirk Cousins scored the first touchdown on a scramble. Jefferson made a highlight-reel contested catch while he was triple-teamed, and K.J. Osborn had a diving catch in the end zone. Johnny Mundt scored his first-career touchdown.
Minnesota had to show that they could beat a team with a dynamic offense. They had to prove they could score 30 points and that the defense could bend but not break against a good offense. The Cardinals may have gotten off to a slow start this year. Murray may have yelled at Kingsbury last week. But he had DeAndre Hopkins, Rondale Moore, and Zach Ertz at his disposal, and the Vikings did enough to give the offense a chance to win.
The Vikings aren’t a fully evolved team yet. They don’t look like a Super Bowl contender, a la the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, or Philadelphia. But they’re getting close enough to make wins over the Bills and the Dallas Cowboys possible. They need to take care of business in DC next week, but if they do, they will enter Buffalo 7-1. To win, though, they must definitively be on the right side of the chart.
