Monday was a triumphant night at U.S. Bank Stadium. For the first time since the Buffalo Bills game last year, the Minnesota Vikings won a game as an underdog, shocking the San Francisco 49ers for a 22-17 victory. The offensive line was flawless, the defense played with a margin of error, and Kirk Cousins was outstanding. Kyle Shanahan was left in the corner of the field, missing Cousins in the same way that Champ Kind missed Ron Burgandy.
At 3-4, Minnesota climbed within a half game of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the final playoff spot in the NFC. But like many Vikings teams, it gave some fans a case of déjà vu.
It wasn’t that long ago that the Vikings started 1-5 and had the opportunity to select a franchise quarterback. They forged ahead, made a run for a playoff spot, and narrowly missed out. Therefore, they remained stuck in the same window of mediocrity they’ve been in since reaching the NFC Championship game in 2017.
The year was 2020 and, while it could foreshadow the fate of this year’s Vikings, there are other aspects that suggest this year’s team could make a more legitimate run.
The tale of the 2020 Vikings has a connection to Monday night’s game. Nine months before the season began, Mike Zimmer stood at a podium after Shanahan’s 49ers ran for 186 yards in a 27-10 victory in the NFC Divisional Round. The Niners were the bigger, stronger, and faster team, leading Zimmer to proclaim that football was a young man’s game and foreshadow the upcoming offseason.
The following spring was one of change. They let defensive stalwarts Xavier Rhodes and Linval Joseph go. The Vikings went with a youth movement on defense, and the offense was set to take off even after they swapped Stefon Diggs out for Justin Jefferson. Everything was set for a smooth transition – until Danielle Hunter suffered a season-ending neck injury.
The defense fell apart. Pressed with a new burden, Cousins tossed 10 interceptions in the first six games. The Vikings also struggled to acclimate to an COVID-19 environment with no fans as they got off to an 0-3 start at home. With Trevor Lawrence coming out of Clemson, many felt the Vikings should sell off assets and make a run at a quarterback of the future.
But Minnesota’s plans changed with a victory over the Green Bay Packers.
The Nov. 8 meeting at Lambeau Field was strange for the Vikings. In addition to the absence of fans, there was a 23 mph wind that made things difficult for Aaron Rodgers. Dalvin Cook ran for 163 yards and three touchdowns. He also added two catches for 63 yards and a touchdown as the Vikings earned an impressive 28-22 victory.
At that point, the season was on. The Vikings rattled off wins in five of their next six games and even climbed into the NFC’s final playoff spot. But a trip to visit Tom Brady and the Bucs followed, and the season quickly unraveled from there. Minnesota lost three-straight games before winning at Detroit to finish the season 7-9.
In some ways, you can see the parallels to this year’s team. The Vikings spent the offseason trying to get younger and faster by letting go veterans Cook, Eric Kendricks, Adam Thielen, and Za’Darius Smith. Patrick Peterson and Dalvin Tomlinson also left in free agency, creating a full-blown youth movement on defense.
Minnesota’s offense became a strength, rookie Jordan Addison bolstered it. But the unit as a whole stumbled out of the gate due to inconsistency and Justin Jefferson‘s hamstring injury. With generational quarterbacks Caleb Williams and Drake Maye in next year’s draft, many people felt that the Vikings should turn their attention to the future. However, Minnesota silenced those rumors with Monday’s performance against the 49ers.
With five of their next six games against teams under .500, the Vikings have a clear path to do what that 2020 team did by going on a run and making a bid toward a playoff spot. But with a trip to visit the Cincinnati Bengals and two games against the NFC North-leading Detroit Lions in their final three games, it feels like the Vikings could come up empty-handed in the same way they did in 2020.
Still, Monday’s game showed promise in that there are several areas where they Vikings could be in for a better fate.
When the Vikings made their run in 2020, they had one of the worst defenses in franchise history. The 2020 team ranked third all-time with 475 points allowed and fifth all-time with 6,292 yards allowed. They trailed only the 1984 and 2013 teams and the 2021 and 2022 teams, who had the aid of a 17-game schedule.
After two years of poor defense, the Vikings hired Brian Flores was hired to patch things up. On Monday night, he did just that – even without Marcus Davenport‘s aid. Minnesota pressured Purdy on 36.7% of his dropbacks. But they did so at critical times, forcing a pair of critical interceptions in the second half.
Minnesota’s run defense also showed up in a big way. They held San Francisco to only 65 yards on the ground even while Christian McCaffrey played through an oblique injury.
Vikings fans can also pin their hopes on the offensive line, which looks like the best group the team has assembled in the past 20 years. They pressured Cousins on only 16 of his 45 dropbacks on Monday night, and the offensive line didn’t allow a single sack. However, Cousins’ performance was the most encouraging. He posted a higher passer rating under pressure (139.6) than with a clean pocket (82.3).
After Addison broke out, there is a feeling that the Vikings offense will only get better and hit another level when Jefferson comes off IR. Ironically, there’s also a sense of optimism considering how the Vikings put themselves in this hole. In three of their four losses, you could argue that the Vikings were one play away from coming away with a win.
- If Cousins hadn’t forced a pass to K.J. Osborn against Tampa Bay, the Vikings could have won their season opener.
- If T.J. Hockenson catches a late touchdown against the Los Angeles Chargers, the Vikings could have earned another victory at home.
- And if it weren’t for Jefferson’s hamstring injury, the Vikings may have pulled off an upset over the Kansas City Chiefs.
That’s a stark contrast to the 2020 Vikings, who lost three of their first six games by double-digits.
None of this will matter if the Vikings face-plant at the end of the year. Still, it’s already has a better feeling than what happened in 2020. If Minnesota continues to improve and get a boost with Jefferson’s return, they could make a more legitimate run than that 2020 team did and finish what they started with a return to the playoffs.
