After their fourth loss at home this season, the Minnesota Vikings are officially in limbo. You don’t get into the postseason by losing four home games by Week 11. The sobering reality is that the Vikings will most likely miss the playoffs. However, if you’re like me and like to repeatedly grasp at straws, there is still an opportunity for unique situations in the NFC North.
But it relies on the next two weeks being, for lack of a better word, perfect.
Parity in today’s NFL is arguably at an all-time high. Other than a couple of outliers around the league — none of them in the NFC North — no one is running away with their division, at least not yet.
Half of Minnesota’s wins this year are over division opponents on the road. It’s pretty ironic considering the up-and-down nature of an aggressively mediocre year. What’s perhaps even comedic, on top of that, is the fact that the Vikings have a chance to be 4-0 in the division with a 6-5 record.
With the Chicago Bears coming to town this weekend and the Vikings traveling to Green Bay the following week, the Vikings must be self-critical and pick up division wins to stay in the playoff hunt.
This is the curtain call, the final buzzer. Fans and pundits alike repeatedly lauded the roster in the offseason, making the losses and inconsistent play that much more frustrating. However, a talented roster doesn’t magically fight for you; the Vikings will have to devise a plan that allows them to play consistent football.
After the Thursday night embarrassment in Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago, it’s fair to say that Minnesota’s defense has answered the call against the Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens. We saw the constant pressure on Jared Goff lead to third-down stops and shorter fields for the offense.
There’s only so much you can ask a defense to do, as seen last week against Baltimore, when the offense and special teams fail to generate points and hand opponents short fields to work with. Otherwise, the Vikings held both Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry in check.
I don’t expect that to change this week against Chicago at home. The linebacker unit, featuring Blake Cashman and Eric Wilson, is performing at an elite level, setting the tone for rush and zone coverages. Andrew Van Ginkel‘s health also continues to improve, although Jonathan Greenard‘s potential absence could be damaging to the front four overall. Barring a genuine lack of execution, Minnesota’s defense should contain Chicago and Green Bay’s offenses.
However, Minnesota’s offense has had no answers. After an impressive opening drive last week, it was a non-factor in the game.
Part of the problem was that J.J. McCarthy was the leading rusher with 48 yards on the ground. Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason combined for 13 rushes in a game that remained close until around the middle of the fourth quarter. That’s simply not winning football.
Offensive consistency starts with running the ball. It’s a cliche for good reason. Now that Jones and the offensive line are healthy again, the Mason-and-Jones combination has to take flight. There are pieces to success that make McCarthy’s job easier. The load may need to be even less than we thought for him, and the quickest way to do that is by running the ball.
Suppose the Vikings can see it through to gut out two wins in a row against division rivals at this point in the season. Then they will likely find themselves only one game out of the division lead, potentially in a three-way tie for second. Regardless, down the stretch, the Vikings will need help from other teams to keep their season alive. But again, none of it matters if this team can’t find ways to win football games.
