The Minnesota Vikings finished with a 9-8 record, missing the playoffs after going 14-3 last year. Compared to the preseason expectations some fans had, this season fell short and, in some respects, created more questions than it answered.
At the start of December, when this team had just lost its eighth game of the season to drop to 4-8, nobody expected a rally to end the season with a winning record. But despite ending the season with five wins, they played four of them after being eliminated from the playoffs. The season started in such dramatic fashion with an incredible come-from-behind win on the road against a divisional rival, and it ended on a somewhat anticlimactic note with almost a month of no-stakes football.
Despite this, the team took the last five games just as seriously as the first 12. They wanted to finish the season strong, build culture, and ensure that a few players would leave on a high note.
Here are five numbers to break down the season.
84
Minnesota’s projected starting offensive line played only 84 snaps together this season. This offseason, after the excitement around McCarthy, the second-biggest talking point was the revamped offensive line and just how much protection it could provide their young quarterback. The team had 23 offensive line combinations this year, the most of any team.
The front office seemed to have learned its lessons from last season’s playoff exit against the Los Angeles Rams. They fortified the offensive line by adding Will Fries and Ryan Kelly in the offseason and Donovan Jackson in the first round of the draft.
Minnesota’s offensive line didn’t see all of their projected starters play until late November, and they all managed only 84 snaps together. This season, the injury bug hit the Vikings’ offensive line especially hard. Every member of the projected starting unit outside of Fries missed time due to injuries, and Fries looked like a shell of himself as he recovered from injury.
Now, with Kelly set to decide on his future after suffering three concussions this season — six overall in his career — the Vikings might again have to look to either free agency or the draft to find competition for Michael Jurgens at center.
While this unit looked like it had the potential to be great, injuries all season prevented them from realizing it.
8
The Vikings have had eight players start a game at quarterback in the past three seasons, the second-most in that stretch, just behind the Cleveland Browns. Coming into the season, the biggest question everyone had about this team was the quarterback position and whether McCarthy was ready for the responsibility.
While McCarthy was inconsistent in the first two weeks, everyone would have to wait almost six more weeks to evaluate him further. McCarthy’s ankle sprain put him out of action until November. Carson Wentz took over as the starting quarterback and battled through various injuries until McCarthy returned and the Vikings shut him down.
McCarthy struggled in the middle of the season. He suffered a concussion in the Green Bay Packers game, which led to Max Brosmer starting a must-win game in Seattle against what may be the NFL’s best defense. We all know how well that went.
Brosmer would later have to fill in for parts of multiple games, with McCarthy sustaining a hairline fracture in his right hand.
Quarterback play has been a significant issue for the Vikings this season because McCarthy was still developing. Their quarterbacks also didn’t stay healthy. Next season, the Vikings need McCarthy to remain healthy to understand what this team’s upside can be with him under center. Otherwise, they will remain in the same limbo they are in now.
2018
Kevin O’Connell has become the first head coach since Jay Gruden in 2018 to coach in a fifth season without a playoff win. As it happens, KOC coached under in Washington.
While nobody is clamoring for O’Connell’s job this offseason, he is now on the clock. A large part of his job next season will be to see whether he can get McCarthy, or whoever else is under center, ready.
Unfortunately, O’Connell dealt with the pressure of enormous expectations from last season. The Vikings also dealt with major injury issues that derailed any momentum this team could build. Fair or unfair, O’Connell will need to provide growth next season to avoid being on the hot seat.
13
The Vikings held their opponents to 200 net passing yards or fewer in 13 games, the first time they have done so since 1989. Unlike other phases of the game, Minnesota’s defense didn’t disappoint this season. Although they had odd off games, like the one against the Philadelphia Eagles, in which they gave up an exorbitant number of yards, they were incredibly stingy for most of the season.
Minnesota’s defense led the NFL in pressure rate at 44.5%. While they got to the quarterback, they didn’t create the same number of turnovers because they played from behind and couldn’t force quarterbacks to take risks like in years past. Even though they had a few turnovers in multiple games, they still showcased their prowess in taking the ball away, as they did in the games against the Detroit Lions and Cincinnati Bengals.
While some of the big-name additions didn’t perform at the level this team would have hoped, the progression of young players like Dallas Turner and Jalen Redmond is a positive sign going into next season.
40
McCarthy finished 40th in EPA per play out of 44 quarterbacks who played a minimum of 100 snaps, only ahead of three rookies and Jake Browning. The Vikings put a lot of faith in McCarthy this offseason by letting Daniel Jones and Sam Darnold walk in free agency and passing on Aaron Rodgers, who wanted to join this team.
Unfortunately, this didn’t pay off for them because McCarthy couldn’t stay healthy. When he was on the field, he looked less than prepared early on, and he finished with a -.15 EPA per play.
He looked much better at the end of the season, but this was primarily against weaker teams and backups, such as the Packers game. He has grown, and the coaching staff and front office may look at him as the quarterback of the future. Still, it’s unlikely they will hand him the job without some sort of competition next season.
The Vikings will likely look to bring in a high-floor backup option who can provide league-average play to aid their defense this offseason, competing for the starting job with McCarthy.
