Vikings’ Top-5 Team Performances in 2016

  |  
Jan 22, 2017
Image courtesy of Vikings.com

When the Minnesota Vikings took their first regular season snap of the year as a team back on September 11, 2016 in Tennessee, fan expectations ranged from “lost year” to “competitive in the postseason”. There was not a true, clear-cut general consensus regarding how Minnesota’s year would unfold with Teddy Bridgewater on injured reserve, Sam Bradford expected to start at quarterback sooner rather than later and question marks all over the depth chart from offensive tackle to wide receiver to safety (not named Harrison Smith).

Minnesota went down to Nashville with a chip on its shoulder and, behind an impressive game from Shaun Hill (relatively speaking) and a truly outstanding all-around defensive performance, the Vikings swatted the initial wave of extremist doubters claiming they sent a potential Top-5 draft selection to the Philadelphia Eagles for Bradford.

Then Bradford stepped in, and the next four weeks of Vikings football were surreal. It was such an outstanding and completely unexpected beginning to the season — even the most optimistic fans were taken aback — that many of those 43 days of 2016 Vikings football truly felt like a dream. And, for some looking back at those magical six weeks now, it was a dream — not of the REM sleep variety, however.

This cynical usage of the term “dream” is likely better defined as a distorted reality of cognizant formation stemming from some variation of irregular brain activity or misguided thinking — or, simply, this period may optionally be remembered as a mirage conjured up by the atmospheric conditions of professional football.

While it is certainly hard to argue with a Vikings fan electing to follow this approach — long-tenured fans, especially — Minnesota’s 5-0 start to the 2016 campaign was authentic, and those that do classify the Vikings’ 43-day span of perfection as an illusion likely are of the Skip Bayless variety or extremely frustrated.

The individual goal of last week’s Top-5 rankings was to disprove the idea that Bill Parcells’ “You are what your record says you are” quote is applicable to the 2016 Vikings. Our overflowing rankings list of outstanding individual Vikings seasons, at the very least, made this unintentionally created style of evaluation unfit to draw conclusions on this particular 8-8 team.

In addition to filling any remaining divots regarding the purple relevancy of Parcells’ famous quote, ranking the Vikings’ Top-5 team performances in 2016 targets the perception of analysts and fans arguing that Minnesota’s perfect beginning was a fluke, has very little or no future relevance and/or — most importantly — does not reflect greatness to any degree or level as a result of their 11 subsequent matchups.

Folks, for 43 straight days the Vikings were a historically dominant team; this statement is statistically factual as well as an unequivocally accurate description of their tangible achievements (5-0; 3 PoWs) and superlative handling of considerable adversities. What ultimately developed over the next 70 days can only be described as an epic and inexplicable collapse. But, this 11-week roller coaster ride to failure does not erase six weeks of situationally-efficient offense, generationally-elite defense, explosive kick returns and definitive Purple Reign.

The following Top-5 rankings are naturally composed of games preceding the Vikings’ bye week, but that well-rounded, situationally-effective, undeniable Super Bowl contender never truly disappeared.

Also Be Sure Check Out our previous ranking lists, and keep an eye out for the remaining articles in our series reviewing the Vikings’ best moments, games and overall performances from the 2016 season:

Basic Criteria: 1. Level of Difficulty 2. Game and/or Situational Importance 3. Entertainment Value

HM. WEEK 11 vs. ARIZONA CARDINALS

ESPN Headline: “Streak Stopper: Return TDs spark Vikings, 30-24 over Cards”

There has been a conscious effort to avoid using the same video clip in multiple Top-5 articles, but there isn’t any other play that better summarizes Minnesota’s win over Arizona than the game-altering red-zone pick of Carson Palmer and subsequent 100-yard touchdown return by breakout cornerback Xavier Rhodes.

Returning to U.S. Bank Stadium following a road loss to the Washington Redskins — which stretched their losing streak to a month — the Vikings desperately needed to find a win against Bruce Arians’ incredibly talented roster or begin making offseason plans in November despite not losing for a first time until October.

With David Johnson running wild both as a rusher and as a pass-catcher and Bradford struggling to find consistency against essentially an All-Pro starting defense, it certainly appeared as if Minnesota was doomed. Adam Thielen’s incredible 16-yard circus catch touchdown and an impressively bland 2-yard score from Matt Asiata opened up a lead, but the super freak Cardinals running back earned a first-quarter touchdown prior to Palmer carving his way into the red zone with six point all-but-certain.

Rhodes’ first of two Week 11 picks set a game-changing 14-point swing in motion, and, given that Jermaine Gresham scored all over Harrison Smith before the close of the half, the Vikings could easily have been staring down a 27-13 deficit to begin the third quarter if not for the X-Man: Apocolypse.

Cordarrelle Patterson opened the game’s second 30 minutes of action with his annual 104-yard kick return touchdown, staking out a 10-point Vikings lead and silencing every remaining bird call with a beak buster.

While multiple key players — specifically Bradford — struggled to impose their will during Week 11, getting a touchdown from each phase, a game-long assault of Palmer (charges/passes dropped), fluid success during critical moments (Rhodes interception; Danielle Hunter ends game with sack, etc.) and, especially considering the matchup’s must-win circumstances; Minnesota’s 30-24 win over Arizona warrants a higher slot.

But, the Vikings were great in a handful of 2016 games, trash-compacting this exciting, important (but ultimately quickly irrelevant) six-point win all the way down to the Honorable Mention spot.

5. WEEK 17 vs. CHICAGO BEARS

ESPN Headline: “Bradford, Vikings blow out Bears 38-10 in finale”

I know what you are thinking: How can a game without any meaning find a home on this list?  Well, technically speaking, none of Minnesota’s 2016 regular games were relevant to the postseason … the Vikings just knew ahead of their 38-10 demolition of the Chicago Bears to close out the campaign.

Pleading technical relevance is only a joke; I actually have a subjective yet near-universally pleasing reason for spotting Week 17 up at No. 5. Minnesota returned home for its final game coming off back-to-back horrific, embarrassing, postseason-expelling losses to the Indianapolis Colts and Green Bay Packers (ew). The Vikings once completely impenetrable, generationally-compared and revolutionary-heralded defense allowed a combined 72 points during weeks 15 and 16, a figure that raised Minnesota’s average points allowed from 16.8 (would rank No. 2) to 19.2 (No. 6) while also inflating their average yards allowed from 298.6 (would rank No. 1) all the way up to 314.9 (No. 3).

Minnesota was free falling to the offseason; the “Terence Newman debacle” was commanding unnecessary headlines across the nation; Adrian Peterson returned for his annual game-altering lost fumble against Indianapolis before pretending to battle multiple minor injuries in order to avoid playing again (accurate speculation); there was an actual headline of a news article that read “Mike Zimmer to return next season”; Jerick McKinnon had been a non-factor for almost the entire year despite a significantly increased role; and the offensive line was in a worse state than it possibly ever has been in the 55-year franchise history.

Instead of continuing their Tom Petty sing-a-long, the Vikings took the field one final time with seemingly everything to prove. McKinnon found the end zone as a rusher and a receiver; Kyle Rudolph capped off arguably the best statistical season for a tight end in Minnesota history with a 22-yard touchdown; Newman and the entire cornerback crew played lights-out in coverage with Rhodes and Trae Waynes finishing their career years with interceptions of Matt Barkley; Cordarrelle Patterson executed arguably the best wide receiver play of his career; Rashod Hill stepped in for an injured TJ Clemmings and provided the best single-game effort at left tackle in possibly two seasons; and Bradford ended his first year in Minnesota the same way he began, with an outstanding performance in a win over a division rival — an extremely convincing 28-point victory in the offense’s most well-rounded performance of season.

Now THAT is worthy of a Top-5 ranking on this particular list.

4. WEEK 4 vs. NEW YORK GIANTS

ESPN Headline: “Vikings deny Beckham, mystify Manning in 24-10 win vs. NYG”

If Minnesota’s Week 17 win over Chicago was its most well-rounded offensive performance than its 24-10 victory over the New York Giants on Monday Night Football to move to 4-0 comes in at a very close No. 2. Bradford, in continuation of his outstanding opening month in Minnesota, completed 26 of 36 (71%) pass attempts for 262 yards and a tone-setting strike to Rudolph during the second quarter.

At the time, New York dropped to 2-2 on the season, giving the national media reason to doubt the Vikings’ historic start to the season. By year’s end, however, the Giants had earned an 11-5 record, established a Top-3 defense and were the only team in professional football to grab a regular-season win against the Dallas Cowboys — which they were able to do twice.

But New York’s season-long achievements did not mean a thing to Xavier Rhodes and Co. back in Week 4, as the Vikings handcuffed the three-prong receiving attack for a full 60 minutes en route to an outstanding exaggerated edition of “The Manning Face” and a convincing victory on national television.

Rhodes, as noted during a previous Top-5 segment, blanketed Odell Beckham Jr. from start-to-finish, completely silencing arguably the most dangerous home-run threat in the NFL. The worst statistical performance of OBJ’s career also netted one of his trademark temper tantrums after netting just three catches and 23 yards, which likely made Rhodes’ 29-yard return on a pick of a Manning overthrow intended for his No. 1 receiver sting worse than a poorly-aimed Tetanus shot.

Also of note: Charles Johnson, potentially the most forgotten Viking of the season, caught passes of 30 and 40 yards down the sideline, which proved to be 30 percent of his season-long yardage production. McKinnon, as noted, was very quiet running behind Minnesota’s horrid offensive line for the vast majority of 2016, but his success against the Giants carried over from 2015 — he rushed for 85 yards and a score on a 4.7 average.

3. WEEK 3 at CAROLINA PANTHERS

ESPN Headline: “Vikings stop Newton, snap Panthers’ home win streak 22-10”

This list is filled to the hilt with impressive team performances, but the only one featuring a Vikings road victory comes in at No. 3 — Minnesota’s 12-point victory over the Carolina Panthers amidst protesting that threatened to cancel the game altogether. Hunter, Everson Griffen and the rest of Zimmer’s defense was seemingly thrilled to take the field, however, as the Vikings pinned reigning MVP Cam Newton in the backfield eight times, intercepted three errant throws by the former No. 1 overall selection and held just about every offensive playmaker not named Greg Olsen completely in check en route to potentially the most surprising Minnesota win of the year.

The 22-10 reading on the scoreboard may not spell out domination in bold face, but Minnesota was steering the ship for all but the first 10 minutes of this afternoon matchup. Newton combined with his kicker to amass all 10 of the Panthers’ points early, quickly setting the Vikings back double digits to reinforce the expectation for a sure-fire Carolina victory.

This obviously did not come to fruition, however, and it all started with one of the best individual effort plays across the NFL in 2016 — Hunter’s two-point solo mission, as highlighted above. As previously noted, I have aimed to avoid doubling up on videos throughout this series, but in this particular instance, I have zero issue posting this clip somewhere within every article I write.

Hunter, who produced back-to-back strong showings during the first two weeks of the year, likely set his breakout season ablaze with this particular installment from the 2016 12.5-sack catalog.

Embarrassing Michael Oher with a reverse pancake wasn’t enough; Hunter felt the need to leapfrog The Blindside tackle (pun definitely intended) and effortlessly bend around guard Andrew Norwell before delivering one of the heaviest blindside blows Newton has ever received as he stood unexpectedly and completely helpless within his own end zone.

After Hunter set sparks to the kindling, Marcus Sherels dumped a tub of gasoline on the Vikings’ comeback effort, going 54 yards untouched to the end zone late in the second quarter. Bradford then thrust Minnesota into the lead with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Rudolph shortly after halftime, which was more than enough for his defense.

Griffen produced a hat trick of sacks, Harrison Smith netted himself a quarterback takedown while causing the Carolina quarterback fits all afternoon — also dropped a sure-fire pick-six — and Linval Joseph, Brian Robison and Anthony Barr also attended the Vikings party in the Panthers’ backfield.

Tom Johnson added one of the more comical interceptions of the season while Waynes and Newman forced turnovers in a more sincere fashion.

2. WEEK 5 vs. HOUSTON TEXANS

ESPN Headline: “Vikings stay unbeaten with easy 31-13 victory over Texans”

The Vikings’ 28-point win during Week 17 may have been their greatest margin of victory in 2016, but toppling the Houston Texans at U.S. Bank Stadium during Week 5 was definitely the most convincing triumph of the season.

Minnesota, as each of us fondly recalls, entered the inaugural day game at its new stadium on an absolute roll. Bradford and Co. did not mess around in punching their 5-0 ticket either, as Adam Thielen torched pretty much the entire Houston secondary — primarily veteran stud Johnathan Joseph — for a 36-yard touchdown not even five minutes into the game. Asiata padded Minnesota’s early advantage with one of his trademark “just a regular guy” touchdowns, and the Vikings were effectively off to the races.

Brock Osweiler, who, in fairness, was attempting to work through some “throwing the ball” issues, could not have been less effective early during the game (and by early, I mean for the first 60 minutes). Bradford kept marching the Vikings offense up-and-down the field while Osweiler kept marching his boys over to the sideline and back to his safe spot on the hip of coach Bill O’Brien in order to avoid the wrath of prolific non-factor and Osweiler casualty, wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.

Sherels, feeling left out of all the fun, housed a Shane Lechler punt to open up a 24-Rip lead for the Vikings midway through the second quarter. Patterson turned in his first touchdown reception of the year during the fourth quarter, and, apparently feeling generous, Zimmer allowed Hopkins to catch the definition of a garbage time touchdown against his backup secondary with fewer than four minutes remaining in the game.

Bradford surpassed 70-percent completion yet again, tossed a pair of touchdowns and netted over 270 passing yards in arguably his best statistical performance in a Vikings uniform while Thielen busted loose for 127 receiving yards in what would prove to be foreshadowing of a breakout season for No. 19.

Blair Walsh even connected on all four of his extra-point tries and a 19-yard field goal, as Minnesota unleashed a picture-perfect rendition of God’s fifth warning to the Egyptian Pharoah, a start-to-finish plague leaving all of Houston’s livestock lifeless by the time the clock struck triple zeros.

1. WEEK 2 vs. GREEN BAY PACKERS

ESPN Headline: “Bradford leads Vikings over Packers 17-14 in Minnesota debut”

I’ve put plenty of thought into the ordering of these rankings throughout the 2016 Top-5 series, but I had the No. 1 spot for this particular list written in Sharpie two months ago. As far as Vikings regular-season wins go, it really does not get much better than the 17-14 Week 2 victory over the Packers (ew) in U.S. Bank Stadium’s rookie debut.

Bradford, having landed in Minnesota less than two weeks prior and been introduced to the human existence of his No. 2 wide receiver shortly thereafter, stepped up to the plate for his Vikings debut in potentially the most important non-postseason matchup in recent team history. Facing a near-universal expectation that he would join the painfully long list of putrid Vikings quarterback debuts throughout history, Bradford instead electrified a sold-out stadium with pinpoint accuracy, timely completions, seemingly life-long chemistry with stud wide receiver Stefon Diggs and a pair of six-point strikes to propel Minnesota to victory.

Jordy Nelson’s early touchdown had to inspire a sense of dread across Vikings Territory, but Bradford did not let the wave of purple fanatics in attendance for his first opportunity to earn their trust, as he marked the beginning of what certainly has the appearance of a beautiful partnership with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Rudolph during the second quarter.

With Zimmer giving Aaron Rodgers (yuck) all he can handle via a collection of one-of-a-kind defensive looks, variations in coverage and countless blitz packages, the man in charge of replacing potentially the most popular and universally beloved Vikings of my lifetime, Teddy Bridgewater, connected with Diggs time and time again.

The second-year fifth-round out of Maryland exploded into the national lens with the help of his new signal-caller, packing 182 receiving yards into nine receptions and — what proved to be — a game-winning 25-yard touchdown catch late in the third quarter.

Minnesota’s defensive line continued to wreck havoc on — what the lovely combination of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman are always sure to reiterate is — the best pass-blocking offensive line in the NFL, totaling five sacks of Green Bay’s (ew) highly-regarded pocket manipulator throughout the evening, with Rodgers (yuck) being forced to attend blind dates with convicted third-degree quarterback harassers Joseph, Hunter, Griffen, Robison and Johnson. The most critical pressure of the night, however, came late in the game with the Packers signal-caller rearing up for an expected game-winning drive to crush the hearts of Vikings Territory.

Having abused Waynes quite literally from start-to-finish, Rodgers (yuck) eluded a pass-rusher and, apparently feeling comfortable enough with the second-year corner, fired a 50-50 ball in the general vicinity of a Davante Adams intermediate out-route. Having seemingly read enough criticism of everything from his performance to him literally not being Marcus Peters, Waynes stepped in front of the Rodgers (yuck) toss to record the greatest regular-season interception in Vikings franchise history (as far as I am concerned, that is).

The game came to a close shortly thereafter, with Bradford and Co. celebrating a 3-point victory over one of four teams still contending for a Super Bowl title. And, despite all the doubts, all the criticism and all the completely uncalled for personal shots from Twitter Eggs, two (extremely) unlikely heroes thrust Minnesota to a 1-0 record against the Green Bay (ew) in games played at their new home.

And, I believe I can speak for all of us when I say, we are forever thankful for your service on September 18, 2016, Mr. Bradford and Mr. Waynes, as the record will forever show that not only were the Vikings victorious in their inaugural U.S. Bank Stadium matchup, but the Packers (ew) were epic losers, too.

Others Considered: Week 1 at Tennessee Titans; Week 9 vs. Detroit Lions; Week 13 vs. Dallas Cowboys; Week 14 at Jacksonville Jaguars.

Vote for the team performance that impressed you the most from the 2016 season. And make sure to comment below if your choice isn’t listed in the poll as well as your own Top-5 team performances rankings!

 

NFL Film Clips courtesy of NFL Game Pass; Statistics courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference; Performances courtesy of Minnesota Vikings.

Share: