2021: Welcome to an Odd Year for Mike Zimmer

Under head coach Mike Zimmer, the Minnesota Vikings inarguably alternate successful seasons with mediocre campaigns. It began with his hire in 2014, a season that he was applauded for stimulating the team into defensive respectability. During Leslie Frazier’s final season as boss, 2013, Minnesota finished 32nd in the NFL for points allowed – dead last. A draft, free-agent class, head coach, and one year transformed the Vikings into the NFL’s 11th-best defense via points allowed. Indeed, Mike Zimmer can coach defense.

But not one defiled by injuries as is the case amid the 2020 season, at least not to his established archetype.

Zimmer improved the team’s record from 7-9 during his rookie season to 11-5 the year after, 2015. This was the season that Blair Walsh extinguished the Vikings extended playoff hopes with an unthinkable field goal folly. From that moment on, Minnesota has been a very good team — every other year. It’s rather bizarre.

This pandemic season followed suit. Early on, the Vikings were deprived of resources such as Danielle Hunter, Michael Pierce, and Anthony Barr – stalwarts of the Zimmer defense. Resultantly, Minnesota’s offense has conducted the heavy lifting to the tune of sixth-best in the business from a yards-gained perspective. In that same metric, the Vikings defense ranks 27th.

On a calendar, this was an “even” season. 2021, of course, is an odd year numerically. And that’s when Minnesota really cranks out the prosperity. Other than strange events like Teddy Bridgewater suffering a catastrophic injury in 2016, the team’s offensive line coach passing away in 2018, and the aforementioned 2020 injuries – there is no football-related rhyme or reason for the odd-even paradox.

Yet, it is real.

Wins and Losses in Alternating Years

The discrepancy is flagrant. In even seasons under Zimmer, the Vikings are 29-33-1 (.468). Minnesota wins 47% of games in seasons that end in even numbers (since 2014). That makes the team a slightly below-average franchise during that extrapolation. Take what you know about the Cincinnati Bengals (Andy Dalton, A.J. Green, Marvin Lewis) from the last decade and pretend that is the even-year Vikings. Cincinnati has an overall win percentage of .471 since 2010. During even seasons, the Mike Zimmer-Vikings become the Marvin Lewis-Bengals.

Then, everything if flips on its head in odd seasons – for the better. Zimmer’s Vikings are a blistering 34-14 (.708) in seasons that end in odd numbers. The team wins 71% of its games.

Just as we instructed you to perceive the even-year Vikings as the Lewis-Bengals – the odd-year Vikings morph into something between the New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers from a regular-season wins standpoint. Since 2010, the Patriots have a win percentage of .749, and the Packers check-in at .657. Incidentally, these are the two best franchises in the league during last decade for win percentage.

Pro Bowl Selections and All-Pro Nods

The odd-even erraticism is also flushed out in individual recognition. Four even-numbered seasons have occurred on Zimmer’s watch. 12 times during those four years, Vikings players have been tapped for the Pro Bowl (or three per even season). That is not a feat to scoff at it, but it pales in comparison to odd-year accolades.

In three odd seasons with Zimmer at the helm, 20 (!!) Vikings personnel have been plucked for Pro Bowl recognition. That’s about seven per odd-numbered year. If the Vikings played every season like an odd season while showcasing seven Pro Bowlers annually, the team would have a Lombardi trophy by now. But – nope. The franchise is mired in this “alternating” enigma.

The same goes for All-Pro selections. One player for the Vikings was recognized as an All-Pro in an even-numbered season – Cordarrelle Patterson in 2016 for his special teams achievements. Four Vikings players have been deemed All-Pro in 2015, 2017, 2019 (Adrian Peterson, Harrison Smith, Xavier Rhodes, and Eric Kendricks).

Playoff Victories

Blair Walsh’s missed kicked seemingly started this the odd-even trend. The Vikings should have won a playoff game in 2015 had Walsh converted a 27-yard field goal. He did not, and the Vikings embarrassingly fell to the Seattle Seahawks. The other two playoff wins during the Zimmer era took place in 2017 and 2019 – events that sent the New Orleans Saints home to their living rooms for the remainder of the postseason.

Zimmer has not won a playoff game in an even-numbered season. Hell, the Vikings do not even reach the postseason in even years. This season confirmed the trend. Minnesota was mathematically eliminated by the Saints on Christmas day in what some New Orleans citizens classify as poetic justice.

If the seesawing pattern continues for Minnesota in the 2021 season, the future is extremely optimistic. Use 2015, 2017, 2019 as proof. Cumulatively, the Vikings in odd seasons are essentially a subtle notch below a New England Patriots team per win percentage, albeit a Super Bowl-less version.

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