Dec 9, 2021; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) celebrates during the second quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Yeah, the Vikings beat the Steelers, but …
Do not let them fool you.
Do. Not. Be. Fooled.
They are not about to make a playoff run.
Don’t for a nanosecond believe that Thursday night’s 36-28 win over Pittsburgh means the Vikings have turned a corner and will salvage the season.
If you snapped off the TV when the Vikings led 29-0, you missed one of the great near-collapses in franchise history.
In the first half, you woulda thought Mike Zimmer was back to being a defensive guru. And that the offense had settled into juggernaut mode.
Nope..Zimm’s no longer a guru.
And nope.The offense can’t bury a defense.
The Vikings nearly blew it Thursday night, as a team devoid of killer instinct is apt to do.
This game with the Steelers was a microcosm of the Vikings’ entire season. Just when you think they are on a roll, they soil themselves.
Over these final four games of the regular season, they will do what they always do. They will tease you, then break your heart and crush your soul.
Time and again, this bunch has hiked hopes, then folded like a cheap bingo chair, then hiked hopes, then folded, then rinse and repeat.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”918087″ player=”26279″ title=”T.J.%20Watt%20as%20the%20MVP%20of%20the%20NFL%203%20reasons%20why%20it%20makes%20perfect%20sense” duration=”156″ description=”T.J. Watt has been the most valuable player to his team in the NFL through 13 weeks. There’s absolutely no question about it.The Pittsburgh Steelers are a shell of their former selves. Their veteran quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, has been more of a deterrent to success than anything else. Despite this, Pittsburgh sits at 6-5-1 and could very well earn a playoff spot.That’s one of the many reasons Watt should come away with NFL MVP this season. Here’s a look at why.” uploaddate=”2021-12-10″ thumbnailurl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/19437/thumb/918003_s_1639096994935.jpg” contentUrl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/streaming/918003/918003.m3u8″]
They traveled this road very recently.
They got fans all excited after winning a couple of games in a row.
They were 5-5 after beating the Chargers and Packers.
That win over the Pack was going to springboard them.
Then they went to the Bay Area and lost to the 49ers, leaving them at 5-6.
That sucked but getting back to .500 wouldn’t be much of a problem.
They were going to Detroit to have a statement win and position themselves as a serious postseason contender. Remember that?
Of course you do. It was less than a week ago.
Instead of kicking ass, they effed up. Big time. They went down in the books as the team that let the only winless team in the league get its first win.
Now they’re back to being one game south of .500 at 6-7.
Mathematically, they’re in the playoff hunt.
Realistically, they will fail yet again and show yet again that, no matter how many opportunities they have, they cannot handle success.
To hijack one of Denny Green’s memorable lines, they are who we thought they were.
They will lose to the Packers and Rams and maybe one to the Bears and finish with at least nine losses and Mike Zimmer will get fired and hopefully the new coach, whoever he is, will be the guy who gets them out of this hellish win-some-lose-more cycle and get them back into a Super Bowl after a nearly half-century absence.
Good things can happen for this franchise. Just not now, just not this season.
Bob Sansevere hosts “The BS Show,” a daily podcast that also is broadcast on radio stations in Duluth (WDSM), Hibbing (WNMT), St. Cloud (WBHR) and Worthington (The RadioWorks Network).