One Single Stat from 2021 Explains Why Vikings Aren’t Far Away from Playoffs
In 2021, the Minnesota Vikings were the first team in NFL history to employ a quarterback who threw 30+ touchdowns (Kirk Cousins), a wide receiver with 1,500+ receiving yards (Justin Jefferson), and a running back with 1,000+ rushing yards (Dalvin Cook) – while the team failed to post a winning record for the season.
Instead, the Vikings set the NFL record for the most points allowed by a defense in the final two minutes of the 2nd Quarter, a record held by – you guessed it – the 2020 Vikings. Mike Zimmer’s team also ranked as third-worst in the NFL for yards allowed to opponents. Minnesota ranked 24th in points allowed and tallied the fifth-most defensive penalty yards leaguewide last year.
The Vikings offense wasn’t always dazzling either, even though Cousins, Jefferson, and Cook posted the mighty numbers. Too often, Minnesota offense would become vanilla, risk-averse, and boring. So, don’t consider this analysis some exalt of Vikings offensive supremacy. Plenty can be fixed for the Vikings offense, too.
And the franchise plans to do just that – repair the offensive playcalling in 2022, evidenced by the hiring of Kevin O’Connell, the Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator from 2021. The Rams won a Super Bowl last month, downing the Cincinnati Bengals in a rather entertaining game.
O’Connell is blessed with the roster pieces on offense for the Vikings to thrive in September – if O’Connell’s boss, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, keeps the offensive depth chart intact. Proof is in the pudding from the tweet above, illustrating the Vikings had to be legendarily bad on defense – like the final two minutes of First Half stat – to screw up such gaudy offensive accolades by Cousins, Jefferson, and Cook. It is no accident the Vikings were the first organization to compile those individual stats on offense and then squander a winning record. Football is multifaceted, not just quarterbacks chucking the ball around in a fantasy football cellphone app. The defense undercut the Vikings chances at the 2021 postseason, chiefly because Zimmer’s defense collapsed at the worst point of games.
Fixing the defense won’t be easy this offseason. Adofo-Mensah has the NFL’s fourth-worst cap situation as of February 27th, needing to restructure, release, or trade players to free up cap space. After that, he must make defensive decisions on Danielle Hunter, who has missed almost 80% of all football games in the last two years. Even if Hunter returns healthy this autumn, Adofo-Mensah needs linebackers, cornerbacks, a safety, and depth players for Ed Donatell’s shopping list. In a video game, obtaining that many players is seamless in a digital offseason. But this is the real world. Realistically, Adofo-Mensah needs about four or more starting defensive players, plus depth behind those men.
The numbers vivify the Vikings proximity to the playoffs. Only the defense stifled a postseason berth in 2021, especially when the playoff field is now seven teams per conference.
If O’Connell can institute modern, innovative playcalling – he better – while Adofo-Mensah aptly rebuilds the defense on the fly, the Vikings can reasonably contend for the playoffs as early as September.
Too, that’s on the backdrop of a division that may or may not have Aaron Rodgers.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. His YouTube Channel, VikesNow, debuts in March 2022. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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