Vikings Have Tied a Delightful Little Record in 2022

Dustin Baker   |  

Dec 26, 2022

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The Minnesota Vikings tied a delightful little record on Christmas Eve, one most fans wouldn’t have dreamed possible at this time last year.

In a single season, a new coaching staff led by Kevin O’Connell has fundamentally changed the Vikings into comeback merchants. In 2021, Minnesota was 1-7 (.125) when trailing at the start of the 4th Quarter, which was less than ideal. Fast forward to 2022, and the Vikings are 6-3 (.667) in such games, creating a clear and obvious script flip between 2021 and 2022.

And those six comebacks, when behind on the scoreboard to start the 4th Quarter, are now tied for most in NFL history — with two games left on schedule.

Vikings Have Tied Delightful Little Record in 2022

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That’s right. The 2022 Vikings share the record for most 4th Quarter comebacks in a single season — in NFL history. If they achieve one in Week 17 at the Green Bay Packers or in Week 18 at the Chicago Bears, Minnesota will hold the record by itself.

Here are the numbers:

If the 4th Quarter Comebacks feel new — at least at this blistering pace — the feeling is vindicated. The 2022 Vikings have as many such comebacks as the previous seven Vikings seasons combined:

But wait. There’s more. Have a look at the drastic discrepancy per win percentage when the Vikings trail at the start of the 4th Quarter from 2015 to 2021 — until now:

In the Super Bowl era, teams that trail at the start of the 4th Quarter win 16.7% of the time. The 2022 Vikings win 66.7% of the time when trailing at the start of the 4th Quarter. There’s a reason your head feels like it spins every Sunday — or Saturday in recent weeks — because this flurry of 4th Quarter heroics isn’t supposed to happen. Minnesota should, per the numbers, have anywhere from one to three 4th Quarter Comebacks per year — if it’s lucky.

Yet, this brand of Vikings is just different. For no good reason, they frequently take naps in the 3rd Quarter, cratering on offense after halftime as if they’re “waiting to get serious” until the game is on the line in the final period. Hell, the defense generally does the same thing. Minnesota ranks first in the NFL in 4th Quarter points scored and 11th in 4th Quarter points allowed through 15 games. The team is clutch — even if it means it performed poorly in the 3rd Quarter to “make it that way.”

So, against the Packers and Bears in the next two weeks — you just know those games will go down to the wire because that is 2022 Vikings football — if Minnesota pulls a 4th Quarter rabbit out of a hat for the seventh time this season, it’ll set the NFL record.

After that, the critical part is effectuating the policy in the postseason. If the team does not, it will own a fancy regular season mark that could take years to top.

Minnesota is a 3.5-point underdog traveling to Green Bay this weekend.

Also Read:
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Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).