3 Vikings Flaws That Were Exposed in the Super Bowl
Josh Frey
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Super Bowl LVII took place on Sunday night, featuring two of the best, most complete teams in the entire NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles fighting for the Lombardi Trophy. In the end, of course, the Chiefs emerged victorious, but throughout the evening it became clear that these two teams were far superior to the Minnesota Vikings, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. Here are 3 Vikings flaws that, in my mind, were exposed during Super Bowl LVII.
Offensive Line
This may seem like a strange place to start considering that the 2022 Vikings offensive line was probably the best that it’s been in multiple years. However, Super Bowl LVII and the offensive lines that both the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles were able to run out on the field showcased just how far the Vikings are from being elite, at least as a whole, in that category.
The Philadelphia Eagles defensive front was famous for being able to wreak havoc on opposing quarterbacks throughout the 2022 season. They recorded 70 regular season sacks, 15 more than any other team.
In Week 2 against the Vikings, they hit Kirk Cousins 7 times during the game, and while only 2 sacks went towards their season total, it was clear that they had Minnesota’s offense rattled throughout that game.
Meanwhile, during the Super Bowl, Patrick Mahomes was sacked zero times despite coming into the game with a bum ankle. Then on the other side, how many times did we see the Philadelphia Eagles offensive line absolutely obliterate Kansas City’s defensive front (that also was among the best of the NFL in many categories) with QB sneaks? These two offensive lines were considered elite throughout the season, and they showcased why that was the case on Sunday night.
Then you have the Vikings offensive line. Remember what happened against Buffalo when the Vikings tried to QB sneak for what could have been a game-winning touchdown? Sure, Minnesota won that game in the end, but I think we’d be talking about this offensive line in a bit of a different light if that failed QB sneak had lost them that game.
Obviously, Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill are a great tandem at offensive tackle, so the Vikings have their future set at two of the five positions. However, those interior three spots are far from perfect. Perhaps the Vikings can still reach another level with Ezra Cleveland/Garrett Bradbury/Ed Ingram, but until they do, the Vikings will have a harder time competing with these top teams.
Quarterback
Purely in terms of arm talent, Kirk Cousins remains one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL. This is not going to be an argument against that. Throughout the 2022 season, Cousins showed that he can make just about any throw in the league. That is, when he has everything going right for him.
For Cousins to be at his best, he needs an offensive line to keep the pocket clean because he just doesn’t possess the type of skillset that both Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes showcased on Sunday: mobility. These two quarterbacks, at the very least, always made the other team’s defense think about the fact that they could take off and run at any moment.
Hurts broke the Super Bowl QB rushing record by rushing for 70 yards and 3(!) touchdowns. On the other side, Mahomes rushed for 44 yards, including a 26-yard scamper.
Again, Mahomes had a high ankle sprain coming into this game, and he was still able to impact the game with his legs. Perhaps that’s largely a credit to Kansas City’s training staff, but I can’t imagine Kirk Cousins doing the things that either one of these QBs did last night on a consistent basis even with two healthy ankles.
Running Back
I think last night sealed that Isiah Pacheco is one of my personal favorite players in the NFL. The Chiefs running back is lightning in a bottle every time he touches the ball, and to use Kyle Brandt’s famous term, his highlight reel is chock-full of angry runs.
Dalvin Cook used to be able to do that for the Vikings, but even just based on the eye-test, there’s a clear gap between where he is right now compared to someone like Pacheco. He averaged a career-low 4.4 yards per carry in 2022, and in the Vikings Wild Card loss to the New York Giants, he simply was nowhere to be found when Minnesota needed an explosive run.
Perhaps this is also further indictment on the Vikings offensive line just as much as it is on Cook’s decreased production, but one thing is certain, for the Vikings to truly find themselves in a position to win the Super Bowl, they still need to have a running back that can come through in big spots.
The Vikings have young players waiting in the wings in Ty Chandler and Kene Nwangwu, but we simply haven’t seen enough out of them to know for certain whether or not they can be that type of player.
Final Thoughts
In all, it’s easy to point to the Minnesota Vikings and say that they need to improve their defense this offseason. That’s a given. They ranked among the worst teams in the NFL almost across the board on that side of the ball in 2022. However, I am of the mindset that this Super Bowl pointed out that the Vikings issues don’t necessarily stop there. Minnesota could also benefit from getting better on offense this offseason.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. He also earned minors in History, Human Biology, and Journalism. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys marathon training, playing video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. For more of his opinions, check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.
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