12 Snap Reactions after Vikings Playoff Loss
Each week, we offer a “snap reactions” piece detailing thoughts and analysis after the latest Minnesota Vikings game.
It’s All Over: Snap Reactions to Vikings Playoff Loss
This will be off-the-cuff, a wee bit random, and hopefully insightful.
The Vikings lost in Arizona on Monday night 27-9, a playoff defeat at the feet of the Los Angeles Rams. The season is over.
The next stop is the offseason, which begins effective immediately.
1 — There shouldn’t be any debates about this, but the Sam Darnold era in Minnesota better be a one-hit wonder per team building. The man played like a fringe MVP candidate for 16 games and faceplanted — twice — with trips to the Divisional Round on the line. Darnold’s career isn’t utterly doomed, but he is not trustworthy. The Vikings don’t have time to “run it back” with him and hope his postseason demons are exorcised. Given the chance, he’d probably play great in the regular season again, and then everyone would just have to say prayers before the postseason. It’s not worth it. That takes too much time.
2 — Although the 2000 NFC Championship was a much bigger stage, Rams-Vikings featured an eerily similar aura of ineptitude to that atrocity.
3 — Minnesota also didn’t have a sense of urgency in the 2nd Half when the game, in theory, could’ve been salvaged. Kevin O’Connell must introspect and understand that a swift pace is mandatory when trailing by three scores. That should be elementary.
4 — Generally speaking, most purple fans thought in August that the team would finish 7-10 or 8-9 this season. Then, they showed up in September and resembled a real contender. In the playoffs, Minnesota looked like a four-win team. You can’t make it up.
5 — The Vikings must — and probably will — invest in the offensive line’s interior. The days of skating by with Garrett Bradbury and two mediocre guards have to end if the franchise wants to morph into a Super Bowl contender. A legitimate one, that is.
Teams with 14-3 records that flame out right away in the playoffs don’t do anybody any good.
6 — Minnesota must draft a young running back in April. If it wants to re-sign Aaron Jones — great. But pair him with a hungry runner on an inexpensive contract. O’Connell’s offense is so much more dynamic with a halfback’s help.
7 — Matthew Stafford’s flick of the wrist fumble-turned-incompletion was preposterous. It was a license for every NFL quarterback henceforth to fling the ball with a sack afoot, especially with no intentional grounding called.
8 — For the first time all season, the Vikings didn’t force a turnover on defense or special teams. Of course that streak would end in the most crucial game of the year.
9 — The Rams are an extreme Jekyll and Hyde team. There’s a really decent chance that they play garbage in Philadelphia, making the Vikings’ loss even more inexplicable.
10 — It’s time to unleash J.J. McCarthy and his cheap contract for the next four years — with no dumb quarterback competitions or debates. Let the 21-year-old sink or swim.
11 — Minnesota has the 24th pick in the draft and will likely use it on a cornerback, interior defensive lineman, or interior offensive lineman. If not those spots, then what?
12 — The season, all told, was fun, but two 13+ win seasons in three years with zero playoff dubs is such a buzzkill. The $70 million in offseason cap space looks pretty sexy right about now. Build the trenches.
Rick Spielman Has a Spicy Vikings Take
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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