The Minnesota Vikings achieving a negative point differential as the first teak in the history of the NFL marks it as yet another record that they are not interested in holding. This feat was achieved by winning eight in the first ten games they played during the season.
Some stats achieved in the season are good; some are terrible, while others are just laughable. This Sunday’s Minnesota becoming the first team in the regular season or post season to finish almost 80% of their passes with neither sacks nor turnovers and still manage to lose the game was quite funny.
Previously, teams who could achieve this feat did so with a combined 47 – 0 outcomes in their matches. It comes as quite a shock that this same team that achieved 17 – 0 deficits against Buffalo Bills and 33 – 0 deficits against the Indianapolis Colts could accomplish this.
OF COURSE: The Minnesota #Vikings are the FIRST team in the Super Bowl era to complete 80% of their passes, with NO turnovers and NO sacks AND STILL LOSE!!! 🤮🤬 #SKOL
Previous teams were 47-0! pic.twitter.com/7rideENVNh
— SKOR North – Minnesota Sports (@SKORNorth) January 16, 2023
Vikings 2022 Feats
This season the Vikings have been playing dangerously close against their opponents, and this number is more evidence. While they have been on the losing end twice this season, their losses are much more amplified as they play poorly while they are losing but excellently while winning.
The Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles have been planning to beat the Minnesota Vikings. Considering the Vikings’ loss in the top five games that combined the 54 points, the two teams have perfected the plans to beat the Vikings.
When the Minnesota Vikings brought in Kevin O’Connell as the new head coach in the previous season, they expected him to ring on a fresh offensive take that would allow the quarterback Kirk Cousins to flourish. During the 2022 season, it was quite evident that O’Connell achieved this and elevated the skills of most, if not all, players on the team.
In the 17 games Cousins played during the regular season, he finished with the highest pass attempts at 643. These attempts are recorded not only for Cousins but also for the Vikings. This made the Vikings the ninth team in football history to have four players who got 60 or more receptions during the season.
WR1: He didn't break Calvin Johnson's receiving record, but Justin Jefferson still led the NFL and broke Randy Moss' Minnesota #Vikings record. 🙌✈️ #SKOL pic.twitter.com/7x5pgiaND3
— SKOR North – Minnesota Sports (@SKORNorth) January 10, 2023
Vikings Season Records
This season the Vikings have managed to achieve record after record. They made history with their dramatic victory against the Giants with their 27-24 win. Greg Joseph set a new record in the team’s history when he scored a 61-yard field goal that won the game in its final seconds.
On the other hand, Justin Jefferson broke Randy Moss’ previous record with a 25-yard reception. In 2003, Moss had 1632 yards in the season, a feat that Jefferson nearly topped with just 15 games. Jefferson currently holds 1756 yards remaining with two games to play; this puts him squarely in a position to Carl Johnson’s record on 1964 yards.
This has been Jefferson’s season as he had broken quite several records. He broke Adam Thielen’s record with a tenth 100-yard game. Thielen previously held the record at nine games. His most recent record was 123 receptions upstaging Cris Carter, who has 122 receptions for the team, a feat that also gave the Vikings their winning goal.
T.J. Hockenson set a new record for the franchise with 13 catches in a tight end game, and Joe Senser had set the previous record at 11 in the 1981 match, a tied record with Kyle Rudolphs of 2017.
Hockenson’s addition to the team roaster was a huge success as much as Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s addition.
DAMN: Minnesota #Vikings TE TJ Hockenson was one of BEST damn tight ends in the NFL after arriving in Minnesota! 😎💪🔥 #SKOL pic.twitter.com/SL3wEBBiOi
— SKOR North – Minnesota Sports (@SKORNorth) January 17, 2023
Cousins and O’Connell Deserve Credits
Kirk Cousins, the team’s quarterback, has made waves recently as the player to watch out for. He was kept up while the team was making important strides. In the fourth quarter of the season, the team trailed 13-10, where Cousins tied with Mathew Stafford as the quarterback with the most comebacks.
However, Kevin O’Connell takes the cake. As the head coach, he has already won 12 games, a new high for the franchise and a new first-year head coach. All in all, the team wins and losses, those profound and those not can be attributed to the change in management and roaster.
.@JJettas2 was unreal when the @Vikings beat the Giants in Week 16:
✈️ 12 catches
✈️ 133 yards
✈️ 1 TD
✈️ Broke @RandyMoss' franchise record for single-season receiving yards @NewEraCap | #SKOL pic.twitter.com/rdZ6MqU25h— NFL (@NFL) January 12, 2023
This Season 2022 Minnesota Vikings
This season has been a ride for the Minnesota Vikings, as no other team has won as many one-score games as the Vikings.
They are currently at 11-0 in one-score games, having broken the previous record of 10. We may never be privileged to see a team quite as astounding and perplexing as the 2022 Minnesota Vikings again.
While no one wants to acknowledge the recent record broken, the team will soon be presented with an opportunity to showcase their skills in a win-or-go-home game soon.
Credits on Featured Image: All-Pro Reels, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
.jpg){kind=link}