It’s been three years since the Minnesota Vikings advanced to the playoffs and forty-six since their last Super Bowl appearance. Although the team has had back-to-back losing seasons, the fact that they were just a single game behind the Philadephia Eagles for the final playoff berth, just means they are far closer to possibly grabbing a Wild Card berth than they are playing on Sunday, February 12, 2023.
Looking at the NFC, the Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the LA Rams appear as front runners to win their respective conferences, while the Green Bay Packers are always a favorite to win the NFC North, even with the loss of Devante Adams. The revamped and motivated Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles will likely snag two of the three Wild Card slots, leaving the Vikings, New Orleans Saints, and San Francisco 49ers to battle it out for the final playoff slot.
The Vegas Prediction
Depending on which sportsbook you use, Vegas has the Vikings falling behind the Packers in the NFC North, but clearly ahead of the Lions and Bears. ClutchBuzz has Green Bay favored to win the division at -185, while Minnesota comes in at +250 to win the title.
When it comes to the NFC Championship, the Vikings are in the middle of the pack at +1800, behind the Cardinals and the New Orleans Saints. Currently, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lead the odds, with +350. As for the odds of winning the Vince Lombardi trophy, ClutchBuzz has the team sitting at +3000 right now, with the Buffalo Bills being the outright winners’ favorites (+650).
A new season means new power rankings.
See where the Vikings stack up heading into the home opener.
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 6, 2022
Coaching Staff
Coming off of an 8-9 season the Vikings retooled their front office, firing GM Rick Spielman and head coach Mike Zimmer, replacing them with former Cleveland Browns Vice President of Football Operations Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Rams offensive coordinator, now first-time head coach, Kevin O’Connell. With a lengthy resume of being an offensive and quarterback coach, the Vikings are hoping that O’Connell will help the team close out winnable games. If anything, a change from the “culture of fear” approach that Zimmer installed is a step in the right direction for Vikings players and their franchise.
Last season the team went 6-8 in their fourteen games that were lost by a single possession. The Vikings also overhauled their offensive and defensive coordinators, letting go of Klint Kubiak, Andre Patterson, and Adam Zimmer, replacing them with Wes Phillips, and Ed Donatell.
Donatell, who has spent thirty-one seasons in the NFL, will likely flip the Vikings’ 4-3 defense into his preferred 3-4. Whether or not this turns out positive or not will remain to be seen as it will be a work in progress throughout the season for a number of players who will likely have to play a new position.
New #Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell has 12 seasons of NFL experience (5 as a player, 7 as a coach).
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) February 16, 2022
Defensive Corp
Last season the Vikings ranked among the five worst teams in the NFL in four major categories, overall yards allowed (both rushing and passing) and first downs allowed. However, with the free agent additions of Harrison Phillips (Buffalo Bills), Za’Darius Smith (Packers), and Jordan Hicks (Cardinals), the team will have some experienced talent at specific spots. Add in a healthy Danielle Hunter, who missed most of the past two seasons with injuries, and the Vikings defense, which ranked 23rd in points allowed with 25.1 per game, is bound to get better. Let’s face it, when a team does a complete overhaul of their defensive coaching staff, the only direction for the team to go is up, as last season they were a total disappointment.
Three years removed from being named a First-Team All-Pro, middle linebacker Eric Kendricks could be motivated to return to an elite level under the Vikings’ new defensive strategy, while eight-time Pro-Bowl and three-time All-Pro cornerback Patrick Peterson will probably not return to the elite level he played at while he was a member of the Cardinals for ten years, but with Donatell’s new defensive playbook, he should improve on his mediocre numbers from his first season in Minnesota.
I was grateful my partners at @sleepnumber asked me to surprise this local military family. We helped give them a bedroom makeover, a new 360 smart bed and a @vikings gameday experience! Looking forward to having Jordan home safe next year after his deployment to enjoy it. #ad pic.twitter.com/KQDT85rkEp
— Eric Kendricks (@erickendricks6) November 18, 2021
Look for second-year Camryn Bynum and rookie Lewis Cine to battle for minutes as the Vikings’ starting free safety or possibly play together alongside Harrison Smith should Donatell implement the three safety defense that was tinkered with during training camp and the preseason.
If the Vikings can improve their forced turnover total (24) from last season, which placed them among the top half of the league, it will certainly help improve a troubled defense. Considering that this is one of Donatell’s focal points, look for the Vikings’ defense to take advantage of every opportunity they can to knock the ball free from opposing ball carriers.
Offensive Attack
The Vikings will likely improve on last season’s middle-of-the-pack offensive production of 25 points per game. Unlike the previous regime, O’Connell’s offense isn’t focused on just the running game, which means that the opposition will have more options to worry about.
O’Connell will have some fun with the Minnesota Vikings’ offense this season, especially with talents like Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen. Although he is only in his third season, Jefferson is considered by many to be among the league’s top receivers. In his first two seasons, Jefferson recorded over 3,000 receiving yards, the only player in league history to do so. Thielen, the Vikings’ second option at wide receiver is looking to return to his Pro-Bowl form after three seasons impacted by injuries.
Running back Dalvin Cook, who was limited to thirteen games last season, still posted numbers that would be considered great for most running backs in the NFL, but average for the three-time Pro-Bowl star. If Cook is able to remain healthy for the entire season, he could once again lead the league in all rushing categories.
💜 @Vikings @NFL pic.twitter.com/ZFSSmHi9no
— Dalvin “4️⃣” Cook (@dalvincook) February 5, 2022
Entering his fifth season with the Vikings and eleventh overall, three-time Pro-Bowl quarterback Kirk Cousins returns to pilot Minnesota’s offense. Last year Cousins ranked fifteenth in the league’s QBR and will probably sit in a similar spot at the end of this season. What you see is what you get with Cousins. He’s not going to be the star of the team, but he isn’t going to hurt you much as well.
One of the knocks against Cousins has been his inability to win the big games but with O’Connell’s playbook and an improved offensive line and now armed with a new $35 million deal for this season, Cousins will have a lofty set of financial expectations to live up to. Considering that Nick Mullens is the second option, the Vikings need Cousins to have another Pro-Bowl-worthy season. Over the course of his four seasons in the NFL, Mullens has a 5-12 record, totaling just twenty-six touchdowns and throwing twenty-two interceptions. Not exactly numbers that scream “winner” if Cousins were to miss any time.
Special Teams
The Vikings’ special teams unit should be equal to, if not better than last season. Greg Joseph finished last season hitting 90% on extra points and shade under 87% on field goals. It’s not unrealistic to expect the same this season. Ryan Wright and Jordan Berry will battle for the punter position, but preseason play tends to lean in favor of Wright getting most of the action.
Kene Nwangwu and Jalen Reagor will return to their familiar roles as kick and punt returners. Nwangwu, who played college football at the Iowa State Cyclones, finished last season ranked thirteenth in overall kick return yardage, while Reagor, who suited up for the Eagles during his first two seasons, finished ninth overall in punt return yardage.
Minnesota’s special teams ranked in the top half of the NFL last season, however, with a number of new faces and the new coaching staff, it remains to be seen whether they will remain the same, improve or decline this season.
OH MY GOD KENE NWANGWU pic.twitter.com/ar5FBaZQ7j
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) November 28, 2021
Rookies
The Vikings selected ten players in the 2022 NFL Draft, beginning with Cine as the thirty-second pick and ending with Nick Muse as the 227th pick. Of the ten players, Cine, Andrew Booth Jr., Ed Ingram, and Brian Asamoah are the most likely to see major minutes this season.
While the team managed to address many of their depth needs in the draft, the other six rookies will find limited minutes in 2022.
Our Muse@NickMuse5 pic.twitter.com/FytvdvRJbr
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) May 1, 2022
Schedule
Early season oddsmakers have the Minnesota Vikings as favorites in a dozen games thanks to their twentieth-ranked strength of schedule. After being underdogs in their first two games, including their home opener against the Packers, the Vikings are predicted to have an advantage for three straight home games (technically they are the home team in their battle against the Saints in London, England).
In nine of their final eleven games, the Vikings will likely either make or break their season as they play winnable games against the Cardinals, Washington Commanders, Cowboys, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Detroit Lions, Indianapolis Colts, New York Giants and the Chicago Bears.
Now we know what's in front of us.#Skol
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) May 13, 2022
Our Season Prediction
As stated earlier, the Vikings have all the pieces in place to have a better record than last season. With the Packers favored to take the NFC North title, Minnesota has as good a chance as anyone else in the conference to claim a wild card berth.
Building off a season-ending victory over the Chicago Bears, fans in Minnesota have a right to be excited about 2022. A regular season record of 11-6 is not out of the question.
Regular season grind.#Skol
📷: https://t.co/AaM19nAoMQ pic.twitter.com/HW8nI980P4
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 5, 2022
Credits Featured Image: All-Pro Reels on Flickr
