Questions Asked and Answered by the 2021 Minnesota Vikings
Kirby O'Connor
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The Minnesota Vikings entered the 2021 NFL season as an unknown. A revamped defense, completely new special teams battery, and a retooled offensive line meant that the Vikings had large unknowns in all three phases of the game. Essentially, nobody knew how the team would perform.
Largely, we still don’t despite being seven weeks deep into the season. Sitting at a perfect .500 win percentage, Minnesota is still in control of their own destiny. However, they can’t seem to get out of their own way, and their only convincing game of the season (either good or bad) came as a 13 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.
So, what questions have the Vikings answered this season, and what questions still remain?
How would Minnesota’s defense bounce back from the worst year under Mike Zimmer?
The 2020 season is one that Mike Zimmer and company would largely like to forget. Despite being a defensive minded head coach, Zimmer’s Vikings finished 29th overall in scoring defense. For a defensive crew that has historically kept the team afloat, it was a large reversal of roles as the offense had to carry the team to their mediocre 7-9 finish.
So far in 2021, the defense has mostly responded. After the first two weeks where the team was beaten down by their own offensive line in Cincinnati and gave up 34 points to the best team in Arizona and indeed the NFL, (Both games that the team still could have, or should have won.) the Vikings defense has been generally stout.
Over their last four games, the Vikings have only surrendered 76 total points for an average of 19 points per game. That number becomes even more attractive when you consider that 7 of those points came from a blocked punt.
The Vikings defense has not been as elite as they have been under Zimmer’s watchful eye, and have looked very pedestrian at times. However, they are in the top half of the league in scoring (14th) and yards allowed (16th). In today’s NFL, that’s about all you can ask for.
Has Minnesota’s Offense actually improved?
As I alluded to before, the Vikings 2020 offense drug the entire team to a bad 7-9. So far, the offense can take credit for most of the team’s success, but it shoulders a ton of the blame for their 3-3 record. Despite good stats and being a top five team in terms of yardage, the offensive unit has looked downright lethargic and at times putrid so far this season.
Many fans and writers alike have pointed to the offense’s inability to play to their strengths. We know Dalvin Cook is an excellent running back, but the Vikings have two of the league’s premier targets on the outside in Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson. They have even found their new third option in sophomore KJ Osborn who had a walk off touchdown to seal the win in Carolina.
However, it seems that Mike Zimmer, or perhaps Klint Kubiak, just don’t know how to let the offense put the gas pedal down and go. The Vikings offense is playing their best when Kirk Cousins is trying desperately to win ball games this season. That’s because it’s the only time that they step outside of this weird “ground control” mentality that has led the team to far too many three and outs.
A couple weeks ago, Vikings fans let the team know that they were sick of the conservative mindset by booing them running out the end of the first half against the Lions. The Vikings are a ridiculously bad 38-10 in points given up vs points scored in the last two minutes of the first half this season. That is despite the number of possessions being almost evenly split between Minnesota and their opponents in those last two minutes of the first half. (By my count, the Vikings have had the ball for one less possession in the last two minutes of the first half at a split of 9-8.)
The Vikings finally saw the arrival of their first overall pick from the 2021 NFL Draft in Christian Darrisaw a couple weeks ago, and he has appeared to be a large upgrade over longtime swingman Rashod Hill. Along the offensive line is where Minnesota still has the most opportunity for growth with more reps for guys like Darrisaw and possibly even guard Wyatt Davis if he can supplant Oli Udoh on the depth chart.
So far, the Vikings offense has been mostly adequate, if a bit frustrating. In ways, they are better than last season, but are still being held back by a rusty game plan. There is light on the horizon though with this new infusion of talent along the line and Kirk Cousins playing some of the best football of his career.
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Are the Vikings a good team?
This is a question that I see highly debated across many platforms right now. The short answer is, it’s complicated. The long answer is, it’s EXTREMELY complicated.
The 2021 Vikings have, at times, played like one of the best teams in football. Certainly, if not for a blown down by contact call and a missed field goal, we would be talking about this season with much more hope as fans of a 5-1 team.
I am often reminded, by myself and others, of the saying that bad teams find ways to lose games and good teams find ways to win games. Inexplicably, the Vikings have done both this season. They managed to absolutely destroy themselves in Cincinnati, lose by a missed field goal to the best team in the NFL, and go completely stagnant in the Stefanski “revenge game:” At the same time, they found ways to survive both Detroit and Carolina, and have one sound victory against the Seattle Seahawks.
So, it’s not as simple as that old saying. At this point, I’ll wait a few more weeks for Minnesota to see if they can adjust to their missteps. The Vikings on paper have the second hardest remaining schedule in the NFL. They aren’t out by any means, and still have a strong shot at the NFC North title, assuming they don’t get owned by Aaron Rodgers in the two remaining games against Green Bay.
An unsatisfying answer I know, but there it is.
