The problems of a first-place football coming off its fourth embarrassing loss of the season seem unimportant after Monday night’s tragedy involving Buffalo Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin. Watching a young man collapse after making a tackle and knowing that his life and livelihood remain in the balance makes things like playoff seeding and rebuilding a team’s confidence seem unimportant.
But that is the situation that head coach Kevin O’Connell faces as the Vikings prepare for the playoffs in two weeks. At the start of their Week 17 game against the Green Bay Packers, there seemed a legitimate opportunity to have a shot at the top seed in the NFC playoffs, but by the time they had been polished off by a 41-17 margin, those dreams were dashed.
Instead of the No. 1 or No. 2 seed, the Vikings are all but locked in at No. 3. The San Francisco 49ers have the tiebreaker edge because of a better conference record (9-2 vs. 7-4), and unless the Niners lose at home to the last-place Arizona Cardinals (4-12, with 6 consecutive losses) and the Vikings beat the Bears in Chicago, the Vikings will go into the postseason as the No. 3 seed.
What does this mean for their playoff chances? They will play the New York Giants in the Wild-Card round. The Giants clinched their first playoff appearance since the 2016 season with their 38-10 win over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 17 – the same team the Vikings needed to rally from 33 points down to beat.
The following week, the Vikings edged the Giants 27-24 when Greg Joseph kicked a 61-yard field goal as time expired. So that makes it clear – the Vikings should have an easy win over the Giants.
Yeah, right. The Vikings never have easy wins against anybody, and confidence is not exactly soaring after taking their beating from the Packers. The Vikings may have explosive players in Justin Jefferson, Kirk Cousins, T.J. Hockenson, Dalvin Cook and Adam Thielen, but the offensive line is a major question mark following injuries to Brian O’Neill, Austin Schlottmann and Garrett Bradbury.
The running game has turned into a major problem, one that O’Connell has acknowledged. “We’ve got to find a way to get our running game going,” O’Connell said. "The scheme just needs to be sound, and we’ve got to be able to get hats on hats and get movement and try to give Dalvin (Cook) and Alexander (Mattison) space to get open early in football games.”
The defense has been an issue all season, as this unit has been taken apart by the Eagles, Cowboys, Lions and Packers. It’s not like defensive coordinator Ed Donatell worked his magic in the 12 victories, either. After a good showing in Week 1 against Green Bay, the Vikings gave up 22 or more points in all but two of their next 15 games.
It’s not all Donatell’s fault, as the Vikings have had one of the worst defensive teams in the league since 2020, but he was brought in to make changes. The only thing that has been noticeable is that he has made the defense more passive and easier for opposing quarterbacks and offensive coordinators to read.
Donatell tried to change philosophies – at O’Connell’s urging – shortly after the Vikings dropped a 34-24 decision to the Lions. While there were some signs of life, the Vikings defense was just was what Giants quarterback Daniel Jones needed.
Jones had the best game of his career against Minnesota, completing 30 of 42 passes for 334 yards. Prior to that game, Jones was known as a quarterback who could make plays with his running ability, but was too inconsistent with his passing.
He followed up brilliantly against the Colts, completing 19 of 24 passes for 177 yards and 2 touchdowns and running for 91 yards and 2 more scores. Suddenly, Jones is a quarterback on the rise and he gets to face the Minnesota defense again. The Giants will have no fear when they return to U.S. Bank Stadium for their rematch.
Can Donatell come up with an improved game plan? Can Danielle Hunter and Za’Darius Smith provide a dominating pass rush? Will Patrick Peterson and Harrison Smith tighten things up in the secondary?
These are the questions that the Vikings must answer to advance in the playoffs. They can win at least one playoff game if they fire on all cylinders and get at least some improvement from the defense.
But can they go any further than that. Are they a threat to beat the 49ers or the Eagles?
At this point, it is very unlikely. There are too many injuries on the offensive line and too many holes on the defense.
The boy genius O’Connell may have built a family atmosphere and a winning attitude in the locker room, but it’s just not enough. He needs to become a miracle worker at this point.
