Some Vikings fans may see the week 2 loss to the Eagles as a sign of no hope for postseason success, but after observing the current seedings and performances of the other NFC teams, Minnesota’s window into the playoffs may look a little wider than first previously thought. The immediate threats currently are the Cowboys, the Packers and the Buccaneers. Minnesota however, seemingly has one of the softest remaining schedules in the league. The question now is, can this team get hot, and are they up for a playoff run at all?
Minnesota of course still needs to correct its own errors, most particularly the defense and the offensive consistency. The defense is leaky at best and the offense has streaks where they’re either perfectly scripted drives ending in a score, or complete messes that force a 3 and out. It’s critical for Minnesota to cover these patches as the playoff race starts soon, and they don’t want to be caught behind due to issues they’re aware of and are attempting to fix. Kirk of course is going to front most of the blame for losses meaning he’s going to have to fix himself from the errors he’s possessed. If the Rams can adjust halfway through a season and win the super bowl, the Vikings can scrap together a new scheme and system that replaces the errors.
In regards to the competition, Minnesota has contenders but none pose immediate threats as of now. Minnesota’s in control of their own destiny and all they have to do is win the “winnable” games. Green Bay is going to remain a thorn in the side throughout the season, and Detroit showed us they aren’t any pushover. Outside the division, the NFC has other teams that have just as many question marks as the Vikings. The Bucs are inconsistent and riddled with injuries, the Cowboys are seemingly in limbo at the moment, and the NFC West still needs to figure itself out first before any contender comes out of there. Minnesota have an opportunity to seize, and regardless of the Eagles standing in the way, Minnesota have to give it their all.
The path to the playoffs is as wide as it was in week 1 in the NFC, and Minnesota finds itself towards the front of the bow of this ship. If they wish to keep this position, it’s going to take good consistent football, and it’ll only happen if the Vikings are up to it. The mistakes and issues aren’t hard to see, and it shouldn’t be hard to fix them, other than the secondary issues. The ball is in Minnesota’s court, let’s see how they play.
