Viktor
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- Mar 19, 2019
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Success in any given season is earned, and it is certainly not predicated on what a team did the previous year.
The Vikings know this well, as they have alternated between missing and making the postseason each season since 2014.
Minnesota won division titles in 2015 and 2017 and entered the 2018 season with sky-high expectations, only to go 8-7-1 and miss the dance.
Yet as the 2019 season looms, Sheil Kapadia of The Athletic believes the Vikings will put together a winning season and return to the postseason.
In fact, out of each of the 20 NFL teams who missed out on the playoffs in 2018, Kapadia recently opined that the Vikings have the best chance of doing so.
Kapadia explained how he thinks Minnesota could carve out its playoff path:
[Vikings Head Coach] Mike Zimmer works his magic, Danielle Hunter leads the league in sacks, and the Vikings finish in the top five in defensive efficiency for the third straight season. But it’s the improvement on the other side of the ball that gets them back to the playoffs. [Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Advisor] Gary Kubiak and [Offensive Coordinator] Kevin Stefanski work brilliantly together to maximize Kirk Cousins’ strengths and develop a scheme that masks deficiencies up front. Rookie center Garrett Bradbury looks like a seasoned vet and provides stability on the offensive line while running back Dalvin Cook develops into a multi-dimensional weapon and piles up 1,300 yards from scrimmage.
Zimmer is 47-32-1 with Minnesota as he enters his sixth season at the helm of the Vikings.
And over the past four seasons, the Vikings have 40 wins, the most of any NFC team. That total ranks fourth in the NFL behind New England (50), Kansas City (45) and Pittsburgh (43).
As for the other two NFC North non-playoff teams from 2018, Kapadia had the Packers with the sixth-best chance to make the playoffs, while Detroit was 16th.