The Minnesota Vikings improved on their 7-9 record from the previous season, clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2012, and won their first NFC North title since 2009.
There are many aspects of the NFL that can be broken down in to 4 quarters, beyond the obvious 4 quarters of a game. The NFL year has the offseason, preseason, regular season, and post season The offseason has free agency, the NFL Draft, OTAs, and training camp. The preseason consists of 4 games, that after each game the fates of several players are decided, and several other players make compelling cases to make the final 52.
The regular season breaks evenly into 4 quarters, and after each quarter you have more of an understanding of the positioning of your team as it pertains to post season aspirations, expectations, and a sense of what’s working and not working in all phases of the game. The post season has Wild Card Weekend, Divisional Weekend, Championship Weekend, and of course Super Bowl Sunday.
I missed the first 3 quarters of this offseason but will start with a review, a preview, and training camp. My game break downs will come 24-48 hours after the conclusion of Minnesota Vikings games. I like to use that time frame to remove the emotion, whether it’s over excitement from a win or extreme disappointment from a loss, and provide a more logical, reasonable assessment of the game.
2015 Season in Review
- Home Field: TCF Bank Stadium
- Head Coach: Mike Zimmer
- Record: 11-5 (1st NFC North)
- Final Game: 10-9 Loss to the Seattle Seahawks (Wild Card Playoff)
First Quarter
@49ers, vs Lions, vs Chargers, @ Broncos
Record 2-2
Coming into this season I really had expected the Vikings to realistically open 3-1, with 4-0 being possible however unlikely knowing you are going up against Peyton Manning. The thing I couldn’t predict was Minnesota not even showing up at Levi Stadium to face the 49ers. It couldn’t have started off more exciting with Andrew Sendejo blocking San Francisco’s opening field goal attempt turning the ball up field and giving the Vikings great field position. That happened to be pretty much the last highlight. Adrian Peterson didn’t touch the ball on the first possession and the Minnesota Vikings first scoring opportunity started the season the same way it was going to end, on a missed Blair Walsh field goal. The other similarity to the last game of the season, the only score was on a field goal.
The next 2 games is where the Vikings ship really came in. Behind Minnesota’s stellar defense, who, as an amusing side note only allowed Detroit and San Diego to score(minimally) in even quarters only, an economical Teddy Bridgewater (27-42 for 274 yards and a TD), and a rejuvenated Adrian Peterson (49 rushes for 260 yards and 2 TDs) led the charge and easily dismantled 2 teams that are lacking an identity.
To say I was surprised by how well the Minnesota Vikings did against Denver would be an understatement. The game was tied with under 4 minutes to go in the 4th quarter. The Vikings were driving, down by 3, almost on the Vikings side of the field, nearing field goal range, 33 seconds remaining, when Teddy Bridgewater was strip sacked by TJ Ward (Denver’s 7th sack of the day), ending what was looking like a probable come back drive.
Second Quarter
vs Chiefs, @ Lions, @ Bears, vs Rams
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- Predicting what the Vikings will do in the 2023 NFL Draft based on 2022
Record 4-0
The game against the Kansas City Chiefs was mainly won by stellar defense and the foot of Blair Walsh. A pedestrian 60 rushing yards for Adrian Peterson, a touchdown pass to Kyle Rudolph and a stellar 7 reception, 129 receiving yard game by breakout star Stefon Diggs was enough to bury the Chiefs until a feeble 4th quarter comeback attempt was easily subdued.
The Lions game was a back and forth shootout in the first half, but Minnesota was again buoyed by the defense and the difference in the game was shutting the Lions down in the second half only giving up 2 points on a safety by punter Jeff Locke in the 4th quarter.
Probably one of the most exciting games of 2015 was the game against the Bears in Chicago. Down by 7 in the 4th quarter with 1:49 remaining Stefon Diggs capped a 7 play 84 yard drive with a 40 yard reception from Teddy Bridgewater and the Vikings managed to get in to field goal position for Blair Walsh to knock down a 36 yard field goal as time expired.
I don’t consider the St Louis game one of the most exciting because I felt we lacked any offensive rhythm. Adrian Peterson and Teddy Bridgewater both scored touchdowns rushing but again the heroes were the defense and Blair Walsh who connected on a 40 yard field goal in overtime to secure our 4th straight victory.
Next: Vikings game-by-game 2016 season preview
Halfway point of the season record: 6-2
At the halfway point in the season, the opening loss to San Francisco was and a hopeful optimism was starting to finally settle in. The quality of the opponents was a little low, but in the NFL wins are wins. The Minnesota Vikings were handling business at home and on the road with the only 2 first half losses coming on the road. I had expected us to open 6-2 actually, but it wasn’t San Francisco that I thought we could potentially lose to. The Vikings seem to find ways to lose at Soldier Field, and in what was looking like year 2 of a rebuilding plan I had to leave that as a calculated possibility.
To be continued…