Can the Vikings win a Super Bowl like the 2012 Ravens?
By Chris Schad
The Supporting Cast
If Cousins were to go on a Flacco-like tear, he would need a strong performance from his supporting cast. Thankfully for Cousins, it seems like his weapons are better than the ones Flacco had during his Super Bowl run.
When Flacco went bonkers, he was relying on a receiving core that was led by Anquan Boldin (65 catches, 921 yards, 4 TD), Torrey Smith (49 catches, 855 yards, 8 TD) and Dennis Pitta (61 catches, 669 yards, 7 TD). In addition, he also had a strong ground game headlined by Ray Rice (1,143 yards, 9 TD rushing) and complemented by Bernard Pierce (532 yards, 1 TD).
On the surface, it’s easy to say that the Vikings have a more dangerous team offensively. Stefon Diggs (88 catches, 915 yards, 6 TD) and Adam Thielen (103 catches, 1,236 yards, 9 TD) have established themselves as one of the best wide receiver duos in the league and Dalvin Cook mirrors the big play ability that Rice had in 2012.
A major difference here is the offensive line. The Ravens offensive line was a key part to their offensive tear with first-round pick Michael Oher on the left side, Matt Birk at center and Marshall Yanda and Kelechi Osemele on the right side.
The Vikings just don’t have that right now, which makes new offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski’s job more of a challenge. If he can figure out how to make the line more effective without the use of screens or repeated three yard passes, this is a unit that can do some damage no matter who they run into.