The Minnesota Vikings had high hopes for the 2018 season, but they didn’t even make the playoffs. A big reason why was because there were key players who didn’t perform up to their usual standards.
When a team is a considered a Super Bowl favorite heading into a season like the Minnesota Vikings were in 2018 and they end up missing the playoffs altogether and barely have a winning record, there are a laundry list of reasons why.
Injuries and penalties could be part of the issue, but sometimes players just have down years. Here’s a list of five members of the Vikings who fell short of expectations, and were very disappointing during the 2018 season.
Honorable Mention:
Eric Kendricks – LB
Looking at Kendricks’ 2018 stat line, one wouldn’t think he’d be on this list. He was basically on par with his previous seasons with his 108 tackles, one sack, and two interceptions.
But something was off with Kendricks in 2018. In year’s prior, there’d be games where the Minnesota linebacker would just completely take over and we didn’t see that happen once in 2018.
Maybe he was injured and he just tried to play through it, who knows? One thing that is certain though is that the Vikings are going to need Kendricks to come back to his old form in 2019, especially if Anthony Barr signs elsewhere.