NFL Media’s Bucky Brooks recently included the Minnesota Vikings in his list of NFL teams who are his top sleepers heading into the 2019 season.
For some reason, the Minnesota Vikings seem to achieve success whenever they aren’t thought of as a much of a contender for the upcoming season. Just go back to the Vikings’ 1998 and 2017 campaigns to see when they essentially came out of nowhere to have one of the best teams in the NFL.
Could this be the case for Minnesota again in 2019?
Some believe that the Vikings have a decent chance to compete for a championship during the upcoming season. But Minnesota is certainly not among the top contenders to win the Super Bowl in 2019.
Although, maybe the Vikings’ upcoming season could be the latest example in which they are able to fly under the radar and emerge as one of the top teams in the league. At least one person thinks it’s possible.
NFL Media’s Bucky Brooks recently revealed five teams from around the NFL who he believes are this year’s top sleepers. Of Brooks’ five choices, one happens to play their home games in the Twin Cities.
"“Don’t let a disappointing 2018 campaign overshadow the potential of the sleeping giant residing in the Twin Cities.The Vikings should feel good about (Kirk Cousins’) chances of performing like a top-10 quarterback in an offense being overseen by coordinator Kevin Stefanski and advisor Gary Kubiak. Defensively, the Vikings have more than enough playmakers to win nip-and-tuck battles that are traditionally won with the defense on the field. If the Vikings can learn how to play complementary ball in each of the game’s three phases, (Mike) Zimmer’s team could be standing in the winner’s circle at the end of the season.”"
The other remaining four teams on the list include the Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Minnesota certainly has the talent to put together a successful season in 2019. They just have to figure out how to avoid a bunch of the mental mistakes that cost them a few games last year.
The Vikings do at least have a good opportunity to get off to a nice start in 2019 as six of their first eight matchups are against teams who failed to make the playoffs last season.
If Minnesota can get around five or six wins during the first half of their schedule, then they should have a pretty good shot at getting back into the postseason.