Why history says the Vikings will be a Super Bowl contender in 2021
A past of angst will lead to a successful season for the Minnesota Vikings in 2021.
The 2017 Minnesota Vikings season has fueled the blind optimism of its fan base for the past few years.
Minnesota’s success that year weathered the perfect storm. From going 13-3 and winning the NFC North, to the “Minneapolis Miracle”, to the Kirk Cousins signing that offseason, it gave the Vikings fan base another reason to spew out that gut-wrenching “next year is finally the year!”
Of course, that giddy optimism ultimately ends with some catastrophic ending to a season that is followed by heartbreak and unhealthy coping mechanisms used by Minnesota fans.
However, grab an umbrella because as history tells us, this might actually be the perfect storm. This could actually be the year the Vikings hold that Vince Lombardi trophy at the end of the season.
In order to win the Super Bowl, Minnesota (obviously) has to make the playoffs first. Luckily, history tells us that this is almost a virtual certainty in 2021.
Since Mike Zimmer became the head coach of the Vikings in 2014, he has never made or missed the playoffs in consecutive years. In the seasons under Zimmer in which Minnesota has missed the playoffs, they followed with double-digit wins the following year.
The Vikings have never finished worse than 7-9 under Zimmer, and before this past season, they had not done so since his first year as the team’s head coach.
That being said, following the worst season in the Zimmer era, Minnesota is poised to have a very successful 2021 campaign.
Looking back to the 2016 season when the Vikings went 8-8, there are some striking similarities between that campaign and this past 2020 season when the team finished 7-9. Similarities which further open the door to the potential success Minnesota may have in 2021, as the disappointing 2016 performance was followed by the franchise’s best season since 1998.
What a few other similarities between the Vikings’ 2016 and 2020 seasons that could lead us to believe they will contend this year?