After a hard-fought victory against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 15, the Minnesota Vikings have a 13-2 record and are one step closer to securing the No. 1 seed in the NFC for the playoffs. The Vikings will now face off against two familiar foes, and two of the best teams in the NFC, as they play the Green Bay Packers this weekend, and finish off the season against the Detroit Lions.
If Minnesota wins their next two games, they lock up the No. 1 seed in the NFC, which will give them a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs until the Super Bowl, if they make it that far.
Going up against one of the stronger teams in the NFC, the Vikings were able to win this past weekend, but it was a close match from start to finish. If Minnesota wants to continue their winning streak, they'll need to locate what issues they had against Seattle and fix them before they face off against two even stronger opponents.
With that being said, what are some problems that the Vikings need to fix before they play the rival Packers?
Problems the Minnesota Vikings must fix before Week 17 vs. the Green Bay Packers
1. Interior Offensive Line Struggles
This probably sounds like a broken record by now, but the Vikings' interior offensive line is a major issue for the team. While the tackle duo of Cam Robinson and Brian O'Neill has been relatively solid this season, the interior of the line continues to let the offense down every week.
Is it realistic for the Vikings to find a solution for their interior struggles before they play the Packers? Probably not, but Minnesota needs to keep thinking of ways to help out the guys up the middle if they want to be a serious contender.
The reasonable solution will come this offseason when Minnesota will certainly need to look for interior help either through the draft or through free agency. For now, the Vikings need to find some way to help out on the interior, because their play has stalled the offense throughout the season.
If it weren't for a facemask call on a Byron Murphy II sack late in the matchup this past weekend, the interior offensive line may have let the game slip away for Minnesota.
2. Play a complete game for four quarters
As the Vikings get set to play the Packers, fans do not need a reminder of what happened the first time these teams played this season.
It appeared as though another heartbreaking loss was on the horizon back in September after Minnesota built up an impressive lead. This is an issue that has plagued the Vikings throughout the season, as it has seemed as though the team at some points looks unstoppable, but then at other points, they look lackluster and without fire.
If Minnesota can give their fans one last Christmas gift before the new year, it will be a full game against the Packers where they don't have any inexcusable drop-off. Minnesota showed earlier this season that they can handle Green Bay, while also simultaneously showing that they could fall apart rapidly at any moment.
To further prove that the Vikings are a contending team, playing a solid four quarters of football this weekend against a talented opponent will go a long way.
3. Stop dropping big bodies into coverage
Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores has been incredible this season, there is no denying that fact. With that being said, there should never be a moment where someone like Harrison Phillips or Jihad Ward drops into pass coverage.
We get that Flores likes to throw exotic looks at the opposing offense to throw them off, but sometimes you need to realize that you're getting too exotic.
Players like Dallas Turner, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Josh Mettellus can play different spots around the field, which was exhibited this past weekend with a Turner interception. Players like Phillips? Not so much.
Phillips has a specific job and he does it quite well, and dropping into coverage is not that job. We appreciate the work that Flores is doing as a defensive coordinator, but he needs a bit of a reality check after Vikings fans everywhere were left wondering why a 300-pound man was in coverage.