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The Minnesota Vikings are hoping a Week 18 loss to the Detroit Lions will not derail their season. The Vikings finished the regular season with a 14-3 record and they had designs on earning the top seed in the NFC, gaining a bye week in the Wild Card round and winning the NFC North. However, a 31-9 defeat to the Lions ruined that plan.
Instead, the Vikings are the No. 5 seed in the NFC and will play the Los Angeles Rams Monday night at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona as the game was moved from Los Angeles because of the wildfire devastation in Southern California. Head coach Kevin O'Connell's team clearly has the ability to win multiple playoff games this season and perhaps they could find a way to get to their fifth Super Bowl in team history — but their first since the 1977 season.
It would take a fantastic run by quarterback Sam Darnold, running back Aaron Jones and wide receiver Justin Jefferson to get the Vikings that far. Darnold has been one of the great surprises of the season. He was supposed to be a placeholder quarterback for rookie J.J. McCarthy after six ordinary seasons in the NFL, but plans changed after McCarthy suffered a torn meniscus in his first preseason game.
Darnold became the team's entrenched QB1, and he has produced at a sensational level. Darnold has completed 361 of 545 passes for 4,319 yards with 35 touchdowns and just 12 interceptions. He has also shown he can get away from pressure, as he gained 212 yards on 67 carries and he has scored 1 touchdown.
Vikings offensive line must hold up
Darnold struggled in the Week 18 loss to the Lions with his accuracy and poise, but it was not all his fault. He was under pressure throughout the game as the Vikings offensive line did not hold up its end in the game.
Going into that season finale, it was expected that the Vikings and Lions would engage in a high-scoring game. The Vikings offense had proven itself through 17 weeks and the Lions had the highest scoring team in the league.
The Vikings were facing an injured Detroit defense that had been hammered by the Buffalo Bills and the San Francisco 49ers had also shown that they could move the ball on that unit. Surely the Vikings would not have a problem.
However, from the start of the game, the Detroit front seven put pressure on Darnold because the offensive line did not protect him. There is little doubt that right tackle Brian O'Neill is one of the best at his position in the league, but the Vikings suffered a major loss when left tackle Christian Darrisaw was injured earlier in the year.
The line held up through the majority of the season, but when facing a determined, angry and opportunistic Lions defense, it fell short.
Now that the Vikings are in the postseason, center Garrett Bradbury and the offensive line will face teams that can rush the passer without issue. If the Vikings can get past the Rams in the Wild Card game, the divisional playoff game could prove to be their undoing.
If they can get past that game, they may get another opportunity to take on the Lions. They have already lost two games to Detroit and the offensive line would have to improve dramatically to get past Dan Campbell's team.
Motivation will not be lacking for Vikings
If the Vikings offensive line can hold up at any point in the playoffs, Jones and Jefferson could both have huge days.
Jones was a key part of the Minnesota offense in his first season with the team after a long run with the rival Green Bay Packers. Jones ran for 1,138 yards on 255 carries with 5 touchdowns. He also demonstrated he can make key plays in the passing game as he caught 51 passes for 408 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Jones had a huge postseason effort a year ago as he ran for 118 yards and 3 touchdowns in the Packers' Wild Card win over the Dallas Cowboys and he followed that with a 108-yard effort in Green Bay's near miss against the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional playoff.
Jefferson is looked at as perhaps the best receiver in the NFL, and he caught 103 passes for 1,533 yards and 10 touchdowns during the regular season. Jefferson knows that reputations are made in the postseason, and this is his second chance to show what he can do in the playoffs.
In addition to Jefferson, Darnold will be able to throw the ball to explosive Jordan Addison and tight end T.J. Hockenson. Addison would be the No. 1 receiver on several teams and he caught 63 of 99 targets for 875 yards with 9 touchdowns. Hockenson is an outstanding third-down weapon who came back from an ACL injury suffered late last season. He caught 42 passes for 455 yards and 30 of his catches resulted in first downs.
