The Vikings can look like the worst team in the NFL and the best team in the NFL — sometimes in the same game, as we saw during Saturday's absurd comeback victory from a 33-0 deficit over the Colts.
Vikings in midst of rare season: Extremely fun with no strings attached
No matter how this season ends, there have already been enough memories to shape the narrative for years to come.
December 20, 2022 at 5:38PM
The sum total should leave the Vikings somewhere in the middle. By almost ever statistical margin, most importantly a season point differential of plus-2, the Vikings are an average team.
The sheer audacity of their 11-3 record, including now a 10-0 mark in games decided by eight points or fewer, has given this season a rare quality: The ability to appreciate it for what it is without fretting (at least not too much) about what might or might not happen in the future.
It's a good time with no strings attached, which I talked about on Tuesday's Daily Delivery podcast.
If the Vikings ultimately fall short of the Super Bowl, which is likely just based on math, the end will be disappointing. But I submit that this season feels different from any other recent Vikings year of similar arc.
Consider the last four trips to the NFC title game:
*2017: That year had the same sheen of unexpected success and outrageous fortune, but there was the built-in pressure of trying to get to the Super Bowl at U.S. Bank Stadium. When the Vikings came up a game short after a blowout loss to the Eagles — just one week after the Minneapolis Miracle — it felt like destiny had been denied.
*2009: The Vikings were all-in with Brett Favre, he played at a supremely high level, and there was the inherent recognition this could be their one best chance to win a Super Bowl for a long time. The manner of ultimate defeat only added to the disappointment.
*2000: The shock of losing the NFC title game 41-0 set the franchise back for years.
*1998: Another team of destiny denied, a 15-1 season ultimately remembered most for how it ended.
The 2022 version of the Vikings was supposed to be mediocre and has lived up to that billing except when games matter the absolute most. They've flirted enough with losing while pulling off wins that nothing that happens in the playoffs — a wild card round loss or a deep run — should be surprising.
It's the unique season of unexpected success that can — or at least should — just be enjoyed for what it is.
When he was hired after the disastrous 2016 season to reshape the Twins, Derek Falvey brought a reputation for identifying and developing pitching talent. It took a while, but the pipeline we were promised is now materializing.
