Sometimes a team achieves as much as it possibly can — and that sentiment applies perfectly to this year's Vikings.
They won two more regular-season games than a year ago, and as an added bonus pulled a first-round playoff upset at New Orleans. But on Saturday we learned definitively what we probably already knew: This is not a Super Bowl team, rather it's one of a handful of above-average teams a cut below the best.
In times that are increasingly obsessed with all or nothing — championship or bust — it might be tempting to treat this season as a failure. But these Vikings at least properly achieved, if not overachieved.
Now, having said that: There is still ample room for concern and even disappointment, particularly as pertains to the future of this franchise.
Because this level of achievement certainly wasn't the goal or the plan two offseasons ago when the Vikings invested $84 million in quarterback Kirk Cousins after coming up just short of the Super Bowl.
Rather, this has become the reality that has grown around a good but flawed roster. The defense has aged just enough to slip from championship-caliber to playoff-worthy — good enough to stymie a Hall of Fame quarterback like Drew Brees, but not great enough to sustain that while being run over by the 49ers.
The Vikings have made much-needed investments in the offensive line, with picks in the top three rounds each of the past three drafts. But it still isn't nearly good enough to handle top defenses in critical moments, as the 49ers proved in holding Minnesota to just 147 total yards Saturday.
Cousins himself has been stabilizing and has put up strong numbers. When things are clicking and he has time — as he did for enough of the game against New Orleans — he is an asset. But he relies on a supporting cast to elevate him, not vice-versa.