Vikings’ Downturn Has Spooky Parallels
Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images.
The Minnesota Vikings have lost back-to-back games after a sweet 5-0 start.
Vikings’ Downturn Has Spooky Parallels
The club is very much in the mix to contend and reach the postseason, but the recent losses have dampened the atmosphere — even if the team was only supposed to win six or seven games in 2024 when the season began.
Meanwhile, the recent downturn is all too familiar and spooky, drawing parallels to another Vikings campaign, the 2016 edition. Here’s why.
1. The 5-0 Start
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In 2016, the Vikings started 5-0, electrifying fans with unforeseen performance led by a blustery defense and efficient quarterback play.
Minnesota ranked near the top of all credible power rankings, and Super Bowl odds popped off the charts — just like this year. Then, however, the bottom fell out, and Minnesota had a 5-5 record by mid-November.
Of course, there’s no guarantee or evidence at all that the Vikings will lose their next three, but they did precisely that eight years ago. That brand of Mike Zimmer-led Vikings later missed the playoffs altogether.
2. The Week 6 Bye
Matt Krohn-Imagn Images.
And in that same season, Minnesota enjoyed a Week 6 bye, the same as this year.
Nobody anywhere envisioned a total faceplant after the bye and, in fact, teams are supposed to heal up and improve after a bye. That’s the point.
Yet, the 2016 and 2024 squads floundered following the bye — as if it were a disadvantageous event.
3. A Phenomenal Defense … That Regressed
Minnesota Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores addressed the media from the TCO Performance Center on October 16th, 2024. Flores was hired in February 2023 to take over for Ed Donatell after Minnesota finished 30th in points allowed.
In fairness to the 2016 club, that version of Vikings did not quite regress defensively like the 2024 bunch. But it did top forcing turnovers, its calling card during the 2016’s first five games.
This has happened to Minnesota:
Vikings Defense,
Per EPA/Play,
NFL Ranking in 2024:
Week 1-6: 1st
Week 7-8: 24th
The defense has simply fallen off. It’s no longer elite. The Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams skewered it.
4. QBs Named “Sam”
Minnesota quarterback Sam Darnold (14) escapes from Green Bay Packers defensive end Kingsley Enagbare (55) on Sunday, September 29, 2024, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. The Vikings won the game, 31-29. Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin.
An ornamental parallel here, the 2016 Vikings were led by Sam Bradford, who hoped to reclaim his career in Minnesota after mediocre stops in Los Angeles (then St. Louis) and Philadelphia.
The 2024 Vikings are led by Sam Darnold, who hopes to reclaim his career in Minnesota after mediocre stops in New York (Jets), Carolina, and San Francisco.
This one is just weird.
5. A 3rd-Year Head Coach
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Minnesota’s 2016 collapse occurred on Mike Zimmer’s watch, a third-year head coach at the time. Don’t look now — current skipper Kevin O’Connell is in his third year, too.
Thankfully for O’Connell’s sake, Minnesota’s schedule lightens in the next month, on deck to play the Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tennesse Titans. If the team departs that three-game stretch with a record worse than 2-1, it will seem like a 2016 sequel is in full effect.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
