5 Keys to the Vikings Success in 2023

The Minnesota Vikings have not returned as division champions in 14 years.

The last time he achieved this feat was between 2008 and 2009.

5 keys to the Vikings’ success in 2023

They will find another breakthrough in the division this September, which will be head coach Kevin O’Connell’s second year on the job. Also, consider these five keys to the Vikings’ success in 2023, ranked in ascending order of importance (number 1 = most important).

5. Beat some teams easily

Minnesota has not defeated any team by 17 or more points since 2019. Yes, four years.

while nothing Wrong Along with winning close game after close game, good football teams find a way to demolish one or two — or three or four or five — teams. The Vikings posted an 11-0 record in one-score games last year, setting an NFL record — which is great — but the club must do both. That is – win close games but also step on some esophagus.

Sooner or later, every predictable win backfires, like the Minnesota playoff game in January.

4. Aggressive Line Correction

Most Vikings fans were excited in 2022 because the offensive line didn’t look completely atrocious; it only seemed a little cruel Some Of time

Well, it’s time for an offensive-first coach to craft a feel-good offensive line, not a line that’s just serviceable. The route, according to Vikings offseason actions, was returning to a similar situation to the year before.

Christian Darrishaw, Ezra Cleveland, Garrett Bradbury, Ed Ingram and Brian O’Neal will need to turn the team’s situation from good to good.

3. Cousins ​​even better in second year with KOC

Speaking of continuity, quarterback Kirk Cousins ​​will have the same playcaller in back-to-back seasons since 2016. The offensive coordinators next to Cousins ​​always seem to get promoted or move on, but it’s null and void this round as O’Connell calls the plays.

continuity kirk Could be a funny sample, and if the Vikings want to win the Super Bowl for the first time, Cousins ​​will have to bowl out. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

2. Jefferson Being Jefferson

If something happens to Justin Jefferson, the franchise won’t end. But it would seriously undermine any true Super Bowl aspirations.

The face of the Vikings franchise just turned 24 years old and it should have even more dynamic drama to showcase in 2024 and beyond. It’s not like that seem Like he could be much better – check out his stats from 2020 to 2022 — but now is the time when NFL playmakers typically turn on the gas as dominant athletes.

Minnesota, like last year, will rely on Jefferson’s dependability and superstardom.

1. Below Average Defense

The Vikings were 30th in points allowed and 31st in yards a season earlier. Typically, teams do not go from worst to best in a single offseason. Therefore, Minnesota needed newcomer defensive coordinator Brian Flores to get the defense up to respectable status.

We already know that the Vikings can win 13 games with a weak defense; Imagine a ceiling with someone ranked at or around 16th in points per point allowed or DVOA in the NFL.

As fans have a habit of asking offensive lines, just don’t be awful On defense – like the New York Giants game that ended the 2022 season.

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dustin baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube channel, vikesnow, He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinney, which airs every Wednesday raun sah And Sal Masala, His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. List of guilty pleasures: Peanut butter ice cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Bassett Hounds, and The Doors (band).

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