CHICAGO — When describing the strange and scintillating odyssey of this 2022 Minnesota Vikings season, the Week 18 matchup against the Chicago Bears is unlikely to be the first topic of conversation.
Years from now, if you remember the ins and outs of Sunday’s 29-13 Vikings victory, you are definitely a hardcore fan. If you do not, you will be wholeheartedly understood.
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Here are some of the highlights: Quarterback Kirk Cousins completed 17 of 20 passes for 225 yards and a touchdown, receiver K.J. Osborn caught five passes for 117 yards, and corner Duke Shelley picked off Bears quarterback Tim Boyle.
If you recall these intricacies decades from now, bravo. If you lose track of this game in the backdrop of the much larger picture, that is to be expected. Sunday’s preseason-like showdown at sunny Soldier Field served as a fairly nondescript end to an enthralling 13-4 regular season.
Now, the playoffs are here. The Vikings are slotted into the No. 3 seed and will face the New York Giants at U.S. Bank Stadium next weekend in an NFC wild-card game.
“Our 13th win is not something I take for granted at all,” first-year head coach Kevin O’Connell said afterward. “Now, hopefully, we can have our best week of preparation and put together our best week of the season.”
That the Vikings are even in this position — from both a record and seeding standpoint — is notable in the context of the franchise-altering moves made this offseason. The Vikings hired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and then O’Connell, infusing the organization with a new perspective and positive energy.
Minnesota also chose to retain the core of its roster, which had been able to play with anyone but struggled to get over the hump in one-score games. This year’s Vikings, however, flipped the script, winning 11 one-score games, an NFL record.
But many remain unsold on the Vikings’ potential in the postseason. Citing their lackluster point differential (they finished the season minus-3), their last-second wins on missed field goals, fumbled snaps and 61-yard field goals, and the team’s analytical profile, negativity permeates many of the “expert” narratives surrounding O’Connell’s bunch.
They’re frauds! They got lucky! They’ll be an easy out in the playoffs!
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The Vikings are well aware of those comments. Blowout losses to the Cowboys at home and on the road against Green Bay have allowed these narratives to persist.
Now, though, the Vikings control their destiny. Depending on what they accomplish this week and going forward, they can dictate how this team will be remembered.
“The real season starts now,” cornerback Patrick Peterson said Sunday. “That 18-week season is pretty much makeup. Now, it’s time to go out and play some complementary football. Every snap matters. Every second on the clock matters. We have to be dialed in.”
In the locker room after the game, receiver Adam Thielen chatted with a couple of locker mates about the playoffs. Osborn listened intently. So did Justin Jefferson. Then it dawned on Thielen: Neither Osborn nor Jefferson has played in the postseason.
The poetic part about that is how important No. 18 has been to this particular ride. On Sunday, he secured four passes for 38 yards, topping 1,800 yards on the season and amassing 128 catches. Both lead the NFL.
“Three years in, he’s not only run it back (each year),” Cousins said, “but he’s been even better. I’m excited to see what he can do in playoff football when the lights get even brighter.”
In recent weeks, Thielen said, defenses have adapted to Jefferson’s versatility. His ability to run go-balls forces opposing defenses to cloud his side of the field with a safety. His route-running prowess means cornerbacks try to press and jam him at the line of scrimmage. If there is one thing this Vikings offense will rely on, it’s the experience of the strategies they’ve had to counteract.
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Early in the season, for example, the Detroit Lions played physically against Jefferson. He returned a week later and separated easily from Marshon Lattimore of the Saints. After Minnesota’s bye week, the Patriots doubled Jefferson frequently. Cousins’ trust in Jefferson grew and resulted in deep balls that paid off. The Packers tested the Vikings last week with more physicality, further preparing the Vikings for the types of challenges that may arise.
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Minnesota’s offensive line is also a major piece of the puzzle. Without right tackle Brian O’Neill, who suffered a partially torn Achilles in Green Bay, and potentially missing their first- and second-string centers (Garrett Bradbury and Austin Schlottmann), the Vikings will have a tall task in slowing down some of the most vaunted pass-rush units in the NFC.
There is also the struggling run game. This season, Vikings running backs have only totaled 1.28 yards per carry before contact on average, which ranks 26th in the NFL.
Defensively, the Vikings appear to be mostly healthy. Veteran safety Harrison Smith missed Sunday’s game with knee soreness, and edge rusher Za’Darius Smith was absent due to a personal matter, but O’Connell expects both to play next weekend.
Though Ed Donatell’s unit has at times allowed swaths of passing yards to opposing offenses, the Vikings have altered their approach in the last month. Before Week 15, Minnesota never played man coverage on more than 25 percent of the snaps in a game. Since Week 15, it has done that twice.
The Vikings are also blitzing more. All of their six most blitz-happy games have occurred since Week 10.
Another notable change? With cornerback Cam Dantzler absent due to an ankle injury, the Vikings have thrust Shelley, a former practice-squad player, into the mix. That Shelley has held his own, breaking up passes and sticking to the rules of the defense in coverage, is one of the reasons this defense feels as if it can hold its own when it matters.
“The confidence that he’s been playing with the last few weeks has made us that much better on the back end,” Peterson said.
Before Sunday’s game, Peterson walked up to Shelley, the 5-foot-9 player the Vikings picked up off of waivers at the end of August. The Bears had cut him.
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With Shelley back at Soldier Field against his former team, his teammate called the shot.
“It’s the last game of the season,” Peterson told him. “It’s only right. The story is written for you. Go get your pick against your old team.”
Indeed, that story was written. Shelley snatched the ball from the sky and afterward placed it down on the Bears logo in the middle of the field. The scene became another small chapter in an exhilarating tale that may only be beginning.
(Top photo of Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
