The Minnesota Vikings entered the 2018 NFL season believing that they had unfinished business to take care of. Following a magical 13-3 season that ended with a 38-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game, the Vikings signed former Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins to a three-year, 84-million dollar contract. Minnesota had pushed all of their chips to the middle of the table, and expectations were sky high with their new quarterback.
Things got off to a rocky start to the season, though. A tie in week two against the Green Bay Packers foreshadowed the season. A 425-yard performance by Cousins appeared to show what was to come. Unfortunately, a shaky offensive line began to affect both the running and passing games. As the season wore on, Cousins was visibly shaken and the offense that was carrying the defense at the beginning of the year faltered to the point where offensive coordinator John DeFilippo got canned following their week 14 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Questions linger into the offseason as the future of interim coordinator Kevin Stefanski is up in the air. What will the team do to solidify the offensive line? And can Cousins live up to the lofty expectations that come along with his massive contract that he signed last month? Time will tell, but the Vikings still own a variety of weapons on offense that, when used efficiently, can be lethal. Let’s look back at some of the ups and downs of the 2018 Vikings offense.
Reviewing the 2018 Minnesota Vikings Offense
MVP: Adam Thielen
Everyone knows the backstory on the undrafted Minnesota native receiver, so let’s save some time and cut to the chase. Adam Thielen posted his second consecutive 1,000 yard season and finished with career-highs in receptions (113), yards (1,373), and touchdowns (9). He may have finished the second half of the season with one 100-yard game, but he still remained the brightest spot on a unit that failed as a whole in the second half anyway.
His eight consecutive 100-yard games to start the season set an NFL record. He scored in six straight games at one point. Unfortunately, as the rest of the offense began sputtering, so did he. His fiery side began showing up on highlight shows. His screaming match with Bill Belichick contained a few expletives and his sideline blowup with Cousins in the season finale against the Chicago Bears made some question the relationship between the two, but Thielen downplayed the scuffle afterwards.
Going forward, Thielen appears poised to take over the number one receiving role after another spectacular season. He and Cousins will have to combat the special attention Thielen began receiving as the season grew closer to an end, but the former undrafted wideout has proven time and time again that he can rise to the occasion.
Biggest Disappointment: John DeFilippo
Following the beatdown in last year’s title game, the Eagles’ young, hot quarterbacks coach began receiving offers for various coordinator and head coaching positions. DeFilippo had helped Eagles backup quarterback Nick Foles come in and lead a masterful performance in the NFC Championship and Super Bowl. Perhaps the loss to Philadelphia made the Vikings obsessed with becoming the Eagles. The Vikings bypassed promoting Stefanski, their own quarterbacks’ coach, to offensive coordinator and snagged DeFilippo, hoping he could bring the same magic to Minnesota.
Things didn’t begin so badly as the Vikings offense racked up four 400-yard performances prior to their week 10 bye week. Following that, though, the offense failed to accumulate even 300 yards three of the next four games. A lack of commitment to the run game began to irritate Zimmer. A Sunday night embarrassment to Chicago was the beginning of the end. The Vikings only ran the ball 14 times for 22 yards and put Cousins in a no-win situation against Khalil Mack and the rest of the Bears’ tenacious defense.
The end was there for all to see in week 14 against the Seahawks. The Vikings lost a 21-7 game that was maybe closer than the score should have indicated. Minnesota held Russell Wilson to 72 yards passing but the offense failed to capitalize in a matchup that was within one score most of the game. Unfortunately, the DeFilippo’s lack of commitment to the run game (77 yards) didn’t help things with Zimmer as the offense racked up only 276 yards. An untimely fumble was picked up for a touchdown and the Vikings’ (and DeFilippo’s fate) was sealed. The lack of creativity and failure to protect Cousins from the offensive line were too much and the short-lived success from Stefanski wasn’t enough to get the team into the playoffs.
Biggest Surprise: Brian O’Neill
Rookie offensive tackle Brian O’Neill was drafted in the second round of the draft in April. While his talent was obvious, scouts (and even the Vikings) believed that he was far from a finished product. He sat behind starters Riley Reiff and Rashod Hill as the season began. An injury in week nine against the New Orleans Saints thrust O’Neill into the starting lineup. He filled in admirably and never relinquished the starting job.
His combination of size (6’7″, 297 pounds) and athleticism stood out. He made excellent combo blocks in the running game and was, by far, the best pass blocker on the offensive line. He still has a frame that he can grow into in upcoming years and with that comes the power to compliment his finesse game. Despite years of the front office neglecting the offensive line, the team hit a home run with O’Neill, who could be a candidate to move to left tackle in the upcoming seasons.
The Last Word
The Vikings had a lot of positives in 2018. Unfortunately, they had a lot of rough times. The offensive line gave up 40 sacks and never provided a consistent running game throughout the season. Moving forward, the team has to build the offensive line and find a legitimate third wideout to take pressure off of Thielen and Stefon Diggs. The unit is loaded with talent, but needs more consistency to go along with it. If they can bring that consistency, the Cousins signing could very well pay off in the form of a championship.
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