GREEN BAY, WIS. – Vikings fans soon might have to make a few difficult choices.
Souhan: Vikings’ ambitions? They’re big, and not so easy.
The Vikings are 4-0 during a tough portion of their schedule. Their fans can dare to dream about a trip to New Orleans in February.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
September 29, 2024 at 11:52PM
Jambalaya or étouffée?
Emeril’s or Commander’s Palace?
Preservation Hall or Tipitina’s?
During the first quarter-or-so of the Vikings’ 2024 season, they incorporated seemingly dozens of new players, faced their toughest stretch of schedule, and emerged looking like a realistic candidate to travel to New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX.
After taking a 28-point lead and white-knuckling a 31-29 victory over the Packers on Sunday, the Vikings are 4-0, having defeated three 2023 playoff teams, including one that played in the Super Bowl.
In four weeks, the Vikings bandwagon has transformed from a wooden cart with oblong wheels led by a wheezing donkey into a bright red Ferrari.
Start with quarterback Sam Darnold, who threw three more touchdown passes on Sunday and is looking like a Best-Case Keenum.
The Vikings have a history of thriving with an unprepossessing backup quarterback. Keenum took over for Sam Bradford and led them to a 13-3 record in 2017; Randall Cunningham took over for Brad Johnson and led them to a 15-1 record in 1998.
This is not a Lambeau Leap of logic: The Vikings have earned the right to dream.
They have won by battering a lesser opponent (the Giants), blasting one of the NFL’s best teams and franchises (the 49ers), overwhelming perhaps the league’s most promising team (Houston) and winning on the road against their primary rival and a team still considered a championship threat (the Packers).
Sunday, head coach Kevin O’Connell and defensive coordinator Brian Flores drew up game plans that had the Packers reeling until the fourth quarter.
Linebacker Blake Cashman is one of a half-dozen new Vikings who quickly exceeded expectations. Sunday, he looked like he had cloned himself, he showed up in so many different places, while finishing with a team-high 11 tackles, one tackle for loss, two quarterback hits and a pass defended.
He grew up in Minnesota and played for a championship program in Eden Prairie before joining the Gophers. After stints with the Jets and Texans, he signed with his hometown team.
Thrilled to win at Lambeau as a Viking? Cashman shrugged off the easy story line.
“Of course, it feels great,” he said. ”But, you know, I’m a competitor. The guys in this locker room are competitors. And believe me, we’re more than what we did out there today. We believe we can finish that game better, play cleaner. Because, you know, it was crazy …
“No complaints out of me — 4-0 is a very special spot to be in. We understand there’s a lot of challenges ahead of us, but this is a good game to clean up what we need to clean up.”
If the season ended today, the Vikings would clean up in the category of NFL awards.
O’Connell would be Coach of the Year. Flores would be Assistant Coach of the Year. Darnold would be Comeback Player of the Year. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah would be Executive of the Year.
Vikings fans know that these kinds of feel-good stories rarely end well because of … math. Only two teams advance to the Super Bowl, and only one team emerges from that game without feeling like their souls have been diced.
Math and history shouldn’t dissuade anyone from enjoying this team.
O’Connell seems to be the rare football coach who allows himself to openly enjoy success, and he’s proving that treating players well is an ideal strategy in the year 2024.
The players constantly praise their coaches and the organization.
This might sound strange when discussing an undefeated team, but this team could get better, soon.
Jordan Addison returned from injury to produce 79 yards and two touchdowns on four touches. Star tight end T.J. Hockenson is due back in October.
No one knows where and when this season will end, but if you want to start making reservations in New Orleans, I’d recommend jambalaya, Commander’s Palace and Preservation Hall, and googling which joints stay open late on Feb. 9.
Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold is completing more passes more often for more touchdowns than he ever has. “What we’re trying to get from Sam is to play the best football of his career,” coach Kevin O'Connell said.
