It is rare for an NFL season to play out the way it did for the Vikings in 2022, when they went an record-breaking 11-0 in one-score games while cruising to an NFC North title.
But I would argue that it is almost as rare for an NFL season to play out the way it has so far for the Vikings in 2023: A series of twists and turns that have left them with exactly the record and opportunity they seem to deserve with three games left in the season.
The Vikings have earned their 7-7 mark, for better and worse. They have overcome numerous obstacles — most notably a 1-4 start and long-term injuries to Justin Jefferson and Kirk Cousins — to win in unexpected fashion, while they have suffered numerous head-scratching defeats as a result of shortcomings, self-inflicted mistakes or both.
Everyone has contributed some good and some bad, not always in equal measure but adding up to an equal record. Looming large among them is head coach Kevin O'Connell, as La Velle E. Neal III and I discussed on Thursday's Daily Delivery podcast.
The Vikings have lost three games they almost certainly should have won (home against the Chargers, home against the Bears and at Cincinnati) and they have won three games in surprising fashion (home against mighty San Francisco, at Atlanta when Josh Dobbs led an improbable comeback and at Las Vegas when they scored just three points).
They at times have looked like they should be tanking for a high draft pick in 2024 and at others like they might never lose again. Their playoff hopes have been almost completely trashed, then almost completely revived.
And now: They have three games left, all of them against division opponents. The predictive Upshot playoff model gives Minnesota a 51% chance of reaching the postseason, and the stakes are clear:
*Win none of them and they will miss the playoffs.
