The confetti from Super Bowl LIX had barely floated to the ground before the demand to get a jump on the future began.
RandBall: Super Bowl showed again the talent gap the Vikings face
The Vikings had a terrific and unexpected 14-3 season. After watching the Eagles' 40-22 dismantling of the Chiefs, though, it was obvious the Purple has a ways to go to reach true contender status and it probably won’t be achieved in only one offseason.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
February 10, 2025 at 6:47PM
The Philadelphia Eagles dominated the Kansas City Chiefs in a way that only became obvious in hindsight, which is to say that few if any could have predicted Sunday’s blowout.
That means there will be copycats and demands for immediate lessons learned as other NFL teams that fancy themselves contenders in 2025 prepare for the scouting combine, then free agency, then the draft, then the chance to do 17 games all over again.
In a story posted minutes after the 40-22 score went final, ESPN breathlessly declared: It’s never too early to kick off our 2025 NFL Power Rankings.
The site curiously installed Kansas City at the top of those power rankings, perhaps forgetting to make some last-minute edits while the Chiefs failed to make it past midfield and the Eagles' lead swelled to 34-0. Sure, don’t judge a season on one game. But ESPN’s own data-based evidence suggests the Chiefs weren’t even one of the five best teams in the NFL this year, let alone next.
All 32 NFL teams had their offseason priorities described in three words in addition to being ranked. It’s hard to quibble with the taut description of the Vikings to “sign free agents,” nor is it unreasonable to suggest (as Patrick Reusse and I did on Monday’s Daily Delivery podcast) beefing up the interior of the offensive and defensive lines to more closely emulate the dominant Eagles.
But I would amend the Vikings' offseason plan to this, if again I was constrained to three words: “Don’t be fooled.”
Before looking at power rankings — always subjective, seldom memorable, usually harmless fun — I like to guess where Minnesota teams are going to be slotted in. My hunch was right on the nose in this case, as ESPN and I both think of the Vikings as the 10th-best team right now heading into next season.
The three other teams who won at least 14 regular-season games (Kansas City, Detroit and Philadelphia) are all in the top four.
So why the shared relative pessimism about the Vikings?
One, they overachieved in 2024. We can agree they earned their 14 wins while also acknowledging that they doubled their expected win total and will also have a hard time duplicating it in 2025.
This is not 2022, a 13-4 season that felt like smoke and mirrors. But the Vikings would be wise to treat this offseason as they did the one that followed that season.
Hence, don’t be fooled.
Don’t try to take a shortcut, thinking that you have arrived at contender status a year or two early. There was a talent deficit, particularly in the trenches, that was lurking for much of the season and was underscored in the Super Bowl.
Free agent deals can make up some of that gap, but eventually draft picks — of which the Vikings have precious few in 2025 — need to play a much bigger role.
Commit to J.J. McCarthy in 2025 instead of running it back with Sam Darnold (something it seems like the Vikings thankfully agree with).
Spend but don’t overcommit in free agency.
Treat 2024 like it was a step in the process, not as if it brought you to the doorstep of arrival.
Be comfortable being the 10th-best team in 2025 because even better years are yet to come.
Analysis: How the scheme that got Ed Donatell fired by the Vikings won the Eagles a Super Bowl
Players trump schemes. The Eagles used nine front-four players Sunday. Eight of them were drafted by Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman. Six of them are 25 or younger and were drafted in the past three years.
