Neal: Relax, Vikings fans, it’s going to be fine

Pull up a chair.

Better yet, pull up a sofa.

It’s time to process, Vikings fans. Relax. Decompress. Work through all the feelings you are going through after watching your team get smoked 31-9 at Detroit. Because you have to be at your best Monday when The Purple head to Tinseltown and face the Rams in the wild-card round. And you won’t be at your best if you approach the game using Vikings history as a guide.

How can I sense your despair? I felt it Monday when I was sipping coffee while reading at a local restaurant. A gentleman, whom I did not recognize, sat down next to me, turned my way and blurted out “Vikings,” with an expletive preceding it.

It’s not time for the here-we-go-again mindset. Not after a 14-3 season that far exceeded all expectations. There were times during the season when the Vikings were considered the best team in football. They have not, all of a sudden, become trash. They had six players named to the Pro Bowl. Trash teams aren’t rewarded like that.

So, we need to accelerate through the five stages of the grief process, arrive at the meaning of it all and get right in time to set up a possible rematch at Ford Field in two weeks. I am providing reasons why you should come out on the other side of this feeling better about your squad.

Game 272 of the NFL season sure felt like a playoff game. The hype. Two teams with 14 wins. What was at stake. From a league standpoint, it was no better way to transition to the postseason. But the Vikings were not eliminated on Sunday.

They lost. Convincingly. It ended a nine-game winning streak that began when Breck alum and “Good Morning Football” host Jamie Erdahl blew the Gjallarhorn before the Nov. 3 game against the Colts. Since the show is filmed in L.A., perhaps she can be on hand for Monday’s game. (Update: Erdahl confirmed in a text that she will attend the game).

Fans like to live vicariously through their teams. While this could be dangerous at times, I’m advocating it in this case because Kevin O’Connell has proved he knows what he’s doing.

“I think we can use the experience of [Sunday] to make sure that we can have immediate improvement and total reflection and understanding personal responsibility of what took place,” O’Connell said on Monday, “but it was just one football game.”

There’s nothing like a loss to get teams to pay more attention to detail before a playoff game.

Quarterback Sam Darnold has never played in a postseason game, which made Sunday’s game the biggest game of his career. With the lights the brightest, he broke out in a flop sweat. He missed receivers, held onto the ball too long at times and paid the price. But it doesn’t tarnish what has been an amazing season for him — unless he lets it happen again.

Now he’s experienced what it’s like to perform — or not perform — in a high-stakes game. Monday is his time to show that he’s better off for the experience. He has no choice but to respond.

Sometimes, when two good opponents meet each other, one difference can lead to a lopsided outcome. While Darnold had a clunker behind center, everyone on offense has to take responsibility for the waves and waves of pressure Darnold faced. Better protection. Recognizing the hot read and getting the ball to the player. Shorter routes so Darnold doesn’t get steamrollered while waiting for someone to get open. More screen plays. It can be fixed. It better be because the Rams have a good defensive front.

The Vikings are slight favorites on Monday. And their one-week-at-a-time approach has served them well. But they should also be motivated by a possible third shot at the Lions.

History tells us that beating a team three times in a season has happened frequently, but several teams that have gone 0-2 against their division foe have prevailed the third time around. That includes the 2004 Vikings, who lost twice to Green Bay during the regular season but went to Lambeau Field on Jan. 9, 2005, and won 31-17 behind Dante Culpepper’s four touchdowns. You want The Purple to get the rematch.

Now, take a deep breath. Get off my couch. And get ready to fan your best on Monday. The next time I have to do this, I’m charging for it.