Just like that, the Minnesota Vikings 2023 season is all but over. Last week’s loss against the Detroit Lions removed all possibility of taking home the NFC North title. This week, with a 33-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football, the Vikings have been all but eliminated from the NFC playoff picture entirely.
Minnesota isn’t mathematically eliminated. There is still a scenario in which they can make the playoffs, but it’s far-fetched. Minnesota would have to win next week against the Lions. They would also need the following to happen.
- Packers to lose against the Chicago Bears
- Seattle Seahawks to lose against the Arizona Cardinals
- Either the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or New Orleans Saints to lose their game.
It’s not impossible, but the loss makes a playoff berth highly improbable. But Minnesota even being in this spot at all was highly improbable, after losing Kirk Cousins for the season and the quarterback carousel that followed.
That carousel played a major role in the Vikings’ ultimate demise, as starting quarterback Jaren Hall was benched for former starter Nick Mullens. The move provided a little bit of a spark, but not nearly enough, as Minnesota got blown out at home against their division rival. Here’s the good, bad and ugly from a disappointing performance on Sunday Night Football.
The good: No injuries
This game was a disappointment all around. There weren’t many positive aspects to point to on either side of the ball. The offense largely failed to get anything going, no matter who the quarterback was. The offense moved a little better with Mullens in, but not enough to make a difference to the final outcome.
On the other side, the defense — a strong point for the Vikings all season — couldn’t do anything to stop the Packers offense. Quarterback Jordan Love was throwing the ball all over the field, finding open receivers on seemingly every pass attempt. The Vikings rush defense wasn’t any better, allowing chunk plays to Aaron Jones all night and getting bullied by A.J. Dillon.
If there was anything positive to take away from the Sunday Night Football disappointment, it’s that a Vikings team devastated by injuries didn’t suffer any more. Walking away from the game without any more major injuries is about the only win the Vikings got on the night.
The bad: First half turnovers
Turnovers have been the main storyline all season for the Vikings. It hasn’t mattered who the quarterback was, the team has been plagued by turnovers from the very first game of the season. That trend was very much upheld on Sunday night against the Packers.
Hall got his second start of the season on Sunday night, and, while playing on that stage is a dream for NFL players, that dream quickly turned into a nightmare for Hall. Hall was largely ineffective in his one-half of action and accounted for two more turnovers.
Hall threw an interception to Packers defensive back Corey Ballentine and was also victim of a strip-sack fumble in the second quarter. At halftime, head coach Kevin O’Connell had already seen enough from the rookie quarterback and pulled the plug on his night.
You have to imagine the turnovers were the deciding factor, though Hall’s inability to move the ball may have forced O’Connell’s hand anyway in a must-win game.
The ugly: Vikings defense
Strong defense has been the calling card of the 2023 Minnesota Vikings all season. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores has come in and completely changed the attitude of a defense that was a weak point last season. This year the team has been one of the most difficult defenses to figure out, thanks in large part to Flores’ desire to keep offenses on their toes.
The Vikings have been just as likely to blitz opposing quarterbacks as they have been to drop eight into coverage and force the QB to find throwing lanes that simply haven’t been there. It’s been a winning strategy for the most part — until Sunday night against the Packers.
It seemed like no matter what Flores and the Vikings defense drew up on Sunday night, Jordan Love and the Packers offense had an answer. Love had himself a great night, going 24/33 for 256 yards and throwing three touchdowns. Honestly, the stats don’t reflect just how easy it looked for Love out there.
It wasn’t just the Packers passing attack that feasted, either. Green Bay was able to run the ball at will on the Vikings defense. A.J. Dillon only had seven carries for 27 yards, but he was beating up on the Vikings defensive front before leaving the game. His running mate, Aaron Jones, did the bulk of the work — and the damage.
Jones ended the night with 20 carries for 120 yards, giving him an average of six yards per carry. Green Bay came out and punched the Vikings defense in the mouth early and often en route to a decisive victory.
The uglier: Vikings playoff hopes dashed
To say that the 2023 season for the Minnesota Vikings has been an emotional rollercoaster would be an understatement. From the very first game, there has been a whirlwind of emotions surrounding this team. It started off with the team losing three very winnable games in a row.
Minnesota started the season with losses to the Bucs, Eagles, and Chargers, each by six points or less. Each of those games saw the Vikings offense turn the ball over multiple times and finish with a negative turnover margin. It’s tough to win games at all in the NFL, even harder to win when you turn the ball over.
Then disaster struck with the Kirk Cousins injury. You’d be forgiven if you thought the Vikings season was done at that point. But then Josh Dobbs came in and gave the Vikings a spark, picking up where Cousins left off and helping continue a win streak and push it to five in a row, giving the Vikings hope.
Hope that continued until Sunday night, when those hopes were all but dashed. Minnesota has not be mathematically eliminated from playoff contention just yet, but the scenario in which they can still make it is one of the more convoluted one’s you’ll see. Suffice it to say, it’s unlikely and Minnesota’s season is effectively over.
