Could the Vikings have been a 10-win team? It’s complicated
The Minnesota Vikings went through a chaotic 2020 NFL season. After starting 1-5, the team dispatched three consecutive division opponents to re-enter the playoff conversation.
Despite plenty of inconsistencies, the Vikings’ playoff hopes didn’t end — mathematically speaking — until Week 16 vs. the Saints. The Vikings finished 7-9, but Minnesota star running back Dalvin Cook thinks the team could have done a lot better.
“A couple of games we let slip. We could have easily been a 10-win team,” Cook told reporters, via Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press.
Cook brings up an interesting point. The Vikings were actually not that far off from postseason contention. If it were to have beaten Chicago at home, Minnesota would have made the postseason. That said, could this have been a 10-win team? I’m not so sure.
According to Teamrankings.com, the Vikings’ scoring margin was -2.8. The teams that surround Minnesota on those rankings — Las Vegas and Carolina — had moments, but like the Vikings, were too inconsistent.
I can see why people might think this team could win 10 games. Just look at losses to the Seahawks and Titans. If those games turned out differently, the Vikings may have kept Yannick Ngakoue, leading to a better pass rush and a better chance against teams like the Bears. Hey, maybe they even make their field goals against the Buccaneers.
Sure, that could have led to a 10-win season, but those are just too many what-ifs. You also have to look at the games Minnesota barely won, like the matchups against Jacksonville and Carolina. What if the Panthers scored a touchdown against the Vikings after Chad Beebe muffed a punt? What if Mike Glennon, instead of throwing an interception in overtime, leads yet another successful drive against Minnesota to win?
It’s easy to want some mistakes back after a season filled with close games. But if your team is constantly unable to put away the opponent, it’s going to win some and lose some, as they say. In an extremely luck-filled season, maybe the Vikings go 10-6. With how bad its defense and special teams were, this Minnesota team was going to be more inconsistent than it was lucky. That made for chaos and, in the end, the team got a deserving finish.
