It’s November 20, 2022. The Minnesota Vikings are riding the high of an 8-1 start, with an exclamation point coming from besting Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills in overtime. It looks like a magical season for first-year head coach Kevin O’Connell.
That is, until 3:25 p.m. rolled around. Then the beginning of the end started.
The Vikings finished their year 13-4, but their status as a paper tiger got exposed by the Dallas Cowboys on that Sunday in November. The Dallas Cowboys came into US Bank Stadium — Minnesota’s house! — and humiliated the home team, 40-3. The Vikings mustered only 183 yards — barely half of their 355.8 average through nine games — and got booed off the field.
That sort of beatdown is a team effort. Still, if there was one person who single-handedly exposed the Vikings that day, it might well have been Micah Parsons.
Parsons torched Christian Darrisaw (who allowed two sacks) and Minnesota’s offensive line. Parsons lined up for only 38 snaps, but finished the day with nine pressures, turning the heat on the quarterback on nearly 25% of his plays.
That’s no anomaly. Since entering the league in 2021, Parsons has ranked ninth, first, first, and seventh in the NFL in pressures, according to PFF. He’s a monster, and even last week, the Vikings had reason to fear him in 2025, given their December 14 date in Dallas.
Now you can double those fears.
It wasn’t a fever dream brought on by one too many Mouth Trap Cheese Curds at the State Fair: Micah Parsons is now with the Green Bay Packers. When the Vikings travel to Lambeau Field in Week 12, Parsons will be there to try to terrorize Darrisaw once again. If Minnesota’s playoff or home-field advantage hopes are on the line in Week 18, Parsons is going to be the biggest roadblock for them punching their ticket.
It’s a good thing the Vikings have spent the last two seasons addressing their interior offensive line, which has been a significant Achilles’ Heel. After getting destroyed by the Detroit Lions in Week 18 and the Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah went about systematically upgrading his blockers. Out went Garrett Bradbury and in came Will Fries, Ryan Kelly, and first-round pick Donovan Jackson.
They were going to need the help anyway. The Vikings weren’t only slated to face Parsons once instead of twice, but a full lineup of the NFL’s best pass rushers. Trey Hendrickson, Myles Garrett, T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward, Kyle Van Noy, Nnamdi Madubuike, and Khalil Mack are incredible pass rushers… and those are just the players from Minnesota’s AFC slate.
Combine that with the Philadelphia Eagles and everything they have to offer in Week 7, Dexter Lawrence, and two times facing Aidan Hutchinson, Montez Sweat, and now Parsons? It’s a good thing that Kwesi Adofo-Mensah didn’t ignore the need.
The Vikings undoubtedly checked the boxes. However, that was just Step 1. Now they have to be right.
The road to the Super Bowl will go through the offensive line. That was the case for Philly and the Kansas City Chiefs last season. The Eagles ranked sixth in PFF Grades for both passing and run blocking, while the Chiefs ranked 13th and seventh, respectively.
With Darrisaw back and looking healthy and Brian O’Neill on the other side, the Vikings are as set as they’ve always been on the edges. Last year, their tackle play was enough to lift them to 16th and 14th in pass and run blocking. Fries, Kelly, and Jackson’s jobs are to lift that group into a top-10 unit, and perhaps even top five.
Can they do it? We’ll see. Fries had a stellar five-game stretch last season and looked ready to take a leap, but the Vikings made a substantial bet on him enjoying a true breakout year, not just a hot start. Kelly is 32 and has had just one full season in the last five years. He’s going to have to stay healthy and productive. Jackson occasionally looked like a rookie at camp, and while he went up against Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave in Eagan, it’s not like the names he’ll face get any easier.
And that’s just for the regular season. The Vikings may see Jared Verse again, who helped the Los Angeles Rams nail Sam Darnold for nine sacks in the playoffs last season. If it’s not Verse, it’ll be Hutchinson, or Nick Bosa, or Jalen Carter.
Or a third taste of Parsons. Minnesota’s line has got to be ready for the task.