Vikings fans seem to be surfing a wave of optimism, buoyed by coach Kevin O’Connell’s quarterback whispering, a roster filled with quality players and the arrival of the most hope-inspiring figure in modern American sports — the first-round quarterback.
But can I inject a small dose of reality into your pregame cocktail?
Before the Vikings prove they can win big games, they might need to prove that they’re capable of losing big games.
Scratch a Vikings fan, or employee, and they’ll tell you how much they crave just one Super Bowl title. I’ve had longtime Vikings employees tell me they can die happy with just one, which they would view as much a salve to the great players who came before them as they would view it a personal accomplishment.
Here’s the dose of reality:
For all of this team’s promise, and despite winning 13 or more games in two of the last three regular seasons, this franchise has done almost nothing in the postseason for quite a while.
This franchise hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2019 season. The Vikings haven’t won a divisional-round playoff game since the 2017 season, and they needed a play that would become defined as a “miracle” to win that one.
They haven’t won a divisional-round playoff game without benefiting from a “miracle” play since the 2009 season.