Back in 2022, Kevin O’Connell led his Vikings to an excellent 13-4 record despite having a -3 point differential for the season. Maybe predictably, playoff success didn’t follow. An inferior Giants team — led by current Viking Daniel Jones — marched into U.S. Bank Stadium as underdogs before walking out as victors.
Fast forward into 2024. Yet again, O’Connell has found a way of pushing his team up to an unexpectedly excellent record. The win/loss ratio is even healthier, sitting at 14-3. Even better is that the point differential finds itself at a very healthy +100, suggesting that Minnesota is indeed one of the NFL’s top teams. What happens, though, if Minnesota again loses in the opening round?
Kevin O’Connell & His Reputation in the Playoffs
A cruel irony, perhaps, that Minnesota is forced into facing the LA Rams.
Up until Week 18, the NFL only offered a pair of teams that proved capable of beating the Vikings: the Lions and Rams. The Week 18 game involved those same Lions again emerging victorious. Do the Rams achieve victory yet again? If so, then what has been a tremendous season will again end with a thud.
Los Angeles won the NFC West division, thus earning the right to host at least a single postseason game (due to the deeply concerning fires in Los Angeles — a situation far more important than football — the game will be played in Arizona). The 10-7 record is strong but not earth shattering. More concerning for Sean McVay and the Rams is the -19 point differential, an indicator that they’re not as strong as the record suggests…