Vikings: 3 things on the line this Sunday
The Minnesota Vikings must win their next game against the Green Bay Packers this Sunday. If they fail to do so, they’ll find themselves watching the playoffs at home. If they lose this week, there are three negative implications that would affect the immediate future of this franchise.
1. Playoff implications
If the Vikings lose this Sunday, they can kiss their chances at making the playoffs goodbye. Minnesota’s only shot at making the playoffs is if they win out and the Philadelphia Eagles lose their next two games. That’s pretty hard to do in the NFL.
Philadelphia has been rolling as of late and holds an 8-7 record, whereas Minnesota is 7-8.
Upcoming schedules:
- Philadelphia: @Washington, Dallas
- Minnesota: @Green Bay, Chicago
If Minnesota wins this week against the Packers and the Eagles lose to the Washington Football team, then there’s a strong chance this dream scenario plays out. Philadelphia should lose to the Dallas Cowboys, and Minnesota should beat the Chicago Bears.
If that happens, Minnesota and Philadelphia would be 9-8. However, Minnesota would finish with a conference record of 7-5, which would beat out the Eagles’ 6-6 record (if they lose both games).
Minnesota must win both games, and Philadelphia will have to lose their next two games if they want a shot at making the playoffs.
2. Clean house
Hopefully, Minnesota would move on from Mike Zimmer if they were to miss the playoffs.
There should be no reason he’s the seventh longest-tenured head coach in the NFL. He’s done nothing that puts him remotely close to those other six coaches. Times have changed, and the league isn’t trending towards Zimmer’s playstyle. Minnesota needs to be an elite offense and play more aggressively.
Rick Spielman may even get the boot if things go south. I’m in favor of keeping him because I think he’s done a good job as general manager. He’s drafted exceptionally well, and he’s done a fair job at signing free agents. Most of the players on this roster are from the draft.
Plus, I think it’s more valuable to not completely tear down and have some sort of continuity moving forward.
I’ve discussed the possibility of firing Zimmer before, and if you’d like to read that, you can do so here.
3. Time to trade Kirk Cousins?
Kirk Cousins is a good quarterback, there’s no debating that. He’s a top-15 (maybe top-10) player at his position in the NFL. However, he’s never going to be the guy who’ll win you a Super Bowl.
Cousins is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of next season (2023). At that point, he will be 35, and unless the Vikings can sign him to a team-friendly deal, it’s time to find a new quarterback. Next season he will make $45 million and let’s face it, that’s incredibly overpaid.
That would make him the third highest-paid player in the NFL in 2022. Minnesota should start looking at potential options through trade, free agency or the draft.
There would be a market for Cousins if the Vikings decided to trade him. He’s coming off another season in which he’s taken care of the football. A lot of that is the Vikings offense, but he has been playing at a pretty high level.
This season he’s thrown for 3,971 yards (8th), 30 touchdowns (7th) and seven interceptions.
Some team will take a one-year flyer on him, but the biggest question will be whether or not Minnesota can get any value back.
There are a lot of implications this Sunday. If the Vikings lose, they could end up firing Zimmer or potentially moving on from Cousins. If any of those things happen, they may even trade some of the other veteran players on this roster.
This is going to be a very crucial week.
