Minnesota Vikings making the playoffs in 2026 could boil down to one element that propelled them in 2024
Winning football games is very simple, but getting there is very different from year to year.
Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell has been very good across his tenure. During his first four seasons, the Vikings are 43-25 in the regular season with three of those being winning seasons.
In 2022, the Vikings went 13-4, and it was a wild season. They had to come from behind multiple times and won way too many close games throughout the season. Things were different in 2024 when the Vikings, led by Sam Darnold, jumped out to a lot of big leads, changing the game script every single week.
Key to success in 2026 for Minnesota Vikings relies on game script
When you look at the differences between the 2024 and 2025 seasons, you can boil it down to one key element: lack of offensive success. The differences between Sam Darnold and the trio of quarterbacks who started last year was the biggest reason. Even so, it’s not for the reason you might think.
Quarterback play is key for a multitude of reasons, butit’s mainly about controlling the game script. Think of it this way: if you force the opponent to pass more, you will inherently get more interceptions, which will increase your turnovers. Vikings radio analyst and former linebacker Pete Bercich highlighted just that on Thursday.
One of the biggest keys for the Vikings will be the running game, where they are projected to make significant changes with Frank Smith coming in as an assistant head coach. The approach looks significantly overhauled, as they are using more of a wide zone approach in their run game. That alone will do a lot, as O’Connell’s approach in the run game hasn’t been the most creative, and that looks to change.
If they can see real improvement in the run game, that will help sustain drives and continue putting up more points. In turn, that will help the defense see more opportunities to create turnovers in the passing game, an area where they were No. 2 in the league last season.
They will still have to create said turnovers, but more opportunities in the passing game will be a massive aspect.
