The Vikings have now played in 13 one-score games out of 14 this season.
If the Vikings appear to be playing a nerve-wracking one-score game every weekend, that’s because they essentially do.
In 2021, the last season under Mike Zimmer, the Vikings played in 14 one-score games (defined as games with a margin of eight points or less), tying an NFL record shared by the 1994 Giants and the 2015 Ravens. They didn’t make the playoffs after going 6-8 in those games.
Last season, Kevin O’Connell came in as head coach and the Vikings set an all-time record by going 11-0 in one-score games. It was a wild ride of a season that saw them win the NFC North and reach the postseason…only to lose a one-score game when it mattered most.
This year, the Vikings are looking poised to break the record they tied two seasons ago. After Saturday’s three-point overtime loss against the Bengals, they’ve somehow had 13 of their 14 games thus far finish with a one-score margin. The only one that didn’t was a 24-10 victory over the Packers in Week 8. With three games left (vs. Lions, vs. Packers, at Lions), two more one-score contests would leave the Vikings alone atop that leaderboard.
Since the start of the 2021 season, the Vikings have played 38 one-score games in the regular season (out of 48 total regular season games). The next-closest teams in that category are the Steelers and Falcons with 32 each. 26 teams have fewer than 30 — and the Cowboys and 49ers have just 18 and 17, respectively.
So yeah, the Vikings have basically been playing nothing but one-score games for the last three seasons. Talk about putting a fan base through the emotional wringer.
In related news, the next time the Vikings truly blow a team out will be the first time they’ve done so in a very long time. They haven’t won a game by 17 points or more since December 2019 against the Chargers. Every other team in the NFL has won at least two games by 17-plus since the start of the 2020 season, including 19 or 20 instances each by the 49ers, Bills, and Cowboys.
Every time it looks like the Vikings might do it — like when they take a 17-3 lead against the Bengals — they prove unable to step on the gas and bury their opponent. That’s something they have to figure out if they want to become a legitimate contender at some point.
Be the first to comment