Have the Minnesota Vikings Gone from Overrated to Underrated?

One year ago, the Minnesota Vikings were one of the most talked-about teams in the NFL. They were coming off an appearance in the NFC Championship Game and had signed free-agent quarterback Kirk Cousins to a fully guaranteed three-year, $84 million contract.

The purple and gold were a trendy pick to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LIII. 

Instead, they missed the playoffs altogether.

A Week 4 loss to the Los Angeles Rams dropped the Vikings to 1-2-1. They proceeded to hover around the .500 mark for most of the year. And when the Vikings lost 24-10 at home to the Chicago Bears in Week 17, it capped a disappointing 8-7-1 campaign.

Here's the thing, though: The pendulum has swung too far in the opposite direction.

According to ESPN's Joe Klingele, the Detroit Lions are the only NFC North team with worse Super Bowl odds than the Vikes. However, the 2019 Vikings are a better team on paper than last year's iteration.

Fair or not, Cousins received most of the blame for last year's struggles. It's the price of that $28 million annual salary. In June, Cousins told reporters he's well-aware that his first season in Minnesota—and his career to date—is considered largely underwhelming.

"I think the next level, really, is all about winning. I'm pretty much a .500 quarterback in my career so far, and I don't think that's where you want to be. And that's not why you are brought in or people are excited about you.

"If I don't play well, if I don't have gaudy statistics but we win multiple playoff games this year, the narrative will be I went to the next level. And I may not walk off the field everyday feeling like I did, but if we win, that's the life of a quarterback is you are at the next level. If I have my best year yet in 2019 but we're 8-8, I didn't go to the next level. That's the reality of it."

Cousins' career record of 34-37-2 only seems to reinforce that perception. But while his first season in Minnesota wasn't great, it also wasn't terrible.

Cousins' 70.1 completion percentage was a career high. So were his 30 touchdown passes and plus-20 touchdown-to-interception ratio. His passer rating came in just under 100.

Yes, Cousins struggled against better teams, but that wasn't entirely his fault. With Dalvin Cook nicked up for much of the season, Minnesota's run game was nonexistent. Only two teams in the league gained fewer yards per game on the ground. That forced Cousins to air the ball out while playing behind a shaky offensive line that gave up 40 sacks.

It was an untenable position. But there's reason to believe 2019 will be different.

During the offseason, Minnesota focused on upgrading the protection in front of Cousins. Right guard Josh Kline, who has 64 career starts in six seasons in New England and Tennessee, signed a three-year, $15.75 million deal in mid-March. Pat Elflein will kick from center to left guard, according to Dane Mizutani of the Pioneer Press, while rookie first-round pick Garrett Bradbury will take over in the middle. And new O-line coach Rick Dennison is implementing a zone-blocking scheme that favors agility over brute strength, according to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press.

Jose Juarez/Associated Press

Dennison isn't the only change on the offensive staff. After taking over as the interim offensive coordinator in mid-December, Kevin Stefanski returns as the full-time offensive coordinator. The Vikings also hired former Houston Texans and Denver Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak as an assistant head coach and offensive adviser.

Kubiak's offenses were never shy about running the ball. Hall of Fame tailback Terrell Davis wrote at NFL.com that he expects the Vikings to be no different.

"Kubiak brought out the best in me (and the entire Broncos' offense) during our run to back-to-back Super Bowl titles in the late 1990s. In fact, Kubiak's offenses ranked among the top five in total offense and top 10 in scoring offense in eight of his 11 seasons as Broncos offensive coordinator (1995-2005). Great news for Kirk Cousins, Cook and the entire offense."

Stefanski told reporters that Cousins should benefit from increased familiarity with the scheme and his teammates, too.

"Having one year under his belt around his teammates is a big deal, and there's so much that goes into understanding the nuances of each one of your receivers and your tight ends and knowing how they come out of routes. That was something that we definitely tried to speed up the process last year. There's only so much you can do that. I think it's really helpful that he walks out on this practice field and has an inventory of knowledge of each of his receivers in particular."

Andy Clayton-King/Associated Press

Passing-game talent isn't a problem for Minnesota. Last year, Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen emerged as one of the league's best one-two punches at wideout. The addition of rookie tight end Irv Smith to a room that already included veteran Kyle Rudolph gives the Vikes solid depth at that position, too. And Cook is an excellent pass-catcher out of the backfield.

Cousins will still have to make throws at times, but he has the weapons to do so. Increased offensive balance and an improved offensive line should put Cousins in position to win more games, even if his stats drop a bit.

Minnesota's defense will also help keep Cousins within striking range of opponents. The Vikings were fourth in the NFL last year in total defense, ninth in scoring defense and tied for the third-most sacks (50), even though defensive end Everson Griffen was a complete nonfactor.

Whether it's up front with Griffen and Danielle Hunter, at linebacker with Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr or in the secondary with safety Harrison Smith and cornerback Xavier Rhodes, the Vikings have both talent and depth at all three levels of the defense. They also have one of the NFL's better defensive minds running the show in head coach Mike Zimmer.

Bruce Kluckhohn/Associated Press

It might not be the Bears defense, but it isn't that far off, either.

The lack of buzz surrounding these Vikings is likely overcompensation after last year's faceplant. Plenty of pundits ended up with egg on their faces after picking Minnesota as a Super Bowl team.

However, this team appears to be just as good as the one so many bought into a year ago—maybe even better.

The Vikings may not be as good defensively as the Bears, but they're capable of a top-five finish on that side of the ball. They don't have a Hall of Fame quarterback like the Packers, but with the improvements up front and a more balanced scheme, they have more balance offensively and better skill-position talent than the Pack.

The 2019 Vikings are capable of being what the 2018 Vikings weren't. They can do what that team couldn't—win the NFC North and make some noise in the postseason.

It's time to wake up to that reality.