Vikings Players Who Must Step Up for Minnesota to Save Dwindling Playoff Hopes

The slim hopes of the Minnesota Vikings making the playoffs in 2020 were put on life support Sunday, courtesy of a 31-28 loss to the 3-7 Dallas Cowboys. 

A three-game winning streak coming out of the bye week—including a win over the Green Bay Packers—brought that dream back to life after a 1-5 start. Dalvin Cook's return from injury rejuvenated the offense and showed the ceiling of this team when it's playing at a high level. 

Now, the Vikings face just a 20 percent chance of making it to the postseason, according to FiveThirtyEight's projections.

All hope is not lost, though. The schedule the rest of the way features a lot of winnable contests. The two toughest contests remaining are road trips to Tampa Bay and New Orleans, but the Bucs have been beatable lately and Minnesota could be facing a Drew Brees-less Saints team. 

Making a miraculous run to the postseason won't happen if the Vikings don't get better performances from some key players. The whole team will need to show up consistently over the final stretch of the season and get more from some players who have either not made big contributions or are in a slump. 

CB Kris Boyd

Kamil Krzaczynski/Associated Press

The Vikings' secondary has been a mess all season but that was to be expected. There's a reason they spent first-, third- and fifth-round picks on cornerbacks. After watching almost the entire position walk away from the roster last season, there have been growing pains. 

As a result, the Vikings have relied on Kris Boyd to become a major presence in the secondary. The second-year CB has played 75 percent or more of the snaps in each game since Week 8, but he's been a weakness to be exploited instead of a strength to be leaned on. 

This season, the 24-year-old has allowed 21 catches on 28 targets while quarterbacks have a 114.0 passer rating against him. 

The Texas product had an especially rough game against the Cowboys on Sunday. He was flagged twice on special teams and dropped what would have been the game-winning interception in the red zone. 

The Vikings also got rookie Cameron Dantzler back from a concussion, so there's a chance that Boyd's playing time is scaled back. But Minnesota needs him to step up if the defense is going to hold up against teams such as the Saints and Buccaneers. 

OG Dakota Dozier

David Berding/Associated Press

The Minnesota offensive line played well in the three-game win streak. In fact, it was a major reason why the Vikings were able to unleash Dalvin Cook on defenses. But that version of the O-line was gone for much of the Cowboys game. 

The unit allowed pressures on seven of Kirk Cousins' 15 dropbacks in the first half. Dakota Dozier has been solid at times this season, but he surrendered four pressures in the game and was the lowest-graded guard in the league by PFF this week (h/t Purple FTW! podcast). 

Brett Jones played in place of injured rookie Ezra Cleveland against the Cowboys and did an admirable job filling in. If Dozier doesn't come back with a much better performance against the Panthers on Sunday, it might be time to replace him with Jones when Cleveland is able to come back. 

The Vikings are at their best when they are able to be physical up front and set up play-action with Cousins looking for Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson downfield. They can't do either of those things if Dozier can't protect on the interior. 

Just one week before, Dozier was the team's fourth-highest graded player by PFF. At this point, it's about consistency. 

DE Ifeadi Odenigbo

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The secondary has been a punching bag for the defensive woes in Minnesota this season, but the pass rush hasn't been much better. The Vikings have a pedestrian pressure rate of just 20 percent and didn't even manage that against the Cowboys' offensive line. 

Minnesota pressured Andy Dalton just four times on 34 dropbacks, and Jaleel Johnson was the only one on the team to register a sack. Coverage is a problem but the Cowboys aren't exactly a brick wall of an O-line. 

Someone has to step up and be a better pass-rusher over the final stretch, and Ifeadi Odenigbo is the best candidate. He has just 2.5 sacks in 10 games after putting up seven last season.

With Everson Griffen gone, rookie D.J. Wonnum still playing himself into a more full-time role and Jalyn Holmes a converted defensive tackle who is strong against the run, the Vikings have to get more out of their third-year defensive end. 

Odenigbo has gone four straight games without a sack. That can't continue to be the trend if the Vikings defense is going to give the team a shot at the postseason.