Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The NFL season is edging closer to conclusion and we’re now just a few weeks away from the Super Bowl, with four teams set to become two this weekend following the conference finals in both the NFC and the AFC.
For the Minnesota Vikings, who are pushing to win the Super Bowl in their own stadium this month, only the Philadelphia Eagles stand in their way, following a dramatic victory over the Saints on Sunday.
The Vikings know they’ll have to be their best against the Eagles, who have looked like Super Bowl contenders ever since the NFL season began, whilst they’ll know there’s also a high chance of coming up against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in the showcase final.
Pushed forward by home support and the lure of a potential home field advantage in the Super Bowl, the Vikings remain as contenders though and the next few weeks will be crucial in their history but they know the odds are against them.
Making history
The Vikings, as many have been aware, have never won the Super Bowl and are one of two teams, the other being the Atlanta Falcons, who have existed for as long as the competition has without tasting glory- though they won the Championship prior to the NFL & AFL merger in the 1960’s.
In the following decade, the Vikings lost three Super Bowls over the course of four seasons- the last of which came in 1976 against the Raiders. That match, over 40 years ago, was the Vikings last appearance at the showcase finale.
That’s brought around a period of discontent as the Vikings have struggled this side of the millennia, reaching just one conference final since 2001- blown away by the Giants in 2009 41-0.
This side of the decade the struggles have continued, with last week’s victory over the Saints being the first playoff win for the Vikings since beating the Cowboys in 2009. Only twice since then have the franchise advanced into the post-season, losing to the Seahawks and the Packers in 2012 and 2015 respectively.
A new era
Those numbers all make for bleak reading for Vikings fans but they can easily be turned around, with the Vikings making the playoffs in two of the last three seasons. As it stands, the Vikings find themselves with odds of 15/8 to win the 2018 Super Bowl providing Minnesota fans with a platform to start to dream about glory, led by a new era of stars.
Quarterback Case Keenum boasts over 3,500 yards this season and a double-threat offence has well and truly been assembled. Latavius Murray is the leading rusher in the team, boasting 842 yards, whilst Jerick McKinnon (570) and Dalvin Cook (354) all have decent numbers.
In receiving yards, Adam Thielen has over 1,200 this season, with four touchdowns, whilst Stefon Diggs has 849 with eight touchdowns. Kyle Rudolph (532) also have eight touchdowns this season. The Vikings benefit from having a wide array of talent in their offence, making it difficult for any side to cope or quell the threat that Minnesota possess.
Defensively the Vikings are also solid, Everson Griffin boasting 13 sacks on his own and the defence having a total of 37 this season. That pressure on opposing quarterbacks will be a major concern for the Eagles this weekend and provides a massive boost for the Vikings as they push towards the first hurdle.
Can it be done?
With all of this comes a lot of pressure and the fact that no side has ever advanced to play a Super Bowl on their own turf says a lot. The Vikings have managed to overcome the ‘home field curse’ but the omens still stack against them, despite the franchise being within touching distance of glory.
The Vikings have already made history by becoming the first hosts of the Super Bowl to reach the conference championship, with the three sides that preceded them failing to make it; the Miami Dolphins of 1994 and 1998 and the 2016 Houston Texans.
Overcoming the Eagles will prove to be difficult, with Philadelphia winning the last encounter in 2016 and the Vikings winning just three of their last 12 meetings with the Eagles. Only three games have occurred post-2010 though, with the Vikings winning two before their loss last time out.
