One of the downsides of doing these weekly “What We Learned” columns is it can be easy to make the mistake of labeling teams as bad, good or very good too quickly, a dangerous game in a league with an ever-shifting power structure.
Now that we’re in the midst of Week 16, though, I feel confident to fully assess the Minnesota Vikings, one of the teams I was very wrong about heading into the season. The Vikings have long looked like a complete team with a prolific offense and opportunistic defense. But even as the wins have piled up, there have been questions as to whether Minnesota could be a true Super Bowl contender with quarterback Sam Darnold, who’s in the midst of a breakout season but has never started a playoff game.
