3 reasons Vikings can win Super Bowl, and 1 reason they won’t

1 Reason Vikings Won’t Make Super Bowl: Protection

Some might say the Vikings are doing this season with smoke and mirrors. They’ve won in ridiculous fashion and taken advantage of the schedule. However, they’ve also won thanks to Kirk Cousins throwing them back into games. Sometimes he throws them into big leads. The offense is playing well, but it seems they are doing it in spite of itself.

The team has gotten Kirk Cousins killed this season. He’s been sacked 41 times. Only five teams have allowed more sacks as a team, and only the Giants are still in a playoff position (or fight at all for that matter). Because of the lack of protection, the Vikings haven’t been able to get too many big plays. They are around the middle of the pack for 20+ yard plays and they are in the bottom half when it comes to 40-yard plays. This is a team with Dalvin Cook at running back and Justin Freaking Jefferson at wide receiver.

They are beating teams with the “death by a thousand cuts” approach. Only four teams have more first downs per game than the Vikings. The sacks are coming more frequently, with sacks on close to 10% of dropbacks in the past three games.

Some of this is on Kirk Cousins, but his offensive line needs to know who they are protecting. Cousins isn’t mobile, so if someone gets into the backfield, a sack comes next. The Vikings need to protect the quarterback if they have any shot of making the Super Bowl. The Eagles pass rush is the best in the league. This offensive line cannot stop them. The Vikings desperately need the Cowboys to take out the Eagles in the postseason. If not, it might be a very long NFC Championship Game.