Week 17 Thoughts

The Minnesota Vikings ended a disappointing 2016 NFL season on a higher note than the Chicago Bears did. The Vikings won 38-10.

The 38 points were the most points that the Vikings had scored in a game all season.

The 124 rushing yards were the most rushing yards that the Vikings have had in a game all season. By far. Jerick McKinnon had a dandy 89 rushing yards all to himself.

The Vikings offense gained 374 total yards. Not bad. The biggest reason for the decisive win was the opportunistic play of the defense. Five turnovers. Three fumble recoveries and two interceptions. One of those fumbles was returned for a touchdown. That opportunistic play and defensive scoring production has been glaringly absent since the Vikings' scorching 5-0 start to the season.

The Bears offense gained 323 yards. It was their running game that did most of the damage. 183 yards. It was rookie back Jordan Howard that carried the load. 135 yards. The Vikings have had some problems stopping, let alone slowing, Howard in his first season. He gained 153 yards in a 20-10 Halloween night loss. A loss that really turned the Vikings season in the wrong direction. Howard is going to be a nightmare for a lot of teams moving forward. He looks great. He's rarely stopped short of the line. His legs are always churning. He's always moving forward. Terrific vision. He has a bright future and the Bears have a nice, young playmaker in their backfield.

The Vikings did do a better job of handling Howard in the second half. Especially on a critical third-and-short and fourth-and-short sequence at the start of the fourth quarter. A sequence that probably sealed the win. He was stopped about a yard short on third-and-2. He was stopped in the backfield on fourth-and-one. That was the last Bears threat.

It's wrong to take too much from a game that's closer to an amped-up preseason game than a regular season game but it must feel better to end the season on the right side of this score.

It doesn't really look right to see a #50 that isn't Mike Singletary in the middle of the Chicago Bears defense. Jerrell Freeman is the current #50. The problem with Freeman being the #50 is that with a quick glance he looks a bit like the Hall of Famer. Similar lack of height but he needs the big eyes. The Singletary-Freeman connections continue. Freeman is from Waco and went to Baylor's "sister" school University of Mary Hardin.

One of the Vikings problems down the stretch was the health and availability of safety Harrison Smith. He's been nursing an ankle injury since about Week 10 or 11. An injury that forced him to miss the Week 14 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Week 15 game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Vikings were able to get by Blake Bortles without their playmaker in the secondary but Andrew Luck took them apart. Smith played against the Green Bay Packers last week and the Bears this week but was clearly hobbled. A healthy Smith and this season might not be over. He's that important and that good.

The Vikings offensive line has been a disaster all season. Injuries were a huge reason. The injuries sidelined players and forced a nearly weekly shuffling of the line. T.J. Clemmings has been a turn-style at left tackle the last six weeks. He left the Chicago game in the first quarter. Rookie Rashod Hill replaced him. He was an improvement over Clemmings. That isn't really saying much but it was still a promising Vikings debut. Offseason priorities #1, #2, #3, maybe #4 as well, for the Vikings is improving the offensive line. Maybe Hill can be a part of that improvement. Based on only three quarters of play I'd put him ahead of yesterday's starting tackles right now. Hill was plucked off of the practice squad of the Jacksonville Jaguars a few weeks ago. The system is new. His teammates are new. He might have an opportunity to get to know both better.

Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph had one of his best days against the Bears. 11 catches for 117 yards and a 22-yard touchdown. That pushed his season totals to 83 catches for 840 yards and 7 TDs. By far his best season. The biggest difference between this season and his previous seasons was his ability to stay healthy.

While the Vikings offense often struggled this season they did end up with some pass catchers with solid numbers.

Stefon Diggs
84 catches/903 yards/3 TDs
Kyle Rudolph
83 catches/840 yards/7 TDs
Adam Thielen
69 catches/967 yards/ 5 TDs

It's been a long time since the Vikings had multiple receivers with numbers like these.

Thielen came into the final game needing 40 yards for 1,000. It was obvious that the Vikings plan wasn't to force the ball to Thielen to hit that milestone. He had a single catch for seven yards.

Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford was his usual efficient self against the Bears. The sort of efficient play that ends up with several receivers with nice numbers. Bradford was 25/33 for 250 yards and three touchdowns against the Bears. That 75.8% completion percentage boosted his season number to 71.6. That number's a new NFL record.

Bradford's first season with the Vikings was easily the best of his career. As with Rudolph, the biggest reason for that was his availability every week. With the porous line in front of him and the repeated hits that he's taken that durability has been remarkable. Even miraculous. The line has done job of picking him up off of the ground than protecting him. Again, injuries were a huge reason for the offensive line's struggles. Outside of that final throw against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving, Bradford's play has been strong all season. It's great that he has a significant NFL record to show for it.

There has been, and will continue to be, a lot of debate as to whether the Vikings trade for Sam Bradford right before the start of the season was worth the cost. A first-round pick and a conditional fourth-round pick. It was said at the time that Bradford would only be worth the cost if he led the Vikings on a deep playoff run. There are no guarantees in the NFL. The responsibility of the general manager and coaches is to put the players in place that provide the best opportunity for the team to win. When starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was lost for the season with a serious knee injury Vikings general manager had to do something. He did. He paid a steep price because the Vikings had high hopes for the season. They had/have championship-caliber talent. They needed a quarterback. The Vikings issues this season weren't because of the quarterback. And last I checked, Bradford is still on the team. The window to win with the player that they paid so much to get is still open.

The Minnesota Vikings finished with an 8-8 record.
The Chicago Bears finished with a 3-13 record.

The 2017 NFL Offseason has now started for 20 teams.

Here's how the postseason looks for the fortunate 12.

AFC
1. New England Patriots
2. Kansas City Chiefs
3. Pittsburgh Steelers
4. Houston Texans
5. Oakland Raiders
6. Miami Dolphins

NFC
1. Dallas Cowboys
2. Atlanta Falcons
3. Seattle Seahawks
4. Green Bay Packers
5. New York Giants
6. Detroit Lions

Wild Card Round
Saturday
Oakland Raiders @ Houston Texans
Detroit Lions @ Seattle Seahawks

Sunday
Miami Dolphins @ Pittsburgh Steelers
New York Giants @ Green Bay Packers