š The Touchdown Collective - Built for January? Part IX: Minnesota Vikings
Keeping you ahead of the game, one play at a time
How the NFL really works when the lights get cold
As part of my off-season schedule for The Touchdown Collective Iāve created āBuilt for January?ā ā a 10āpart look at teams across the NFL and asking whether they have what it takes for play-off football.
In todayās Touchdown Collective, I take a look at the Minnesota Vikings and what happens when teams have to go off script.
The Minnesota Vikings try to play clean, efficient football. January football is usually the opposite.
The Vikings can win with timing, spacing and execution. Their offense is rhythmic, built on trust and anticipation.
Their defense is disciplined, built on structure and communication.
They play clean football, the kind that looks effortless when everything is aligned. Their system is admirable - a blueprint for consistency, a model of how to win with detail rather than brute force.
But January introduces chaos - weather, pressure, noise, unpredictability. Minnesotaās system has been beautiful in recent years when untouched. But in the NFL, systems rarely stay untouched. Their previous four seasons of nine, 14, seven and 13 wins show that perfectly.
Teams who make it to the post-season disrupt timing. They force improvisation. The play-offs demand answers to questions that arenāt on the script. The Vikings can control games when they dictate the terms. But when the terms change, all bets are off.
January football is rarely clean. Itās messy, emotional and volatile. It rewards teams who can thrive in discomfort, that can win when the plan breaks, that can create plays out of nothing.
On the field, there are issues to address. Off the field, there are also issues to address. The Vikings announced their search for a new GM at the end of last month. In that announcement they spoke of finding āa decisive leader with a clear vision for team building, strong communication skills and the ability to build alignment across an organisationā.
According to reports, one certainly in the frame is Rob Brzezinski, who has acted as the interim GM since Kwesi Adofo-Mensah left in January. Sports Illustrated also put together this list of possible candidates together after Adofo-Mensah was fired.
Back on the field, the expectation at this point is that Kyler Murray will be QB1 in 2026 with JJ McCarthy and Carson Wentz battling it out to be the Vikingsā backup.
Elsewhere, salary cap issues - as identified by Brzezinski - will continue to play a part in how the Vikings build their roster through free agency.
It looks like it will be more of the same in 2026 with the Vikings aiming for smooth sailing. But January provides choppier waters. The question is whether they can win when the game becomes something other than what they designed it to be.
The Vikings are built for control. January takes control away.
š© Who am I? Iām Michael Ham, the Daily Star Sunday and Sunday Express Sports Editor ā and an avid NFL fan. I have over 20 years of experience in sports news journalism and Iām the writer behind The Touchdown Collective.
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