Courtesy of an offense that, once again, did next to nothing in

For the last two weeks Cameron Smith Minnesota Vikings Jerseys , the Minnesota Vikings held their own postseason destiny in their hands.In the regular season finale, they let it completely slip away. the first half and a defense that couldn’t get a stop when they needed one, the Vikings fell to the Chicago Bears on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium by a final score of 24-10. Coupled with the Philadelphia Eagles defeating the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field, that means that the Vikings will not be participating in the NFL playoffs starting next week.The Vikings, once again, did nothing on offense early in this one, as they gained just 11 yards in the entire first quarter. Meanwhile, the Bears had put up two touchdowns by Jordan Howard to take a 13-0 lead early on, thanks to Cory Parkey missing an extra point. The Bears did get some points before the half, courtesy of a 45-yard field goal by Dan Bailey to make it 13-3 going into the locker room.Minnesota’s offense finally showed some signs of life in the third quarter, as they cut the deficit to 13-10 on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Kirk Cousins to Stefon Diggs. After that, however Minnesota Vikings Jerseys 2019 , the Bears put together a massive drive that took over nine minutes off the clock and ended with a 3-yard run by Tarik Cohen. With the Bears successfully completing a two-point conversion, the score was 21-10. The visitors added a 42-yard field goal by Parkey to make it 24-10 with just over four minutes left in the game.That’s how it ended, as the Minnesota Vikings capped what has to go down as one of the more disappointing seasons in recent history by squandering an opportunity to get into the playoffs in back-to-back years for the first time since 2008 and 2009.Kirk Cousins had a straight-up ugly football game, and I’m sure that’s the narrative that we’ll have to hear about all offseason. He completed 20-of-33 passes for just 132 yards, which is the lowest yardage total he’s ever had as a starting quarterback. Stefon Diggs led the way with seven catches for 43 yards and a touchdown, and Adam Thielen had three catches for 38 yards.The Vikings’ defense, which came into today’s game as the NFL’s best third-down defense, allowed the Bears to convert 8-of-13 third down attempts, including several that came via penalties to extend drives.Minnesota finishes their season with a record of 8-7-1, and their season is over. Chicago lifts their record to 12-4, and will host Philadelphia at Soldier Field next weekend.The Minnesota Vikings take their opportunity to make it to the 2018 NFL playoffs and urinate it directly down their collective leg, falling to the Chicago Bears by a final score of 24-10 at U.S. Bank Stadium. Thank you to everybody that got their coverage of this week’s game, and of this entire season. . .disappointing though it was. . .right here at The Daily Norseman. MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings will be constructing a new front five yet again this year.Perhaps this will be the spring they can finally plant a couple of seeds for stability.The Vikings have consistently fielded one of the NFL’s best defenses since coach Mike Zimmer took over in 2014. In the two seasons when they won the NFC North title, 2015 and 2017 Cameron Smith Jersey nfl draft , they scored plenty of points, too.Whether a product of allocating resources elsewhere on the roster, misjudging ability, or experiencing plain old bad luck, though, there has been no position more problematic for the Vikings than the offensive line.For the fifth straight year, they’ll return no more than three of five primary starters from the previous season. Just like from 2017 to 2018, the Vikings will have two new starting guards, having released Mike Remmers to create salary cap space and let Tom Compton leave as a free agent last month.Josh Kline, a free agent signee from Tennessee, can likely claim one starting guard spot. Left tackle Riley Reiff has been considered by the coaching staff for a new role inside, a move likely only to be made if the Vikings use their first-round draft pick on a top-tier tackle.Pat Elflein has shown some promise over the past two years as the man in the middle, but if there’s an early round center favored by the front office and coaching staff, the Vikings wouldn’t hesitate to move him to guard Adult Cameron Smith Jersey , either.They don’t have to be picky about the specific position fit, then. Adding a starter, any starter, for the offensive line next week would work.In their first season with Kirk Cousins at quarterback, the Vikings fell from 10th to 19th in points and 11th to 20th in yards, and the performance up front was at the top of the culprit list.After retaining offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski, hiring Gary Kubiak as an offensive adviser and bringing in one of his longtime sidekicks, Rick Dennison, to coach the offensive line and coordinate the running game, Zimmer has another idea in mind for that critical improvement up front.“I do think we probably have to get a little bit better there, but I also think part of coaching is helping these guys get better as well,” Zimmer said. “I think scheme can help. I think plays that you call can help.”Here are some key angles to follow for the Vikings next week:TOP PROSPECTSWith the 18th overall pick in the first round, the Vikings ought to have plenty of the top offensive line prospects to pick from, including Oklahoma tackle Cody Ford Big And Tall Cameron Smith Jersey , Washington State tackle Andre Dillard and North Carolina State center Garrett Bradbury.ABOUT LAST YEARThe Vikings appeared primed to take advantage of a strong class of interior offensive linemen last year, but they deemed cornerback Mike Hughes too tantalizing to pass up in the first round despite the depth they had at that position at the time.Four of the first seven picks of the second round last season were, naturally, centers or guards. Later in that round, the Vikings took Brian O’Neill, who wound up as the starting right tackle in a promising rookie year.“Everybody gets upset if we don’t take this position in this round. Well, if that guy doesn’t fit what we do, why pick him?” Zimmer said, adding: “You can move up probably and get the exact that you want, but the capital that you have to give up is pretty steep, especially when you’re moving in the first round.”LOOKING BACKThe Vikings simply haven’t committed much draft capital to the offensive line, long predating the current regime. Since taking Hall of Famer Randall McDaniel with the 19th overall pick in 1988, the Vikings have only used a first-round selection on one of the sport’s least glamorous positions three times in the past 30 years: Matt Kalil (2012), Bryant McKinnie (2002) and Todd Steussie (1994).ANOTHER COOK FOR THE KITCHENIf the Vikings can finally have running back Dalvin Cook healthy for a full season Cameron Smith Minnesota Vikings Jerseys , with knee and hamstring trouble having limited him to just 15 of 32 games over his first two years, their offense will get a big lift.They’ll need a complement, though, after letting Latavius Murray leave as a free agent. Ameer Abdullah was re-signed, but don’t rule out the possibility of the Vikings taking a running back in the middle rounds.“It’s controlling the game. It’s the mentality, the physicality. If you look at the teams playing really good on offense this year, the final four teams, they ran the ball,” Zimmer said. “Everybody says this is passing, this and that, but the good offenses run the football.”