The Vikings and Buccaneers have taken different paths to get to this Week 14 game.
Tampa Bay started off with a loss to New Orleans, but the team composed itself and started 3-1. The Buccaneers head into this game with a 7-5 record, riding off the success of established veterans like Tom Brady and Shaquil Barrett.
The Vikings took longer than the Buccaneers to look like a playoff-contending team in 2020. Minnesota started 1-5. The team’s fifth loss came to the then-winless Falcons. There was an argument to be made that Minnesota should simply trade away players on large contracts and prepare for future seasons.
The Vikings not only kept the majority of their roster intact, but the team has won five of the last six games. Minnesota has notched its record to 6-6.
For the Vikings, this has been a year of inconsistency. Sure, the second half surge has put the team back in the postseason conversation, but Minnesota has not always looked convincing in its late-season wins.
The Vikings most recent victory, against the Jaguars, wasn’t decided until overtime. Jacksonville has just one win, but costly turnovers and a late-game drive by the Jaguars kept the team alive.
That can’t happen against the Buccaneers. Minnesota cannot have a turnover returned for a touchdown. The Vikings can’t give up a go-ahead drive to Tampa Bay in the fourth quarter. The Buccaneers are not the Panthers or Jaguars — Tampa Bay will finish off the game.
To be fair, Minnesota has looked good at times. Kirk Cousins’ lowest passer rating since the Falcons game has been 99.5. Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson both look good enough to be No. 1 wide receivers on a lot of different NFL teams.
If the Vikings defense can create the turnovers they did against the Jaguars, Minnesota will be in the game at the end against the Buccaneers. Does that mean the team will be able to hang on and pull off an upset? It can’t have inconsistency if that’s the case.