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A thrilling, historic Vikings season of so many highs — several players set career bests, splash plays and celebrations were on repeat, and one of the best displays of a team coalescing I've ever seen firsthand — came to a close unceremoniously.

A game that was close and looked to be tied at 10 early in the second quarter dissolved into disarray. It was different from so much of the 2024 season but all too similar in some aspects to the previous week.

The near misses of the first half — the defensive touchdown that was called back and the punt that came oh so close to being blocked — gave way to multiple misfires in the second half, producing a numbing agent of sorts, but the disappointment remains.

It made me remember the NFL Films feature on Super Bowl VIII (they usually air one for each Super Bowl on NFL Network each year). At the end of recapping Miami's win over Minnesota, the program implements the following quote from Hall of Famer and Vikings Ring of Honor member Carl Eller.

"All afternoon, I had the feeling that the outcome had already been decreed on high before we even took the field. It seemed I could hear Scottish bagpipes in the distance, keeping time as they came after us, wave after wave – gaining ground so easily, they seemed to be floating in suspended animation."

Flip the defensive perspective from facing a daunting Dolphins rushing attack to Minnesota's offense going against heavy pressure from Los Angeles, and add exactly 51 years to Jan. 13, 1974, and that's where this year's squad found itself in Arizona for the relocated game.

It's hard to imagine playing that matchup 100 times and so many things going wrong for the Vikings, but the reality is Minnesota fell to 0-2 against the Rams one week after falling 0-2 to the Lions.

FOURTEEN wins is significant — an accomplishment so rare that it had never resulted in a team being a Wild Card participant.

I've wondered to myself how this team will be remembered. The only Vikings team with more wins in a season was the 1998 squad that still generates "wows" when people talk about it more than a quarter century later. I wasn't here yet for the 2009 squad, which was exhilarating but had a couple of stumbles down the stretch to prevent it from having home-field advantage throughout the NFC Playoffs.

This year's squad had continued to hold serve in all those moments, executing a comeback win against Arizona, managing a wave of emotions against the Falcons, working through a couple of hiccups against a Bears squad that was pesky against the division with only one win to show for it, winning for the first time in Seattle since 2006 and completing a sweep of the Packers to close out the home slate.

The shadows of the final two games are long and dark, but I also think many will choose to circle back and appreciate the 13 Victory Mondays and 1 Victory Tuesday, despite having hoped so desperately to add to those totals.

I don't think I can fully describe what it's been like to have the privilege of covering the 2024 Vikings from the start of free agency to the final snap, but I hope our readership knows how much I appreciate the opportunity to do so, as well as all of the emails from fans.

Hopefully you all continue to send questions and check out our other VEN content during the offseason, which should have plenty of storylines to follow before and after the draft.

I've never submitted to the Mailbag before, though I'm a long-time reader and appreciate all you do. Friends asked me for my analysis of the Vikings loss to L.A., and I thought I'd share it FWIW (for what it's worth).

I wish I could say that I was surprised by Monday night's loss, but my 50+ years as a loyal Vikings fan has taught me to expect losses such as this. I love my Vikings, and I always will, but they have overachieved all season (good for them). The last two weeks have brought harsh realities into focus. A wise CEO once said, "If things aren't going right with one of our teams or business divisions, the first question I ask is 'Do we have a leadership issue?' "

Three Lessons from 2024-25:

1. Sam Darnold (leader on the field): You've proven you can play well all season long, be a leader, and carry a team to the postseason. Thank you. If, however, you can't step up in the big games and play your best when your team needs you to do so, you'll never have that ring on your finger. There's another level you have to reach wherever you're playing next season, and this fan would welcome you back with open arms.**

2. Kevin O'Connell (leader of the entire team): You are a gifted leader and have proven that you can coach a team to consistent goodness beyond what most people thought possible. Thank you. It's another thing to take a team to greatness, young man, and you've got to figure that out for all of us. You have this fan's full support.**

3. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah (leader in the front office): You have put legit superstars in place who can become legends. Thank you. You have yet, however, to assemble the structural support pieces on the chess board that will allow them to shine and become the legends we want all of you to be. Time to get back to work. I support all that you're doing.

Respectfully, SKOL!

— Tom Vander Well in Pella, Iowa

Thanks for your readership and sharing your thoughts for the first time in this space. The Vikings are 34-19 (including the two Wild Card losses) under O'Connell and Adofo-Mensah, and that's doing so in a span of having five different quarterbacks start two or more games.

Darnold's 14 wins set an NFL record (topping 13 Peyton Manning and Steve McNair) for the most by a QB in his first season with a new team. Darnold, his teammates, the coaching staff and personnel department should all take pride in that significant accomplishment.

O'Connell and Adofo-Mensah took a couple of days before speaking with media members last Thursday. Both want to keep building on this foundation.

"I've always dreamt of being a general manager in an organization that's trying to do the thing they haven't done before, and I still have visions — I wake up in the morning and think of what that could be like," Adofo-Mensah said in explaining his gratitude for the opportunity granted through his hire by the Wilf family.

Hopefully all parties are able to allow themselves a little time to decompress — I'm trying to do the same this weekend, so I'm actually finishing this edition on Friday before the Divisional Round games.

My hope for our head coach and the offensive coaches is that they go back and look at the play routes for our receivers-tight ends and backs. When the line is experiencing the pressure, they were dealing with the last two games, I would think you would have our tight ends or back and fullback just hang out around the line of scrimmage. The play routes that are designed take too long to develop. That our head coach can't see that makes me think that he's not a coach that can make real game-time adjustments. I still can't understand when we went for two that the pass Sam throws to Justin Jefferson is caught outside the end zone. Not good play calling. I apologize but our head coach didn't make the needed game-time adjustments to save Sam from getting sacked or hurt. The entire offensive coaching staff needs to answer for not being better prepared. Enjoy the offseason. You're the BEST. Go Vikes.

— Tom B.

And

Vikings offensive play callers need to have a short-range outlet pass play always available to the QB when teams like the Rams and Lions put on too much pressure. They both knew that Darnold has a very slow release time and couldn't afford to take 3-to-5 seconds or more waiting until his main receivers get 15-to-30 yards downfield. Nine sacks in one game was the result. QBs that don't get sacked very often have much faster release times and have automatic dump off pass plays available to counteract heavy pass rushes. The Vikings obviously haven't learned this.

— Skip Ringerud, Vikings fan since 1962

O'Connell was asked about if there was anything that could have been done on this front and said "we actually had a lot of plays that had quicker elements to throw the football."

"The way we were defended in a lot of instances, whether it was single-high [safety] coverage, whether it was a double on Justin, whether it was split-safety coverage, there was a lot of their game plan was designed to take away those early-in-the-down quick throws, and that's where it required a layer of getting into the progressions and having real decisiveness with the things we did from one to two to three and required some things that our whole offense needed to be incredibly detailed," O'Connell said. "And that was our protection plan. That was knowing where to go with the football when the pocket did start to collapse. That was being able to navigate the down based upon the situation of where we're at. A third down in field goal range, making sure that we stayed in field goal range, and didn't feel the need to try to win the game on every single play, and that's play calls from me. That's execution from our quarterback and the other 10 guys in that huddle, that's the detail and the ability to have the spacing and the intent of the play received as it expresses itself through the play."

The whole offense seemed out of sync and out of sorts. I also was surprised the catch point on the 2-point conversion pass was so far shy of the end zone. The protection has to be able to allow Darnold to progress through his reads, and Darnold probably needed to accelerate his processes — play a bit faster without playing hurried.

A season of exceeding preseason expectations by finishing the regular season at 14-3. Too bad we faded fast and exited so quickly.

Here are my 3 Ups and 3 Downs for the 2024 season:

UPS:

1. The Vikings senior leadership for signing Darnold and letting Kirk [Cousins] walk. Great moves. And O'Connell's expert development and usage of Sam all season long. K.O.'s game management and play-calling was much improved and directly resulted in a 14-win season.

2. Defensive play and game plans. The defense under Flores took another step forward. The defensive players taken via free agency were the right ones and fit the Flores schemes quite well. The defense played well all season, and Flores produced yet another defense that outperformed the talent level of the individual players. Very nicely done. Keep Flores.

3. Our receiving corps is top-notch. So is our receivers coach (Keenan McCardell). Keep them all.

DOWNS:

1. Kickoff and punt games must improve. Our kickoffs were inconsistent and of course weak at the worst possible times. Our punts were inconsistent and at times short. Example in general: Vikings get a three-and-out on their foe from their 30; their punt to us is fair caught at the 10. The Vikings offense is stopped for a three-and-out starting from their 30. Our punt is fielded at the 25 or 30 with a 10-yard return? Our kickoff return and punt return games are literally NONEXISTENT! Bottom of the barrel in the NFL — please commit to fixing it. The whole thing is sad and defines the word "underperformance." Kickoff/punt/ /kickoff return/punt coverage and punt return games must ALL improve next year.

2. O'Connell's situational play calling and in-game adjustments must improve. K.O. needs to improve his ability to make effective in-game adjustments on offensive play calling. Adjustments that work. Adjustments that attack the weak aspects of the defenses being used against us. The Lions and Rams Wild Card games are perfect examples of this inability. After multiple sacks, something has to change? Red zone and short yardage situations were a huge problem this year, too. I think Ham on quick openers and QB sneaks were both underused. The standard is simple, call something in key situations that works. A triple reverse, flea-flicker, throwback to the sideline at the line of scrimmage — maybe not? The season-long end of first half performance weaknesses on both sides of the ball is another manifestation of the problem. It almost seemed like the Vikings strategy was to ensure the opponents had an opportunity to score late in the half, to either cancel out our own late score or simply put up more points against us before halftime.

3. The Vikings coaches and players need to figure out how to finish the season strong. We finished 0-4 and lost six out of our last seven in 2023 and were 0-2 this year. Good teams, winning teams, always peak at key times. The Vikings have not come close to finishing strong.

Overall, an amazing season. Hopefully we can continue to improve for next season, maybe figure out how to beat the Lions. I am looking forward to next year already.

Respectfully,

— Jeff Ludwig

The Vikings set a price for Cousins that they thought would allow them to still address other needs on the roster. His offer from the Falcons exceeded that, and Minnesota is expected to receive a compensatory pick in this year's draft to help offset that departure.

Minnesota created multiple scenarios through which it could approach a change at quarterback and found an economical solution that enabled even more activity in free agency.

In my opinion, the defense was as fun (or sometimes more fun to watch) as an offense that boasts the NFL's best receiver.

Flores' ability to help identify fits for his system, and the personnel department's ability to sign those free agents is one of the best attributes he's provided so far. As much as I'll be happy for him if he gets another opportunity to be a head coach, having him remain as the Vikings defensive coordinator would allow for continued building on this foundation.

Special teams had some nice moments but also suffered some inconsistencies at the least opportune moments of games, and that only gets magnified in games where other parts of the team are struggling.

The way the protection was not holding up in the final two games seemed so far removed from Week 2 when Darnold hit Jefferson midfield and the receiver streaked for the 97-yard touchdown against the 49ers.

I've been familiar with a December swoon. This time, after going 5-0 in that month, I thought this team was equipped to avoid any such fall-off.

The Vikings have struggled mightily in road night games (I'm counting anything that started after 6 p.m. at the venue). Since 2015, the Vikings are 6-17 in road night games (regular season and playoffs), including 0-7 under O'Connell. Minnesota is 4-2 when at home in a night game under O'Connell, by the way.

The last night win on the road against a team not named the Bears occurred in 2019 at the Cowboys, so Minnesota has considerable room for improvement in such contests.

We need to re-sign Camryn Bynum and Byron Murphy, Jr. We also have Dwight McGlothern and Mekhi Blackmon. Let Stephon Gilmore and Shaq Griffin move on.

Bring back the Hitman (Harrison Smith) for one more season. The other offseason pickups need to move on. Joshua Metellus, Theo Jackson and Jay Ward are already under contract. Find money to bring back Pat Jones II. Tackles such as Levi Drake Rodriguez and Jalen Redmond are the only two that need to stay. We need more fresh blood. Three draft picks. So free agency needs to be great. Do you think Dallas Turner will get more playing time next season? What if they shift him to defensive end?

— Rodger Wilmore in Sacramento, California

Bynum and Murphy turned in fine seasons, with the former concluding his rookie contract and the latter leading the Vikings with a career-high six interceptions.

McGlothern showed a lot in the preseason, and it will be interesting to see where he's at when the 2025 offseason program opens and during training camp. Blackmon suffered a torn ACL in the first practice of 2024 training camp. I'll have more on him this coming week.

Gilmore, 34, and Griffin, 29, were added after the injury to Blackmon and the tragic death of rookie Khyree Jackson. Both contributed significantly over the course of the season on and off the field.

"Shaq, Steph, those were great [additions] because it wasn't just about the player, but it was also about who the young guys in that room get to learn from," Adofo-Mensah said. "Now a Mekhi Blackmon, and then Dwight McGlothern gets to learn from you talking about consummate professionals in a scheme that requires a pretty high intellect. It's so great when I get to be on the sideline and listen to those guys. And the classroom isn't just between coaches and players. It's players to players. And so, we're really excited about that."

Smith is evaluating whether he returns or retires (more on that below).

Jones just finished the final year of his rookie deal with a career-best 7.0 sacks. It was disappointing to see him suffer the knee injury in Week 17 against Green Bay. Rodriguez will be looking to take a sophomore step, and Redmond already re-signed last week.

Playing time for Turner (I'll have more on him this week) will depend on a few factors. The progress he showed by the end of the season as an outside linebacker should be encouraging.

As a season ticket holder since 1961, I guess I shouldn't be surprised as to how things played out the last two games. It was great to see they exceeded expectations but a key to that was we were blessed to stay relatively healthy overall, and the schedule was favorable. As K.O. evaluates the season like all good coaches do I hope for the following:

1. Figures out a way to improve his third-and-1-or-2 play calls. Seems like we end up throwing too many intermediate routes that are incomplete.

2. Become more comfortable staying with the run when he gets a 5-6 yards a carry twice in a row and goes back to the pass right away. It's OK to run the ball more than twice in a row.

3. Against blitz heavy teams, how about throwing more quick game routes and bubble screens?

I believe we will get back to the playoffs and have success winning under his leadership. Hope Kwesi continues to have success in signing free agents and builds the team's draft capital back up in coming years.

Overall success like Detroit and the Rams with solid drafts will be a key to the next couple years of making a run.

Just want a Super Bowl win. Tired of waiting.

— Rick in Blaine, Minnesota

According to data from NFL GSIS, the Vikings faced third-and-1 22 times in the regular season and opted for designed runs 17 times (converted 12), passes four times (converted twice) and had one scramble that gained 9.

When it was third-and-2, the Vikings opted for passes all 15 instances and converted 10 times.

Those are discrepancies that could stand out among tendencies that opponents study.

Darnold attempted 545 passes and was sacked 48 times. He accounted for 67 of Minnesota's 457 rushes, whether it was by scrambling or sneaking.

Minnesota finished with nine rushing touchdowns on the season, an improvement by two over 2023, but only half of the 18 scored in 2022. Every team that reached the Divisional Round scored at least 15 rushing touchdowns this season (Buffalo led the group with 32; Detroit and Philadelphia each posted 29; Washington logged 25; Baltimore chalked 21; Houston, Kansas City and L.A. each scored 15).

With fewer selections entering this year's draft, there will be an added premium on hitting on picks. Adofo-Mensah has worked to free up cap space to allow for free agents to be part of the roster building equation. Minnesota also has had a nice run of success with undrafted free agents.

I just want to say that I just watched some locker room interviews from the day of the loss and locker cleanout day.

My heart breaks for all these men.

In my personal opinion, Sam Darnold is taking way too much blame. I hope that is just a player talking and not him actually taking on this all alone. Mental health is so important for ALL of us. He deserves better treatment from our fans and media.

Yes. It was very disappointing to lose but never lose sight of the fact that these are people first and deserve our respect.

— Sherrie Schaefer in Grand Forks, North Dakota

It's a team sport, for sure. Glory and blame should be shared in football. Players appreciate the support of fans in good and bad times.

I'm sure Darnold was disappointed in the season's ending — how could he not be? I also fundamentally believe it wasn't for a lack of effort by anyone.

We've seen the physical and mental toughness Darnold has shown. He kept getting back up off the turf and trying to make something happen on the next snap — and he often did deliver a good play after a negative one within the season.

As a long time Vikings fan, I have experienced my share of disappointments. Two embarrassing and disappointing results to end a fragile season may have put an end to my ability to hang on to the hope for a Super Bowl win.

Coaching was supposed to be a strength on this team — young, progressive and creative. After two frighteningly similar game plans, back-to-back, one has to shake their head. Making wise decisions going forward will be incredibly important to future success in the very difficult NFC North.

Investing big money on retread quarterbacks has cost us dearly. You drafted a rookie quarterback so take advantage. Spend the money elsewhere — what does 9 sacks in the final game tell you? Detroit's investment in their offensive line is paying large dividends.

I for one would rather see a younger developing team compete and grow together at the expense of wins, than watch and wait for the inevitable collapse that follows poorly managed investment on offense.

Hoping for some creative changes (like this year's defensive additions) and forward thinking to possibly rekindle my love for the Purple.

— Tom Fleming in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada

I was surprised that the Rams were able to replicate some of the success that the Lions enjoyed just one week earlier. The matchup (one team's strength vs. another's weakness) probably isn't discussed as much as it is in other sports. The Rams and Lions provided some matchup problems the Vikings couldn't offset.

I do, however, believe there are plenty of people in place who can continue to make this team better.

You may remember my comment in this Mailbag section from mid-last year, and that was that "I really like Kirk Cousins as a person, BUT Kirk is NOT a playoff-winning QB, so let him sign for lots of money somewhere else." Of course, we all know how that multi-million-dollar contract has played out for the Atlanta Falcons. I will now make my next observation (after hearing and reading that our Vikings should sign and keep Sam Darnold at maybe 30+ million per year).

Sam Darnold looks great in an offense that is "suited" for him. That is with effective coaching with a focus on ball security surrounded by great playmakers (i.e. Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson) along with a good offensive line, Sam Darnold can thrive. HOWEVER, please understand that great/franchise QBs pull their teams through the playoffs like Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes.

Sam Darnold needs the Vikings playmakers to pull him through the playoffs. Vikings fans must understand that J.J. McCarthy is the future of this team, and in fact I sincerely believe that had J.J. McCarthy not been hurt, (he) could have started and led this team to the playoffs just like Bo Nix has led the Denver Broncos to the playoffs.

Also, and this is incredibly important for Vikings fans to understand, just like the 49ers and the Chiefs, our team needs to retain, as well as bring in high-paid talent to position our team for the next five years of winning football. The last thing we need to do is to pay Sam Darnold 30-plus million a year for QB performance like we witnessed in Detroit and L.A. when the games were meaningful. Please know that I have been a Vikings fan for 55 years now and will take any Viking Super Bowl victory with any QB. However, let Sam Darnold leave for what his agent believes he's worth in the offseason, watch J.J. McCarthy lead/pull our team into next year's playoffs, and if that doesn't work as planned, half-way through the season then let K.O. do what he did with Sam Darnold for Daniel Jones!

— Craig in Phoenix, Arizona

And

Let's hope J.J. McCarthy is good as the starting quarterback next season. It took nearly an entire season, but the Sam Darnold we were all expecting finally surfaced in the final two games of the season. That will make the split from the Vikings much easier. Somebody will pay Darnold next year, but it won't be us. I'm thankful for the many weeks of fine play this year, but it's time to give the team to McCarthy on that rookie contract and spend the cap money on other needs. Or another matter, if that was the last time Harrison Smith wears the purple and white, a big thank you for all the years. See you in Canton.

— Greg Robertson in Las Vegas, Nevada

The best news I think I can deliver is that we're less than two months away from resolution on the quarterback situation. Adofo-Mensah and O'Connell are understandably leaving options open.

There will be plenty of speculation about what Darnold could fetch on the open market, and the projection for the use of a franchise tag on a QB is around $40 million.

There may be a situation where the desire to stay at a spot for less money exceeds going somewhere else and starting over.

If the keys are passed to McCarthy, then the Vikings can continue to build around the quarterback for his second year in the NFL and first on the field, but people would do themselves a favor to understand young quarterbacks experience growing pains.

What should be encouraging is the nucleus the Vikings have been able to create to equip quarterbacks during O'Connell's tenure.

Lastly, I think Smith will give an authentic self-assessment. Selfishly, I've never known the Vikings without him in the locker room and don't like thinking about the prospect whenever the time comes. If he does decide to retire, then I'm sure fans will join our efforts in bestowing laurels and starting the countdown-to-Canton clock for what should be his enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

We have now logged 32 failed attempts in 59 Super Bowl tournaments. That futility solidifies our status as the most successfully unsuccessful team ever. The ESPN graphic confirmed that, of the four major North American sports leagues, the Vikings are the oldest franchise not to win a championship. We never seem to not win it all the same way twice, either.

Despite this, the future is bright, and the core of this team is solid. Thankfully, we learned that Sam Darnold is not the answer and does not warrant a long-term deal. The last two games were, essentially, both playoff games, and his execution was abysmal. We know that the interior offensive line needs to be addressed on draft day.

Lastly, thank you to the officiating crew for defining exactly what constitutes a forward pass. A flailing, flip of the hand as one's face is being planted in the turf is considered part of an aerial attack. Good to know.

— Paul K. Oates in Lockport, New York

There's an agreement to disagree on the "championship" front since the 1969 team won the NFL Championship. Sure, that was the fourth season that game was followed by a Super Bowl, which now crowns the winner, but a victory in that game in the seasons prior to 1966 in the NFL (or in the first few years of the AFL, for that matter!) prevent older franchises from qualifying.

I do get Paul's point, however. Thirty-two playoff appearances in 64 seasons establishes a track record of competing but not winning the big one.

I've now worked for an NFL team for 15 seasons (four with the Titans and 11 with the Vikings), and I have covered one playoff victory in person (the Minneapolis Miracle). I was not at Minnesota's win at New Orleans after the 2019 season (Lindsey Young and former team reporter Eric Smith attended that walk-off win).

I get the focus on Darnold's struggles because of the importance of the position, but there were several other aspects of the games that did not go well for Minesota, including the play that was initially ruled a forced fumble by Jonathan Greenard that was scooped and scored by Blake Cashman to tie the game at 10 early in the second quarter. Appreciate Ron Johnson for clipping this part of the Manning Cast where Peyton, Eli and Bill Belichick offered their reactions to Matthew Stafford's successful exploitation of the rule beyond intent.

I also thought it was generous to say Puka Nacua was close enough to where Stafford let go of the ball toward the ground.

On the opening drive, they called a neutral zone infraction on the Vikings. How is this not a false against the Rams when the player behind the right guard and tackle clearly stutter stepped twice right before the flag?

— Royce Lavoie in Alexandria, Minnesota

Here is the rule as it is written in the NFL's rulebook.

Item 2. Eligible Receiver. If all 11 offensive players have been set for at least one full second, and an eligible receiver who is on the line of scrimmage moves forward, it is a False Start, regardless of whether the action is quick and abrupt or slow and deliberate.

If an eligible receiver who is on the line of scrimmage moves backward or changes his stance (two point to three point or conversely) and does not come to a complete stop before the snap, it is a false start.

Any eligible backfield player who changes his stance does not have to come to a complete stop prior to the snap, as long as his actions are not abrupt (false start) or forward (illegal motion).

That last part is where the Vikings could have a beef with the way that one was called.

What if the Rams purposely designed that movement just to see if the call went their way and were OK with just taking the 3 points to start the game if Nacua had been flagged?

The stutter-stepping sure looked abrupt, and Nacua definitely moved forward. I get that the final score resulted from the Rams playing better than the Vikings for 60 minutes, but a four-point swing out of the gate is a big deal.

As you are well-aware, I'm a long suffering, longtime Vikings fan for more than 50 years. I turned this game off at the half, which I've done in the past because I've seen this show before. It's nice to win 13-14 games in season, but you have to acknowledge and fix the warts that fans and pundits have talked about all year. The culture has definitely started to change, and we have good football players that loved the game, but you have to be able to rise to occasion in the big games to fight for a championship.

Biggest issue all year has been the offensive line. Need a bigger, stronger center and interior line. Also, pass defense has to get better. Too much room over the middle, and at times, the tackling has to be a little better. Looking at next year's schedule, I don't think we'll have the same success as this year.

It's hard to follow this team when they keep breaking your heart and teasing you to think they are a championship squad. I'm not sure what it's gonna take to make this team better and truly compete for a championship? I think K.O. needs to improve his play calling and hopefully he's learned from this and gets better. And whoever is the quarterback next year has to get rid of the ball quicker. Take the checkdown and not always the home run. Regards from a very disappointed, frustrated 50+ year fan.

— Frankie from Connecticut

After the game, O'Connell was asked about improving the offensive line and said the following:

"There's no question. We've got to find a way to be able to give a quarterback, especially with players like Justin, Jordan and T.J., we've got to find a way to solidify just the interior of the pocket starting first and foremost," O'Connell said. "There could be a thousand excuses made, whether it's losing 'C.D.' (Christian Darrisaw) or even midway through the game losing 'B.O.' (Brian O'Neill) tonight. For me, it's the foundation of the interior of the pocket that we're going to have to take a long look at. I thought those guys battled.

"That's a good, young, fast athletic front [on the Rams]," he continued. "Really when you look at it over the course of the entirety of the season, we lost to two football teams and both of them were able to do some similar things against us via pressure, via some four-down pressure, non-pressure and non-blitz pressure. We just weren't able to ever find that rhythm, find those two or three plays that can kind of take a little bit of the steam out of what they're doing and sustain a little bit.

"There's no question that to get to where we want to get to and where our fans deserve for us to go to — we've got the greatest fans in the National Football League," O'Connell added. "We've got to find a way to host games at U.S. Bank Stadium, have our home environment and put the kind of performance together in these moments that allows you to keep playing in this single elimination tournament."

As with any season, no matter how good, bad, pleasantly surprising or ultimately heartbreaking, the Vikings leadership will conduct a thorough assessment in what got the team to this point and what needs to happen to go farther.

Viking fan for life now in San Diego. After the end to the season, I have some thoughts.

1. Thank you to the media who cover the Vikings and provide information for those of us who follow the team, coaches and players, predominately the coverage from Vikings.com. Love reading/watching all the coverage.

2. This was a great season. I am not sure at what age I started watching every game I could, but from the mid-to-late '70s I have followed every season, through highs and lows. Even though the last two games did not go as desired (more below) a team that was expected to win 6.5 games came together as a team, individuals stepped up, stars were team players, and coaches brought out the best in each player and group. This was a fun season to be a fan.

3. One team wins the Super Bowl each year. Two teams reach the Super Bowl. Every other team has some heartache, or what could-have-beens. I would much rather go 14-3, than 6-11, or 4-13, or any other record that makes going into work hard from having to listen to fans of other teams. The Vikings as an entire team played very well all year.

4. Somehow the loss, as bad as it was, made it easier to take. I told those watching with me, "They have 10 points, we have 1 yard. Game over." Nowhere near as painful as '98 or '09.

5. I love K.O. and hope he is our coach for many years. To unite the team and have them exceed expectations the way he did could not have done by many other coaches, if any. Having said that, the last two weeks could have had more quick slants, jet sweeps, maybe even some toss back RB throws. Something to mitigate the pressure the defensive fronts were putting on us. I hope there were some lessons learned there.

6. I am super happy Sam Darnold had such a great year and had successes that he had not seen in his career previously. I did not think he was a potential long-term QB for us, but mostly because of the money. If he had said he would do another year for $15M, I would have said I was for that. The last two weeks have swayed me for sure that J.J. McCarthy (and maybe Daniel Jones?) is the correct path for next year and beyond.

7. I hope Harrison Smith comes back for at least another year. I respect players who only play for one team for their career, and for the Vikings only Mick Tingelhoff (240), Fred Cox (210) and Scott Studwell (201) exceed Smith's 192 games played (according to pro-football-reference.com). I don't want him to come back just to move up the list, but he has been a great player to watch, and he is a huge part of our defense and team. The numbers just show how long he has been part of the team, and how rare a career that is so long is with one team, and he is not a player who thinks he can get some percentage more somewhere else.

8. I questioned hiring Kwesi, but I don't think there has ever been a better group of free agent signings than this year. Those before the season started and those in the mid-season as well. I know there are a lot of factors in their success, but he brought in good to great players who seem to be great teammates, and I think Minnesota is now known for a place that other free agents will want to come to.

After all this, I will summarize that I am proud to be a Viking fan. Some players will most likely move on to other teams. Some coaches may move on to other teams, although I have hopes they also feel that more money elsewhere may not be more attractive than what is being built here. I think the future is bright and am excited for the offseason and what is to come next year.

— Bruce J. in San Diego, California

Thanks for the positive comments on the coverage and to everyone who has made it this far into the Mailbag.

There's plenty to appreciate about Bruce's comments. The line about "This was a fun season to be a fan." made me think about the ending of The Office, where Ed Helms' character Andy Bernard says, "I wish there was a way to know you're in 'the good old days' before you've actually left them. Someone should write a song about that."

Ideally for all who support the Vikings, this isn't going to be looked back to as that time period but instead a season of 14 wins and getting the franchise a step closer to the Super Bowl. The Vikings have improved during the Adofo-Mensah and O'Connell tenures (I still contend Minnesota would have made the playoffs in 2023 had Cousins not suffered the Achilles injury, so that would have been three years in a row). We've seen a pattern of step forward and step back in alternating years as new challenges have emerged, so the next first step is trying to make consecutive playoff appearances for the first time since 2008-09.

Regarding item 7, those are correct regular-season numbers for Vikings who spent the entirety of their careers with Minnesota. Smith has already reached rare air, and his motivation in returning would be to continue to make positive impacts on games.

This is arguably one of the best free agency hauls in franchise history and is among some of the most impactful across the league. Some were added via multiyear deals, and others played on one-year contracts. The exact combination of players will change, but there is plenty to look forward to in the future.

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