Viktor
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- Mar 19, 2019
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The Vikings went 6-4 in those 10 games, which was the most under Zimmer in his seven seasons in charge. The previous high was nine games in 2014. The Vikings won four of those and also finished 7-9.
Six of the games were decided by three or fewer points, with Minnesota suffering 1-point losses against Tennessee and at Seattle. The Vikings lost by three at home to the Cowboys before winning their next two contests by a combined four points.
Zimmer spoke about the Vikings penchant for being in close games this past season.
"I think that, usually in the NFL, each game is going to come down to one possession," Zimmer said. "I do think these guys, especially the young guys, being in this position of tight ball games … I think the experience of them having to do that will help them be better in those situations.
"I know I wasn't able to work on those things as much as we have in the past. Usually it's every day in OTAs and every day we go out there, we work on end-of-game situations," Zimmer added. "With the shortened time, we weren't able to do it near as much. Those are things we all have to continue to do."
Across the NFL in 2020, 136 of the 256 regular-season games (53.1 percent) were decided by one possession. The highest total came in Week 15 with 10 such games, including a 33-27 Vikings loss to the Bears at home.
If Minnesota had won that game, the Vikings would have made the playoffs as the seventh seed … a spot that the Bears ended up claiming.
"I think there [were] possibilities that we could've had a better record, but you say that every year," said Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen. "You look back at games you shoulda, coulda won, right, but at the end of the day your record is your record.
"So, it is what it is," Thielen added. "We've got to move on and figure out a way to not let that happen again."
Here's a closer look at the 10 close games that helped define Minnesota's 2020 season:
Week 3, 31-30 home loss to Titans
The Vikings led 17-9 at halftime but couldn't hold the lead against the eventual AFC South champions. Minnesota led 30-28 with just over six minutes left, but gained just 12 yards in five plays before punting the ball away. The Titans kicked a go-ahead, 55-yard field goal with 1 minute and 44 seconds left, and the Vikings last-gasp drive ended with an interception.