When the Vikings pulled into Seattle for a Monday night game in December 2018, they were at the height of their existential crisis on offense.
Only a Dalvin Cook touchdown with 1:10 to play kept them from being shut out for the first time since 2007, and the morning after their 21-7 loss to the Seahawks, coach Mike Zimmer fired first-year offensive coordinator John DeFilippo after months of disagreement about the direction of the offense.
According to Sharp Football Stats, the 2018 Vikings threw the ball 55 % of the time on first and second down in close game situations (leading or trailing by seven points or less).