Vikes, Broncos have clear path to Miami
Posted: Tuesday October 27, 1998 02:45 PM
A full two months remain in the 1998 regular season, but it's already clear
there will be two teams to beat in this year's playoffs.
The Denver Broncos and
Minnesota Vikings have
dominated opponents in keeping the league's only perfect records. Their
focus now is making sure the road to Miami goes through Mile High Stadium
and the Metrodome.
Denver is a veteran team playing with great confidence. The Broncos are
arguably the league's most disciplined and well-coached team. Everyone
expected the balanced, dominating offense, but the surprise has been an
underrated defense that's stepped up.
This is team that does not beat itself, and the players realize they have a
short window of opportunity to win another title. Mike Shanahan is 26-2 at
home -- the best home mark by any NFL coach since 1970 -- so I can't
imagine anyone going into Mile High in January and beating this team.
Minnesota is more of a Cinderella team -- their offense has been
overwhelming and their defense has been opportunistic. The Vikings made
some smart moves before the season, signing coach Dennis Green and key
veteran free agents like tailback Robert Smith, defensive
tackle John Randle and
offensive lineman Todd
Steussie to long-term contracts. This is a team on a mission, and
they're already 5-0 in the ultra-tough NFC Central, with wins at Green Bay
and Detroit.
If the Vikings can clinch home-field advantage, they should be in good
shape. They don't want to have to go into Green Bay or San Francisco in the
playoffs -- if they're at home, they're hard to beat.
After those two teams, there's a real dropoff in the league -- only one
other team has fewer than two losses, and these contenders are all
incomplete teams, struggling on one side of the ball, missing something --
clearly beatable. - 49ers: Steve Young has this team
in an offensive zone, but their pass defense is struggling. They lost to
the Bills and should have lost to the Colts. This team isn't winning; it's
just outscoring people. Lose Young and this is a very mediocre team.
- Packers: With no run game and limited offensive weapons, there are
problems on the horizon. Brett Favre is pressing,
trying to do it all by himself. The defense can be beaten deep, as the
Vikings showed in that Monday Night Massacre. This is still a proud team,
still a playoff team, but they're not going to get much better.
- Jaguars: Mark
Brunell and his two receivers give the Jags a great chance in any game,
but their defense, racked by injuries, is giving up a lot of yards. They're
real vulnerable to the long pass, and if the defense doesn't improve,
playoff teams will take advantage.
- Dolphins: Debatable if they should
be in this group. Team will go as far as its defense takes it -- the
offense is near the bottom. You can't go into the playoff without a running
game, especially with an offense like this that lacks any big-play threat.
- Patriots: Tough team to figure -- very few weaknesses, but they lack an
identity and they don't get up for big games. They're literally a wild card
team -- they could run the table, or they could be upset in the first
round.
There's another tier of teams that should make the playoffs, but don't seem
too dangerous. Kansas City and Pittsburgh have great defenses, but too many
problems on offense. Dallas is an average team lucky to be playing in a
horrible division, and Oakland probably isn't as good as its record
indicates.
So the Broncos and Vikings, two teams with one combined victory in nine
Super Bowl appearances, seem set on a collision course for Pro Player
Stadium. They want to be there for two different reasons -- Denver knows
its clock is running out for another title and Minnesota is just enjoying
the ride so much.
There will be stumbling points and hiccups along the way, so don't expect
any perfect seasons, but if these teams can focus on doing what they've
done thus far, they'll meet in a Super Bowl everybody wants to see.
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