Offseason projections for the NFL's Divisional Round losers

Immediately after a team is eliminated from the playoffs, it's time for the front office to think about what went wrong and how to fix it in the offseason. What should the teams that lost in the Divisional Round do to make a Super Bowl run next season? Here are my thoughts.

Minnesota Vikings

After they upset the Saints in overtime in the Wild Card Round, the Vikings were handled by San Francisco on Saturday night. Minnesota has plenty of talent on its roster but also has clear holes to fill, starting coordinators on both sides of the ball. Kevin Stefanski fit head coach Mike Zimmer’s system well, but he is off to Cleveland to be the new head coach of the Browns. Defensive coordinator George Edwards is not expected to return, either.

In addition to their coaching staff needs, the Vikings must continue to bolster an offensive line that was improved this season but still not good enough to win a title. They used two top selections in the 2019 draft to bring in Garrett Bradbury and Dru Samia, but if they want to take the next step forward they still need to invest more.

Minnesota’s other major need is in the secondary, where Xavier Rhodes regressed in his seventh NFL season. The former Florida State star had been a shut-down corner since he was drafted with the 25th overall pick in 2013, but he can no longer be counted on to cover the opposition's top passing threat.

The Vikings defense is getting older, Kirk Cousins is probably not good enough to win a title, and I am lukewarm on Zimmer, but there is still plenty to like about this roster. Minnesota should be a major player in the NFC North again in 2020.

Baltimore Ravens

In the most surprising outcome of the postseason, the sixth-seeded Titans took it to the Ravens early and never looked back in a 28-12 win in Baltimore.

It is difficult to be too critical of a team that was as dominant as Baltimore in 2019. The Ravens went 14-2 and won their last 12 games before the postseason, so they have a lot of what they need to take another run at the Lombardi Trophy in 2020. However, they have a couple of holes to fill if they want to be a more complete club next year.

Baltimore needs to be better equipped to play from behind. Likely MVP Lamar Jackson may not be the ideal quarterback to drop back as often as he had to in the loss to Tennessee, but he would have a much better chance to erase a deficit if he had a reliable possession receiver. Mark Andrews is one of the league’s best young tight ends and Marquise Brown can take the top off of a defense, but Willie Snead and Seth Roberts are not going to cut it as a team’s best options to move the chains on key third downs.

The Ravens lost a number of key contributors on defense last season, so the fact that defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale’s group was as good as it was came as a surprise. But the Ravens still need to get more pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Adding a pass rusher or two makes a lot of sense.

Until this unique offense behind Jackson has success in the playoffs, it will be questioned, but the Ravens are well coached and have an abundance of talent. They should be considered one of the favorites to win it all in 2020.

Houston Texans

Despite four AFC South titles over the last five seasons and one of the NFL’s best young quarterbacks, the Texans are still nowhere close to being legitimate contenders.

Houston’s issues start at the top. Bill O’Brien not only has major issues with game-day decisions, but he is not equipped to make the team’s personnel decisions. Until Texans ownership realizes it needs a true general manager instead of O’Brien to run the show, the franchise will have no chance to get to its first Super Bowl.

The Texans addressed their biggest roster issue from a season ago by trading for left tackle Laremy Tunsil, but they paid way too much to get the former Miami Dolphin. Now they have major holes to fill at all levels of their defense, which will hard to do without a first-round pick in 2020 and their first- and second-round selections in 2021.

Quarterback Deshaun Watson and his receivers can mask a lot of deficiencies during the regular season, but they are not good enough to win in the playoffs with a defense that gave up the fourth-most passing yards per game and wasn't much better against the run. The Texans may contend again in the AFC South next season, but I would be shocked if they have success in the postseason under the current regime.

Seattle Seahawks

Much like Houston, Seattle got to the Divisional Round behind the dynamic play of their quarterback. Russell Wilson will not win MVP, but it is difficult to declare any single player means more to his team. Wilson singlehandedly led the Seahawks to an 11-5 regular-season record, despite the fact that they only outscored their opposition by seven points over 16 games.

Seattle must get better on the offensive line, find a way to get more pressure on the quarterback, and acquire more talent in the secondary, but their coaching staff also needs to adapt to its roster. It made some sense for Pete Carroll to lean on the running game when he had an elite defense and top talent in the backfield. The fact that he and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer continued to do so in 2019, instead of putting the ball in Wilson’s hands, was perplexing.

Wilson is a magician and will almost always give the Seahawks a chance, but their current philosophy is flawed, and their roster has far too many weaknesses to expect a Super Bowl run.

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