The Minnesota Vikings finished the year 7-9, missing the playoffs for the fourth time in five years, but there's real optimism in the Twin Cities after a year that could have easily gotten off track.

Playing 15 games without Adrian Peterson, the Vikings managed to finish third in the NFC North and appeared to identify their quarterback of the future in rookie Teddy Bridgewater, who went 6-6 as a starter despite a decimated offense. Bridgewater and head coach Mike Zimmer figured to be joined at the hip, and now it looks like the Vikings have a foundation with both of them.

Team MVP: Bridgewater gets our vote in his first season with the team. He completed 64.4 percent of his passes -- third best for a rookie in NFL history -- and won six of his 12 starts despite a tattered offensive line, an insignificant Cordarrelle Patterson and no Peterson. Bridgewater finished just short of 3,000 yards and became the first quarterback to surpass 200 rushing yards in a Norv Turner offense. With a better supporting cast around him in 2015, Bridgewater could take off in his second season.

Best moment: The Vikings' two overtime touchdowns this season were triggered by their two first-round picks -- Bridgewater and Anthony Barr -- but we'll go with Bridgewater's 87-yard game winner to Jarius Wright on Dec. 7. The rookie changed the play at the line of scrimmage after he saw a New York Jets blitz coming. After Wright picked up a couple of blocks, he outraced Sheldon Richardson to the end zone for a game-winning score. The play showed Bridgewater's developing command of the offense, and his growing relationship with Wright in an uplifting moment for the Vikings.

Worst moment: This season will always be remembered for Peterson's absence, and the low point of the season probably came in the early hours of Sept. 17, when the Vikings put Peterson on the commissioner's exempt list after sponsors balked at their initial decision to let the running back play through child abuse charges. Peterson's absence stripped the offense of its focal point, and it meant Bridgewater didn't have the luxury of a former MVP to command the attention of defenses.

2015 outlook: The Vikings have to feel good about where they're headed. Bridgewater should continue to get better, and Zimmer will have another offseason to tinker with a defense that showed major improvement in 2014. Their schedule appears tougher -- at least at first glance -- and they'll have to figure out whether they have enough playmakers on offense, with Peterson in limbo and Patterson trying to rebound from a disappointing second season. But an improvement on 7-9 should be expected, and a bid for a playoff berth shouldn't be out of the question.