The Vikings had great odds before the season of winning it all, with the third-best chances according to linesetters in Vegas. The addition of a high-level quarterback to replace an inconsistent, if exciting, Case Keenum paired with a stifling defense seemingly paved the way for a team that could make up for its errors at the end of 2017 and made for a compelling story.



Instead of repeating their 13-win performance for an NFC championship appearance, the Vikings won eight games and tied another. Unsurprisingly, that wasn’t enough for a wild-card appearance, much less a shot at home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.



There’s no question — things went wrong. Exactly what went wrong, on a unit-by-unit level, takes a bit more analysis.



The offensive line



This is perhaps the single-biggest issue Vikings fans will point to when discussing the dismal 8-7-1 showing, and they would be right to do that.



The Vikings were one of...