The Minnesota Vikings were one of the best teams in the NFL throughout the first 17 weeks of the regular season a year ago. The Vikings were beaten badly by their division rivals, and that loss cost them the No. 1 seed in the NFC and the NFC North title. As a result, the Vikings were forced to play on the road in the Wild Card game against the NFC West champion Los Angeles Rams, and their season came to an end in a 27-9 defeat. The Vikings tried to address their late-season weaknesses by adding a pair of veteran interior offensive linemen as well as two defensive linemen.