The Vikings wildcard playoff game, and the season, ended not the way we wanted, but also in a way that was not unexpected.

For the last few years, every time the Vikings make it to the playoffs, they get knocked out in the first round. I mean, they've made it to 11 playoff rounds in the last 25 seasons, and they made it to their second round in 5 of those. On paper, that speaks of a pretty good team, but it's hard to be too excited and believe too hard. I guess I got into it here at the end of the season, too, but while I was disappointed, I wasn't surprised.

It's even more disappointing after last week's loss to the Lions, since they had a week to figure out how to make some adjustments. The Rams brought a solid game to the Vikings, and the Vikings couldn't stop them nor could they make anything happen. Even just tossing the ball aside when the pocket is collapsing might have brought some different benefits, at the very least having saved the lost yards.

I suppose in a silver lining, the Vikings only lost to two teams this season, and to each only twice.

The Packers also lost, so if we're bubbling up our league love to the division, we'll root for the Lions in the division round. Or settle in for a little while before baseball starts in earnest.