Inside The Vikings

49ers, Chiefs Advance to Super Bowl: Vikings-Related Storylines

Teddy Bridgewater's NFL career has come to an end.
Will Ragatz|
49ers, Chiefs Advance to Super Bowl: Vikings-Related Storylines
49ers, Chiefs Advance to Super Bowl: Vikings-Related Storylines

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Minnesota Vikings

The Chiefs and 49ers advanced to Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday, defeating the Ravens and Lions on an entertaining day of conference title game action. The big stories were missed opportunities for Baltimore and a gut-wrenching collapse by Detroit, who blew a 24-7 halftime lead due to drops, a fumble, an unlucky bounce, and a couple failed fourth down attempts that have (unsurprisingly) led to criticism for head coach Dan Campbell.

From a Minnesota perspective, the Lions' painful choke job felt like something the Vikings would do. The NFC North is now 2-11 in its last 13 NFC championship games, with one of those two victories coming when the Packers beat the Bears following the 2010 season. Since the 1998 season, the Vikings are 0-4 in conference title games, the Packers are 1-5, and both the Bears and Lions are 0-1.

It is, however, a division that could be extremely competitive next season and for years to come. The Packers and Lions both gave the 49ers everything they could handle on their path to the Super Bowl. The Bears have the No. 1 overall pick and plenty of other resources at their disposal. The Vikings, who won the division in 2022, have the coaching staff and offensive core to be dangerous next season even if they don't re-sign Kirk Cousins.

Another Vikings storyline that came up again on Sunday was their whiff on the 2022 draft. GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah traded back from the 12th overall pick to 32 to take Lewis Cine and Andrew Booth Jr., who have both been massive busts. The Lions, who were on the other end of that trade, got two touchdowns on Sunday from Jameson Williams, who they took with the 12th pick. Williams has had a slow start to his career, but things are looking up. More notably, the Vikings could've taken Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton or Chiefs CB Trent McDuffie at 12 instead of trading back. Both players have emerged as stars and had big performances in the AFC title game.

Here are the former Vikings players and coaches on the teams who will be participating in the Super Bowl in Las Vegas:

 San Francisco 49ers

  • Offensive passing game specialist Klint Kubiak
  • DT T.Y. McGill (practice squad)
  • OL Jesse Davis (practice squad)

Kansas City Chiefs

  • TE Blake Bell
  • RB Jerick McKinnon (IR)

Bell, a blocking tight end who plays 15-20 snaps in most games, is likely the only former Viking who will see the field.

The Ravens' loss meant the end of the road for ex-Vikings Michael Pierce, Dalvin Cook, Laquon Treadwell, and Dan Chisena. The Lions' loss marks the end of the NFL career for former Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who is expected to officially announce his retirement this offseason. Nothing but respect for Bridgewater, a 2014 first-round pick who started 29 games for the Vikings over two seasons before tearing up his knee in training camp in 2016. He bounced back and wound up starting another 37 games across stints with the Saints, Panthers, Broncos, Dolphins, and Lions. It'll be exciting to see what the 31-year-old Bridgewater does next.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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