‘Drought’ finally over as Vikings’ Andrew DePaola, Dalvin Tomlinson head to playoffs for first time

Chris Tomasson, Pioneer Press
Updated ·3 min read

For Andrew DePaola and Dalvin Tomlinson, the wait is finally over.

DePaola, the Vikings’ first-team All-Pro long snapper, has played in 106 regular-season games and Tomlinson, their rugged defensive lineman, in 93. On Sunday, they finally will appear in a playoff game for the first time when Minnesota faces the New York Giants at U.S. Bank Stadium.

“We’ve ended the drought,” DePaola said.

After DePaola entered the NFL with Tampa Bay in 2014, every season ended the same way for him for close to a decade. DePaola’s team didn’t qualify for the postseason and he would return home to Maryland.

“I’d be home watching the playoffs and just be envious of those teams getting a shot to chase the ultimate goal,” said DePaola, who also got into regular-season games with the Chicago Bears and the Oakland Raiders before joining the Vikings in 2020.

But now DePaola has made it to the postseason in his eighth NFL season.

“It feels great,” he said. “It’s a new feeling. Usually at this time of the year, I’m not required to be in the (team facility). But it’s nice to be here and still working and being one of the 14 teams left to chase the title.”

In terms of regular-season games played, DePaola has had the longest playoff dry spell and Tomlinson the second-longest one among Vikings players. Tomlinson, in his sixth season, played for the Giants from 2017-21 before signing with Minnesota before last season.

“It’s amazing just to be in the playoffs for the first time,” Tomlinson said. “I’ve been waiting for this since I first got in the NFL. I’m super excited, and I just want to take advantage of this opportunity I’ve been given.”

During Tomlinson’s four seasons with the Giants, they never had a record better than 6-10, although they actually did finish just one game in that 2020 season behind 7-9 Washington in the NFC East. Then he joined a Minnesota team that had been eliminated from the playoff race before the final game in 2020 and 2021.

“Not going to the playoffs the last five years was tough, but you’ve got to just continue to grind until you get there,” Tomlinson said.

DePaola, who played for the Buccaneers from 2014-16, came close to a playoff appearance in 2016, when they went 9-7 and missed out by one game. DePaola then was on teams with losing records with Chicago in 2017 and Oakland in 2018 before sitting out the 2019 season. Then he had two more losing seasons with the Vikings before they broke through this season with a 13-4 record.

“I’m stoked for” DePaola, Vikings special-teams coordinator Matt Daniels said. “He’s (had) a little bit more pep in his step. … He’s geeked up about it.”

It has been a banner season for DePaola, who at 35 is the oldest player on the team. He was named to his first Pro Bowl last month, earned All-Pro honors for the first time Friday, and on Sunday will make his postseason debut.

“We play this game to win it all and win the last game of the year,” DePaola said. “I’m just so thankful and grateful to finally get a shot to do it.”

DePaola and Tomlinson have received plenty of well-wishes from teammates for finally getting to the postseason. And taking a look at the paths of the two veterans, safety Camryn Bynum expressed relief that he only had to wait until his second season to make it.

“I just know how much it means for them to grind this long in the league and then finally get there,” Bynum said. “We’ve got to make it worth it for them.”

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