The Minnesota Vikings are the last unbeaten team standing.
After the San Francisco 49ers coughed up an early double-digit lead and fell to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday afternoon, and the Kansas City Chiefs were blown out on Sunday night by Sam Darnold and the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, Minnesota moved into a lone spot at the top of the NFL with a 6-0 record. The Vikings got there with a 16-10 win over the Indianapolis Colts.
It wasn’t a masterpiece. Nobody is going to confuse that Colts game with a highlight reel.
But in this league, the result is what matters, and Minnesota keeps stacking them. At the same time, it’s fair to note that the Vikings haven’t exactly been beating a murderer’s row over the past month.
Their last four opponents - the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, and Colts - are a combined 7-20.
The two victories that do stand out came against teams with winning records: the Green Bay Packers, now 4-3, and the Chicago Bears, now 5-2. Those could wind up carrying real weight if the NFC North gets decided by a tiebreaker.
Still, there’s a reason some people are waiting to fully buy in on Minnesota as a contender. Even with the league’s best defense, one that has allowed just 12.3 points per game, the schedule has left room for skepticism. The next month should answer a lot of questions, because the Vikings’ next four opponents all have winning records and are a combined 19-7.
Heading into Week 8, Minnesota also has the toughest remaining strength of schedule in the NFL. Its remaining opponents own a combined winning percentage of .576, and this four-game stretch is the main reason why.
First up is a trip to Detroit to face the Lions, who sit at 4-2 after beating the Arizona Cardinals before their bye and then edging the Packers last Sunday. Dan Campbell’s team brings a dangerous offense into the matchup.
Jared Goff and company rank second in the league in total yards per game at 397.3 and second in scoring at 30.7. The problem for Detroit is on the other side of the ball, where the Lions have allowed the most total yards per game in the NFL at 391.0 and the seventh-most points at 27.5.
That gives Minnesota’s offense, which ranks 29th in yardage at 281.7 and 23rd in scoring at 20.8, a chance to get something going.
Week 9 turns into a Monday night test against the Buffalo Bills, and the setup looks a lot like the Detroit game. Buffalo’s only loss came in a 29-26 shootout against the New England Patriots in Week 4, and plenty of its games have been track meets.
Josh Allen’s offense leads the NFL in scoring at 32.8 points per game and ranks fourth in yardage at 387.7. The defense, though, has given up the second-most yards per game at 386.8 and the third-most points at 28.5.
Then comes a return trip to Green Bay in Week 10. The Packers have the worst record of the four opponents at 4-3 after losing to Detroit, but they’re not a team to dismiss.
Minnesota already saw what Green Bay can do early in the season, when the Packers led 22-10 with a little more than five minutes left in the third quarter before the Vikings stormed back with 29 straight points. The Packers’ defense has also tightened up after a rough start, going from allowing 30.3 points per game over the first three weeks to 12.8 per game over the last four.
They held the Cowboys to 13 points and the Lions to a season-low 20 in the last two weeks. On offense, Jordan Love can light it up when he gets rolling, as the Bears learned when he threw for 367 yards and two touchdowns against them.
Josh Jacobs should also be more settled by the time this one arrives.
The stretch ends in Week 11 with a Sunday night showdown against the 49ers, who just took their first loss of the season. Even with that defeat, and even with injuries hitting both sides of the ball, San Francisco remains one of the most complete teams in the league. The offense ranks eighth in yardage at 371.4 and third in scoring at 28.1, while the defense is fourth in yards allowed at 299.3 and sixth in points allowed at 19.9.
Minnesota can absolutely run the table over these next four games. Even a 2-2 split would leave the Vikings at 8-2 after 10 games, which would still put them in strong shape heading into the stretch run.
In Other News...
Jauan Jennings Trade Twist Leaves Vikings With A Bigger WR Question
A deal to send Jauan Jennings back to San Francisco briefly put the Vikings in the middle of a rare midseason trade wrinkle, with Minnesota and the 49ers reportedly agreeing on terms before the move could be finalized. Jennings had signed a one-year deal with the Vikings, but his role in the offense has been limited this season, which made the possibility of a return to the Bay Area at least plausible on paper.
The twist was that the arrangement still needed Jennings approval after a video call with Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch, and his preference was to stay in Minnesota. For the Vikings, that leaves the broader question intact: how much more can they get from a receiver who arrived with some intrigue but has yet to become a meaningful piece of the passing game? [Read more 🡒]
Vikings Face One Big Jonathan Taylor Question After New Trade Buzz
Jonathan Taylor has suddenly become one of the biggest names to watch as the NFL trade deadline approaches, with Indianapolis signaling a willingness to move the running back if the right offer comes along. The market is already taking shape around a familiar benchmark, with the Colts looking for a package that reflects the kind of return Carolina got for Christian McCaffrey in 2022, which means multiple draft picks would likely have to be part of any serious conversation.
For Minnesota, the buzz is obvious because the Vikings have been mentioned among the teams with interest, alongside Denver, Green Bay and the Giants. Nothing has been finalized, and the asking price figures to be the real hurdle, but Taylors availability alone adds another layer to a deadline that could shape how aggressive Minnesota wants to be about adding proven talent for the stretch run. [Read more 🡒]
Justin Jeffersons Frustration May Put Vikings Biggest Problem Back In Focus
The Vikings entered Week 8 as the NFLs last unbeaten team by leaning on defense and ball control, but the offense has not exactly looked like a unit built to overwhelm anyone through the air. Kyler Murrays passing production has been modest, and that has naturally put more pressure on Justin Jefferson, whose connection with the quarterback has not yet matched the standard Minnesota needs from its top receiver.
Jeffersons frustration is starting to feel like more than a sideline mood, especially after a recent game in which his yardage dipped to a season low. He declined to speak to the media afterward, a small but telling detail for a player whose role is supposed to stabilize the passing game, not spotlight its problems. For a team trying to protect an unbeaten start, the bigger question is whether this is just a rough stretch or the first sign that the Vikings most important offensive issue is coming back into focus. [Read more 🡒]