The Vikings keep finding ways to survive, and on Sunday they squeezed past the Colts 16-10 to stay perfect. It was not the kind of performance that dazzles, but the result pushed Minnesota to 6-0, and that alone puts the season in some rare company.
This is the eighth time in franchise history the Vikings have opened 6-0. They’ve done it in 2026, 2009, 2003, 2000, 1998, 1975 and 1973, and they also started 1976 at 5-0-1. Only one of those seven 6-0 seasons ended without a playoff berth: 2003, when Nate Poole and the Arizona Cardinals knocked Minnesota out in the final game of the regular season.
That kind of start has historically been a very good sign. Since World War II, only seven teams have gone 6-0 and still missed the playoffs, while 72 of 79 have turned that start into a postseason trip. That’s a 91.1 percent hit rate.
Minnesota is also the league’s last unbeaten team, a label the franchise has held on five previous occasions. And the unbeaten run keeps stretching back: the Vikings have now won 11 straight regular-season games going back to their last loss, the Max Brosmer-inspired 26-0 defeat to the Seahawks in Seattle. That loss came 330 days ago.
Even with the current streak, it still has some way to go before it reaches the top of the franchise record book. This is already the third-longest regular-season win streak in Vikings history.
The club won 13 straight from Dec. 1, 1974 to Nov. 23, 1975, which matched the previous record of 12 straight set during the 1969 season. Thirteen is still in play, but the offense will need to do more to make that happen.
The margin has been tight almost every week. Since the 39-22 Week 1 win over the Packers - and yes, that final score took a little more work than it might first suggest - the Vikings’ last five victories have come by a combined 34 points.
They’ve now won five straight regular-season games by 10 points or fewer for the fifth time in franchise history, including most recently from Nov. 3 to Dec. 1, 2024.
The team record is seven straight, set from Sept. 25 to Nov. 13, 2022.
Minnesota also had runs of six in 1999-2000 and 1997.
The numbers say the schedule has been friendly so far. The six teams Minnesota has beaten are a combined 16-25, which works out to a .390 winning percentage.
That is the third-easiest slate among the Vikings’ wins this season, behind only the Chiefs at .375 and the Giants at .287. That .390 mark also works out to an average strength of victory that ranks 16th in the NFL.
For comparison, Chicago’s five wins have come against teams with a combined .424 winning percentage, while the Packers sit at .407 and the Lions at .357.
But the road ahead is a different story. Minnesota’s remaining schedule checks in at 41-30-1, a .576 winning percentage that ranks as the toughest in the league.
On a full-season basis, that projects to roughly a 10-7 record. The Bears have the next-toughest remaining slate at .563, the Lions are fourth at .561, and the Packers are tied with the Ravens for eighth at .539.
One of the stranger parts of this 6-0 run is how often the Vikings have done it without much from the passing game. They’ve won four games this season in which their leading passer threw for fewer than 200 yards.
Before this year, Minnesota had only done that in four of its first six games three times in franchise history: 1970, 1971 and 1973. The last time the Vikings had at least four such wins through six games was 1973, when they had five.
The passing game today looks very different from then, too - average team passing yards per game were 140.9 in 1973 and 221.0 in 2026.
Defense is carrying a huge share of the load. Minnesota is allowing just 12.3 points per game, best in the NFL by nearly five points over the Chiefs at 17.2.
Through six games, it’s the best scoring defense the Vikings have had since the older eras, unless you’re older than 50. The team has also allowed only 155.0 passing yards per game, its lowest figure since 1977, when it gave up 112.9.
That number would rank 11th in franchise history, and all 10 better marks came at least 49 years ago.
The fourth quarter has been especially suffocating. The Vikings have allowed only three points in the final period all season, with the Dolphins next closest at 27.
That works out to 0.5 points per game in the fourth quarter, an absurd pace even if it’s not likely to last. Still, it puts Minnesota within shouting distance of the all-time low in the era of 16-plus-game seasons.
The 1996 Panthers and 2003 Lions share that mark at 33 fourth-quarter points allowed, followed by the 2002 Buccaneers with 41 and the 1993 Bills and 2000 Ravens with 42.
Turnovers have been another big part of the formula. Minnesota had zero giveaways on Sunday, marking the third time that’s happened this season.
The Vikings have won six straight games when they avoid turnovers, a stretch that goes back to the 31-9 loss to the Lions on Jan. 5, 2025.
Since 2022, Kevin O’Connell’s team is 15-2 when it doesn’t turn the ball over.
So the record stays clean, the numbers stay unusual, and the Vikings keep collecting wins in the narrowest way possible. It may not always look pretty, but right now it’s adding up to 6-0.
In Other News...
Vikings Keep Winning But One Concern Is Getting Harder To Ignore
The Vikings kept their perfect start rolling with a home win over the Colts, and the formula looked familiar enough by now. Defense and special teams did most of the heavy lifting, while Will Reichard continued his remarkable run with a franchise-record field goal streak and the offense did just enough to stay in front, including a touchdown pass from Kyler Murray to T.J. Hockenson.
Still, the latest win also added to a growing concern that is getting harder to brush aside. Even with Minnesota sitting at 6-0, the offense has not looked as clean or as consistent as the record suggests, and the team keeps leaning on the other phases to carry it through games. In a season where the margin for error is shrinking, that imbalance is becoming impossible to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Vikings May Be Heading For A Tougher T.J. Hockenson Decision
T.J. Hockensons place in Minnesota has suddenly turned into one of the more interesting contract stories around the Vikings. After the team reworked his deal, he is in the final year of his contract, and his recent usage has reminded everyone why the tight end market can move quickly when production shows up at the right time. He was a major part of the offense in the Week 4 win, catching 13 passes for 119 yards, a sign that his role can still grow when he is featured.
The timing makes the next stretch especially important. Hockenson suffered a concussion in Week 5, which briefly interrupted the momentum he had built, but there is still plenty of season left for him to shape his next payday. If his targets keep climbing and he stays on the field, the Vikings may have a tougher call than they expected when it comes to what he costs beyond this season. [Read more 🡒]
J.J. McCarthy Just Gave Vikings Fans A Tough New Debate
J.J. McCarthys first start for the Giants arrived in Week 7, and it immediately gave Minnesota fans something to think about. Facing the Texans, the former Vikings quarterback helped New York pull out a 27-21 overtime win while showing the kind of poise and efficiency that made him such an intriguing young option in the first place.
He finished 20 of 28 for 252 yards without a touchdown or interception, and the Giants leaned hard on the run game to finish the job with 188 rushing yards and four scores. For Vikings observers, the uncomfortable part is obvious: the move that sent McCarthy to New York for a 2027 fifth-round pick last month suddenly looks a lot more worth revisiting, even if one strong debut is only one piece of a bigger evaluation. [Read more 🡒]