Early-Season Success Offers 5-0 Vikings Surprising Title Hopes

The first part of the season has concluded for the Minnesota Vikings and it has been a smashing success. However, they don’t hand out playoffs spots just because a team has started out with a 5-0 record – let alone the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

An undefeated start is not a surprise for the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs nor would it have been for San Francisco 49ers or the Detroit Lions. Those were the two teams that were the favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl prior to the start of the season.

The Niners have had injury problems, while the Lions let one game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers slip away. Head coach Dan Campbell’s team is still formidable, and that the team the Vikings will see when they return from their bye in Week 7.

The Vikings may be undefeated but they are not a team that can look at the future without issues. In their 23-17 victory over the New York Jets, issues seemed to unfold for head coach Kevin O’Connell’s team.

The offense basically dried up in the second quarter and throughout nearly all of the second half when running back Aaron Jones went down with an apparent him injury. He was taped up by the team’s medical staff and unable to return to action, and that turned out to be a huge problem.

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Ty Chandler is a competent backup running back, but he does not have the speed or agility of Jones. Chandler does not get to the hole as quickly as Jones, and the Jets were able to slow down the ground game.

Since the Vikings were not much of a threat to run the ball once Jones was sidelined, a very good Jets defense was able to concentrate on limiting the Vikings passing game. Sam Darnold had been formidable in the first four games of the season, but he was ordinary against the Jets.

He completed 14 of 31 passes for 179 yards with no touchdown passes and one interception. Darnold was one of the NFL’s early-season MVP candidates based on his excellent showing, but his track record before coming to the Vikings was clearly ordinary. It is more like that some average or even below average games are to follow.

The quarterback credited the defense for the victory over Aaron Rodgers (three interceptions) and the Jets. “The defense played out of their minds,” Darnold said.

If Jones can come back from that hip injury and it is not a serious problem, there will be significant relief among the Vikings. The early reports are that the bye week is coming at the right time for him and he should be back in the lineup when the Lions come to U.S. Bank Stadium.

Nevertheless, the Vikings have earned the full attention of the Lions and all their NFC North rivals. There is little doubt that Campbell will have his team pumped up for its best effort of the season against the Vikings and they will want to show they are the division’s dominant team.

The game against the Lions will be a huge test, and the Vikings will have to match the intensity of the visitors. That may be something of a challenge because the Vikings are undefeated. A loss would mean they are still 5-1 and no worse than tied for the division lead. It will be up to O’Connell and defensive coordinator Brian Flores to make sure there is no letdown after this impressive start.

While the game against Detroit is a major challenge, the next part of the schedule is far easier than the opening five-game salvo. A Thursday night road game against the beaten and battered Los Angeles Rams follows, and games against the Colts, Jaguars and Titans will take the Vikings through the first 10 games of the schedule. It is reasonable to assume that they will be 8-2 and possibly 9-1 at that point.

Long-time observers should get the idea of the Vikings performing like the 1972 Dolphins or 2007 Patriots is completely out of the question. They are a good team that has played outstanding early-season football, but they are not an all-time great team.

The Vikings have arrived at phase 2 of their regular-season schedule, and it is one they should be able to negotiate successfully. A season that had the look of difficulty at the start is now one that has been filled with early achievement – and significant hope for the future.