Minnesota Vikings Defied Odds All Season, Probably Not Legitimate Contenders

Take it from me, typically by this time of year, almost nothing is hot in Minnesota.

You put your kids in snow pants before they shuffle to the bus stop in the morning. You start to see ice-fishing tents pop up on the frozen lakes all around. Some days, you wear gloves to drive because the steering wheel is too cold to touch with your bare hands.

This year, however, the Minnesota Vikings are bringing the heat.

After the Vikings’ 30-12 beatdown against the Chicago Bears on Monday night, Minnesota improved to 12-2. They pulled even with the Detroit Lions for the best record in the NFC North, and they stayed two games ahead of the Green Bay Packers (10-4).

It was the Vikings’ seventh win in a row. They have outscored opponents by 117 points on the season, which trails only the Lions (plus-177), the Buffalo Bills (plus-135) and the Philadelphia Eagles (plus-122).

Is it time to declare that the Vikings are serious contenders to win the Super Bowl?

Let’s start with the argument that the Vikings are legitimate contenders.

For one, Minnesota has defied the odds all season. Many outside observers picked them to finish at or near the bottom of the NFC North, in part because the division was so stacked with talent and in part because the Vikings were going through big changes.

Longtime quarterback Kirk Cousins left for Atlanta, and the Vikings used their first-round draft pick to select J.J. McCarthy out of Michigan. But they didn’t want to rush McCarthy, so they signed veteran journeyman Sam Darnold to a 1-year deal to help provide a bridge between the past (Cousins) and the future (McCarthy).

Then, McCarthy sustained a season-ending knee injury in the preseason. That meant this year belonged to Darnold, and he proceeded to blow the doors off all expectations.

 Seriously. Not even Viktor the Viking would have expected the team to be this good.

The buzz around Darnold is warranted. It also helps that the Vikings have one of the game’s best coaches in Kevin O’Connell, one of the game’s most dynamic receivers in Justin Jefferson, and one of the game’s most physical defensive units led by coordinator Brian Flores.

Now for the glass-half-empty argument.

Not to be a frozen blanket here, but the Vikings have been playing out over their skis all season long. They have escaped with more than a couple of close wins, which is a testament to O’Connell and his players, but at some point their luck is due to run out. 

Doing this in the regular season is one thing. Doing it in the playoffs is another.

The Lions are beat up, but they are so tough. They fell to 12-2 after a heavyweight matchup against the Bills this weekend, when they went swing for swing against one of the top teams in the NFL. Somebody had to lose that game.

Meanwhile, the Packers are a couple of games back of the Lions and Vikings in the loaded NFC North, but Green Bay might be the scariest team of the three come playoff time. Jordan Love is feeling healthy again, and the Packers are playing with terrific momentum after winning eight of their past 10 games.

The Vikings control their chances. Their final three regular-season games are against the Seattle Seahawks on the road, the Packers at home, and the Lions on the road.

If the Vikings win out, they take the NFC North, and they might even earn the top seed in the conference depending on how the Eagles finish. 

Just the possibility of the Vikings capturing the No. 1 seed is amazing. This has been a magical year for a team that started training camp with so many questions.

But let’s be honest. It’s hard for anything to stay hot in the winter in Minnesota.

That includes the Vikings.

Can this year’s squad break the mold?