Just like everyone predicted before the season began, the Vikings are tied at the top of the NFC North with Chicago, both boasting 4-1 records. (Hint: nobody, not even the most rabid Viking fans, were predicting anything like this.) With a comprehensive beat-down of the Tennessee Titans, the Vikings have already won more games this year than they managed in 2011 (it’s the first time they’ve won three games in a row since their huge 2009 run).
Christopher Gates at the Daily Norseman:
We all saw the pre-season predictions for the Minnesota Vikings in the later part of the summer and into the start of Training Camp. Most of them showed three victories, four victories. . .I think I might have seen one pre-season prediction that put the Vikings on a lofty pedestal at 6-10. The consensus was that the Vikings were destined to finish in fourth place in the NFC North. I won’t lie. . .that was my belief as well. I thought the Vikings were in the midst of a rebuilding campaign and, as one of the youngest teams in the NFL, would take a while to gel to a point where they would be competitive.
[. . .]
It just makes me wonder when the point comes where the “experts” stop saying “the Vikings opponents beat themselves” and start saying “the Minnesota Vikings are a hell of a lot better than we thought they’d be.” Because the Minnesota Vikings are a hell of a lot better than anyone, even the most staunch of fans, thought they would be five games into this season. They’re a last-second Andrew Luck drive from potentially being 5-0. As I mentioned, very few people thought they would win that many games all season long, but just five weeks into the season, they’ve already passed their win total from 2011.
The Vikings have done it with a balanced approach. The defense, which was second-worst in the league in points allowed in 2011, is allowing just 15.8 points/game in 2012. They’ve been outstanding against the run and, surprisingly, against the pass this season, and on Sunday allowed the Titans just 96 yards through the first three quarters of play, and kept them off the scoreboard until they basically called off the dogs late in the fourth quarter.
Judd Zulgad and Tom Pelissero of 1500ESPN:
