The Vikings Are Last Off the List for One Chief
The Kansas City Chiefs are the only NFL team yet to play a regular season game at U.S. Bank Stadium, a statistic that will change in three days.
The Minnesota Vikings host the Super Bowl champions on Sunday and are four-point underdogs for their troubles.
The Vikings Are Last Off the List for One Chief
And while the Vikings need a win to chase .500 after a dreadful 0-3, one notable Chief has just the Vikings to cross off his individual list.
He’s the reigning league MVP, Patrick Mahomes, and as quarterback as the Chiefs, the only team Kansas City hasn’t defeated is the Vikings. That’s right — Mahomes has notched wins over all NFL teams, excluding the Vikings (and, of course, Chiefs).
The two clubs met in 2019, and Mahomes was temporarily on the shelf with a knee injury. Matt Moore infamously filled in at QB1, downing the Vikings at Arrowhead Stadium, a disappointing hiccup for a playoff-bound Minnesota squad.
Now, unless Minnesota has an unforeseen upset percolating, Mahomes finally gets a crack at the purple team, conveniently at a weak state with the Vikings 1-3 record. The Vikings lost games out of the gate in 2023 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Los Angeles Chargers before getting in the win column last weekend at the Carolina Panthers — a depressing start, indeed, for a team with playoff aspirations.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs haven’t played like Super Bowl champions but still boast a 3-1 record. Mahomes and friends lost in Week 1 at home to the Detroit Lions, largely because the team’s best non-Mahomes players, Travis Kelce and Chris Jones, were absent. As recently as last weekend, Kansas City needed an ugly win to topple the Aaron Rodgers-less New York Jets.
Mahomes has compiled numerous fancy statlines in seven seasons, including the Chiefs 11-0 record against the Denver Broncos on his watch. Ridiculous. The Mahomes-led Chiefs are also 27-3 (.900) over AFC West foes. Also ridiculous.
The Mahomes’ version of the Chiefs is also 19-3 (.863) versus all NFC teams.
The man is a walking stat machine, a two-time Super Bowl victor, and a two-time league MVP. Minnesota historically struggles against titans-of-industry AFC quarterbacks — the Vikings never defeated Tom Brady or Peyton Manning; ever — so we shall if Kevin O’Connell and Co. have the juice for the task on Sunday.
If they do not, the wait will be over, and the Mahomes-led Chiefs will have beaten every NFL team during his reign.
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Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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