Vikings Win Wasn’t Pretty — But It Was Still Dominant.
The Minnesota Vikings may have allowed the Green Bay Packers to make Sunday’s victory closer than they should have. After a 28-0 lead to start the game, there was no reason for Green Bay to ever be within a single possession. That said, Kevin O’Connell’s team still never really allowed Matt LaFleur’s to have a chance.
Vikings Win Wasn’t Pretty — But It Was Still Dominant.
After gaining such a sizable lead and making it look so easy, the Vikings understandably became complacent. Jordan Love was back under center, and regardless of his health, the defense made him look silly. Sam Darnold continued to roll, and the Vikings ran through the Packers like a piece of melted Swiss cheese.
The end result might provide moral victories for fans who subscribe to the idea of being owners through expensive pieces of paper. They should look under the hood, though.
This season, the Vikings have habitually stayed ahead of their opponents. Sometimes, you must face adversity to truly come out on top. The Vikings did that on Sunday but didn’t need to play from behind in order to experience it. Kevin O’Connell still had to get his guys locked back in enough to finish. He didn’t need to orchestrate a comeback or implore them to pick it up for that to be accomplished.
If you are going to be the Minnesota Vikings this year, you’ll probably need to do it by forcing them to play from behind for a considerable amount of time. So far, that isn’t something any of their opponents have been able to achieve. In fact, the ability of O’Connell’s squad to substantially distance themselves from the competition has made things much more impressive.
Not only do the Vikings look dominant, but outside of Sunday, they have remained engaged while their opponents have truly faltered. Seeing Green Bay make a comeback was one thing, but Darnold’s quick and swift response quelled any feelings that the Packers were actually in the ballgame.
At some point, the Vikings will stop being underdogs. Until then, they’ll just look to continue beating teams into submission.
Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes weekly for Twins Daily. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.
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