The Minnesota Vikings have the longest active winning streak in the NFL.
yes, those who The Minnesota Vikings, who made the Saints the latest victim of Brian Flores’ torture chamber defense. This is a team that has won 10 games in a row since last year. In Flores’ latest masterpiece, the Vikings held Tyler Shough to 96 passing yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. Minnesota doubled New Orleans on possessions and held a 364-142 yard advantage.
In this column, I’m trying not to jump too far — it’s still early, yada yada — but it’s time to really move on, and the Vikings might be the least talked about 5-0 team in NFL history.
So let’s talk about them.
The Vikings are legitimate Super Bowl contenders
Overreaction or reality: Reality
Some numbers are false. These are not:
- The Vikings lead the NFL in defensive success rate (66.5%). That would be it the best number in the last ten years.
- The Vikings lead the NFL in defensive EPA per game (0.22). That would be the second best number in a decade.
- The Vikings lead the NFL in sack rate (9.8%). That would be the fifth best number in a decade.
- And that sack rate is no accident. Last year, they had the fourth-best sack rate of the last decade.
Flores is the best coordinator in the NFL. We already knew this defense was great, but it was encouraging to see Kyler Murray play his best game against the Vikings. He completed 24 of 30 passes (80%) for 229 yards and a touchdown to Justin Jefferson, who ran the ball seven more times for 54 yards, except for three kneel downs. Those aren’t absurdly good numbers, but they don’t need to be if the defense is going to be this dominant.
Here’s the Murray stuff can To take this team to another level. The Vikings were down 7-6 early in the third quarter, where Murray ran 18 yards on third-and-10 and then threw a touchdown pass to Jefferson on third-and-6.
Later, with the score tied, Murray threw a 32-yard pass to Jeshaun Jones that proved to be the game-winner. It was his best performance in Minnesota, and it makes sense considering he suffered a concussion in Week 1. The Vikings’ ground game also had its best day. danger from running.
Murray doesn’t have to be great. But if he can take care of the ball, find Jefferson — he made some great catches — and make some timely plays, this is a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
The Texans can still make the playoffs
Overreaction or reality: Reality
Only one team – the 1992 Chargers – made the playoffs after starting 0-4. Can 2026 Texans Join Them? It cannot be ruled out.
The Texans beat the hapless Titans 26-3. With DeMeco Ryans taking over the play calling, the defense was at its best, allowing just 187 yards and 3.2 yards per game. Will Anderson Jr., on his way to not only winning defensive player of the year but also dominating the voting, sacked Cam Ward three times and Houston forced two turnovers. CJ Stroud threw for one touchdown and ran for another.
But that’s not really about this game, because the Titans are hardly a good measuring stick. Rather, it’s about what Texans can still do. Remember, this is an organization that made the playoffs last year after going 0-3. This year’s team isn’t what last year’s team was, but it could have similar success, especially with Stroud playing really well when Nico Collins is on the field. Plus, check out the Texans’ upcoming schedule:
The Texans may be favored in all of those games, or at least the next five after Jaguars game. If the defense dominates again, it would be a mistake to write off the Texans simply because history says 0-4 teams don’t make the postseason.
The NFC East winner will have a losing record
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction
The NFC East did not have a banner week. On Thursday, the Cowboys dropped a home game to the previously winless Buccaneers. On Sunday morning, the Eagles lost after blowing a two-point lead with eight seconds left and inexplicably giving the Jaguars a comeback start. After a big return, Cam Little made a 57-yard field goal as time expired, and Nick Sirianni said: “I’m done with this game.”
It all paled in comparison complete disaster that was the end of the Chiefs-Giants game. With no timeouts remaining and well within field goal range, Washington somehow wasted time with a completely incompetent final sequence.
That means the 3-1-1 Giants are still first in the division, the Cowboys and Eagles are 2-3, and the Chiefs are 1-3-1 and rolling.
It’s really hard to see any team getting 10 wins in this division because every team has big problems. Cowboys can’t defend anyone. Eagles can’t score. The Giants are relying on Jameis Winston and the Chiefs can’t seem to stop anyone and seem on the verge of a complete collapse.
Only once has the NFC East (as currently constructed) been champion with a losing record. I won’t go that far yet, but no team with double-digit wins is very much on the table.
The Chiefs need to fire Dan Quinn … but they probably can’t right now
Overreaction or reality: Reality
I hate to advocate firing someone, but the NFL is a results-driven business, and results aren’t good enough for the Chiefs. As Quinn saidSunday’s tie feels like a loss, and it feels like another lost season in the nation’s capital.
And that’s a bummer, because Jayden Daniels looked really great with his elbow sprained. It was there that the commanders had the chance to be in the thick of things in such a weak division.
Quinn took all the blame for the failure on her shoulders, as she should have. But the idea that it’s time for him to be fired goes back even further than Sunday. A week ago, a poor fourth-and-1 decision using the third-string quarterback turned a game-winning drive into a blowout loss against the Colts. On Sunday, he made another poor fourth down decision, opting to punt from positive territory instead of going for it. The Giants’ offense rolled with three touchdowns on three drives to force overtime, and then in overtime, New York moved the ball easily again but missed a field goal.
It was a bad idea to give the Giants possession in the next scoring scenario. Cam Skattebo saved Quinn with a terrible game against the Giants again within field goal distance, only for Quinn to make his worst mistake. Washington has now won just three of its last 17 games.
Quinn’s performance was fire worthy. The thing is, the Chiefs have two first-time coordinators. There is one former head coach on the staff — running backs coach Anthony Lynn — but adding to the roster would be a difficult development, sliding quickly away from a return to the playoffs and hoping Daniels stays healthy and continues to advance. Owner Josh Harris is known for his patience (he owns the “Trust the Process” 76ers) and gave Ron Rivera an entire season in his first year as Washington’s owner.
Long story short, Quinn will likely keep his job until at least the end of the year, but that’s more a product of circumstance than merit.
The Dolphins should sit Malik Willis
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction
Malik Willis was in the news this week when Bengals safety Jordan Battle told reporters that he was the one “telling” Willis when to throw. And guess who it is He took Willis twice on Sunday? The Battle of Jordan.
I’m not going to sit here and say Willis was good on Sunday. His second intervention was terrible. He was once again largely inaccurate and has the highest off-target percentage in the NFL this season.
There are three reasons why the Dolphins shouldn’t lean on Willis:
- They owe it to themselves to understand this. It was always going to be a tough season, but they signed Willis to a three-year deal as an attempt at some sort of solution. If Willis plays well, he would be a cheap solution at the game’s most important position. If not, it can be easily replaced after the season. At least it’s worth a try.
- The passing numbers are ugly, but Sunday was actually good because Willis is a very effective runner. Its -0.02 EPA per drawdown is slightly below average, but not terrible by any means. The Dolphins rolled up 217 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Their most effective way to get into games is to hit the run and hope to get some turnovers. Willis is a big part of the running game (he had 74 rushing yards and a score on Sunday).
- Most importantly, if not Malik Willis, who will? Kyle McCord is the only other quarterback on the roster who has never played in an NFL game. Willis is the captain. The offense is designed around his mobility. For such a young team, it would be a bad move for the Dolphins to cut him.
Turnovers will destroy the Seahawks
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction
A big part of the Seahawks giving up 32 points was four(!) turnovers, including a completely inexcusable George Holani fumble that resulted in a 49ers touchdown just seconds before halftime.
The Seahawks now have nine turnovers this season; There are only four other teams entering Sunday Night Football. Sam Darnold has always been prone to turnovers, and he had two picks on Sunday.
What if I told you the Seahawks had 28 turnovers last year, second in the NFL? Surely you can’t win a Super Bowl like that, right? Wrong, apparently. After all those regular season turnovers, Seattle had zero turnovers in the postseason.
Periods are a problem right now – don’t get me wrong – and they may continue to be a problem. For Darnold in particular, they tend to come out in droves. Nevertheless, this is a team built to win double-digit games, and once they reach the postseason, as we saw with this team last year, anything can happen.
Trey McBride and Ja’Marr Chase were both legitimate Catch of the Year candidates
Overreaction or reality: Reality
It’s kind of like, “If it happened at a game involving the Cardinals or Dolphins, did it really happen?” season. Arizona and Miami seem so out of the national consciousness, and I understand that. But if you missed this ridiculous catch… let me do you a favor:
Absolutely absurd.