The Vikings prove that they are Super Bowl contenders

One week ago, the Minnesota Vikings had a 7-1 record, led the NFC North by 3.5 games and were nearly locked into a playoff spot.

However, the narrative surrounding Kirk Cousins and the Vikings was that they were a fraudulent team that was not as good as their record. Football talk shows were all debating whether the Vikings were truly contenders or could even win a playoff game.

There was merit to this at the time. Six of the seven Vikings’ wins had come by just one score. They’d also beaten just one team with a winning record, the Miami Dolphins, who were starting their third-string quarterback that week. The Vikings were a good team, but could they be great?

This question set the table for the Vikings’ first true test, a road game against the Buffalo Bills. The Bills are considered one of the best teams in the NFL and the favorites to win the Super Bowl. Led by MVP candidate Josh Allen and former Vikings star Stefon Diggs, the Bills have an elite offense.

Buffalo also has one of the best defenses as well, making the Week 10 matchup a difficult test for Cousins and the Vikings. If Minnesota could go into Buffalo and win this game, they would finally be considered legitimate Super Bowl contenders. Well, the Vikings did it, in dramatic fashion. In what is widely considered to be the game of the year this NFL season, the Vikings beat the Bills.

After falling behind 27-10 late in the third quarter, the Vikings had just a 2% win probability. It looked like we were watching the same old Vikings: a solid team who could do just enough to get your hopes up but fell apart when it mattered most. It looked like Minnesota was fraudulent. They weren’t as good as their record. It was a team that had benefited from an easy schedule and lucky one-score wins, but that’s when things changed.

Running back Dalvin Cook took the first play of the next Vikings’ drive 81 yards to the house, cutting the Bills’ lead to 10. A Patrick Peterson interception set up another Vikings touchdown drive capped by a three-yard score from Duluth native C.J. Ham. After a Bills three-and-out, Minnesota had the ball down just four points with three minutes remaining.

That’s when Justin Jefferson ascended from star player to potential Vikings legend. Jefferson willed the Vikings down the field with three catches for 52 yards on the drive. He pulled off what might’ve been the greatest catch in NFL history on a fourth-and-18, where he snatched the football out of the hands of a Bills defender with one hand and somehow held on.

The drive culminated in a fourth-and-1 attempt at the Bills’ one-yard line. With under a minute left, Cousins fell short of the goal line. Yet again, the Vikings had disappointed. However, in an unprecedented play in NFL history, Allen fumbled the snap on the next play, and Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks recovered the ball for a Vikings touchdown. Minnesota had taken the lead in spectacular fashion.

A late Bills field goal sent the game to overtime, but the Vikings sealed the victory on another Patrick Peterson interception. It was a miracle victory for the Vikings, the craziest game since the Minneapolis Miracle in 2018.

While the game itself was thrilling for Vikings fans, what it means for the team moving forward should be the most exciting thing. Minnesota probably shouldn’t have won that game. They were pretty lucky to do so, but they at least proved they can compete with the NFL’s best. The Vikings went into Buffalo, one of the most hostile environments in the league, home to one of the NFL’s best teams, and won. Minnesota has a superstar receiver, a great head coach and a good quarterback who is playing with confidence.

The recipe for success is here in Minnesota, and people are starting to take notice. The Vikings now have the fifth-best odds to win the Super Bowl and are projected to finish with the No. 2 seed in the NFC. Minnesota sports fans always need to keep their hopes in check, but we can now say that the Minnesota Vikings are true Super Bowl contenders.