Pumping the brakes...

[purplefaithful]

There is no disputing that Minnesota has great playmakers led by the best receiver in football, Justin Jefferson. It's also a fact that the Vikings are by far the worst 8-1 team in years and have benefitted as much from good luck as from actually being good.
The Bills rushed out to a 17-point lead against Minnesota before the Bills gave the game away on a first down fumble from their own 1-yard line with under a minute remaining. As Aaron Schatz of Football Outsiders suggests, there's no reason to believe the Vikings are better than Buffalo just because of a fluke, fumbled snap they had no influence over.
"Those fumbles are almost always recovered by the offense, and I give no credit to the defense on those plays because the defense had nothing to do with a bad exchange," said Schatz.
Per Football Outsiders, the Vikings are by far the worst 8-1 team since 1981. The gap between Minnesota and the 2014 Arizona Cardinals, the team with the next-worst DVOA for an 8-1 team, is greater than the gap between the Cardinals and the tenth-worst team by DVOA, the 1985 Los Angeles Rams. 

Entering Week 11, the Vikings rank 17th in DVOA, sandwiched between the Jacksonville Jaguars (3-7) and Atlanta Falcons (4-6).
The team will likely go as far as QB Kirk Cousins can take them and nothing in his history -- including this year -- suggests he's primed to level up and lead a team to a Super Bowl. 
He has his worst completion percentage (64.1 percent) and passer rating (87) since the 2014 season and his touchdown rate (4 percent), yards per attempt (6.7) and QBR (47.7) are his worst since 2013.
Minnesota gets another chance to prove doubters wrong on Sunday against Dallas (6-3). 
Per Oddschecker, Dallas is a one-point road favorite. A win for Minnesota will go a long way to shaking off the perception of the team as overachievers. With a loss, they'll be exactly who we thought they were.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/pump-the-brakes-on-vikings-as-super-bowl-contenders/ar-AA14boy7?ocid=entnewsntp&cvid=0cc9523056c8444aab740f7440d870e5

[Guest]

Well that was certainly agitating, wasn't it?  :p :p :p

[Guest]

The author failed to mention the date and time of the DVOA Super Bowl, so we can all tune in and watch.

[Guest]

This is not college football.  Style points do not matter.  Nobody gets to decide whether your team gets into the playoffs.  That's determined solely by your record and that of the other teams.  In other words, the experts' opinions, no matter how many numbers and statistics they have to support them, simply do not matter.  Whether we measure up or don't measure up, whether we validate our record or confirm your doubts, who cares?  You can type into the void all you like, it is all meaningless. 

[Guest]

Schatz has NEVER said a good thing about the Vikings.  EVER.

[Guest]

I would bet the 1970s Minnesota Vikings wouldn't have had a very good DVOA either.

[Guest]

Aaron is a friend of a friend. What he doesn't mention is that around this time last year the Vikings ranked 6th in Defensive DVOA and 3rd in pass defense DVOA. And we all know how that turned out. 

[Guest]

What's funny to me about these analytics...  you give no credit to the defense on that...  but are they saying that Harrison Phillips driving low throw the centers legs had no impact on the exchange between the Center and QB?  Cuz it sure looked like it did.

I get it, this stuff is never going away (and can be useful indicators of how a team is playing on one side of the ball) and the Vikings need to play more consistently, but I'm kind of tired of reading about how this team is "lucky" or "not as good as their record"...  we have an offense that has been inconsistent but finds ways to score points when it matters and has a bevy of playmakers...  Two stud tackles... And a defense that can give up yards and scores but is opportunistic as heck (all year, not just a handful of games) and has a good pass rush...  We've been excellent on special teams and beating teams in average starting field position. 

Like I get it, we don't have the Bills offense or the Cowboys defense but if you put all three phases of our team together, we're pretty fucking good and we have a lot of heart. Can't measure that with analytics, Shitz boy.

[Guest]

He's just saying what a lot of outsiders still believe. Vikings still have a long ways to go to shake that perception.
I have noticed a lot of the media with that belief are being cautiously quiet about it or changing their stance.
Proving the doubters and Vikings haters wrong has been a pleasure so far. Let's continue. I like this underdog, under appreciated position. I haven't enjoyed a season as much in several years. Even if it doesn't continue, the new GM and coaching staff are off to a start that gives a lot of hope for the future.

[Guest]

@jargomcfargo said:
He's just saying what a lot of outsiders still believe. Vikings still have a long ways to go to shake that perception.
I have noticed a lot of the media with that belief are being cautiously quiet about it or changing their stance.
Proving the doubters and Vikings haters wrong has been a pleasure so far. Let's continue. I like this underdog, under appreciated position. I haven't enjoyed a season as much in several years. Even if it doesn't continue, the new GM and coaching staff are off to a start that gives a lot of hope for the future.

Agree!
We have already achieved more than what I expected.  The cherry on top for me is winning the division even if the Packers $hit the bed so far.  I now almost wish they had lost to Dallas and buried themselves but I began to look beyond a division championship.

I think the biggest win of this season has already been made and that is hiring O’Connell.  So far it appears that they have hired the future long term coach for this franchise and what he does in the future is more important than this season. Dare I say, the best coach since Bud Grant.  Would be nice.

Just enjoy a special season for now.  Besides, I have always preferred flying under the radar then being the team everyone wants to knock off the top of the hill.  Let the Eagles, etc be King of The Mountain (for now).