The Minnesota Vikings should consider themselves extremely fortunate to be where they are in the standings right now.
The Vikings were turned into roadkill on Sunday by the Dallas Cowboys. They suffered a humiliating 40-3 loss at home, failing to score a single point after a 25-yard field goal by Greg Joseph halfway through the first quarter. Minnesota gave up 307 yards through the air and another 151 on the ground. Meanwhile, their offense was held to less than 200 total yards by the Dallas defense, which got to Kirk Cousins for seven sacks and a forced fumble.
With the pummeling, the Vikings pulled off a preposterous feat. They are now 8-2 on the year … but somehow have a negative point differential (-2).
Trey Wingo of ESPN shares that Minnesota is the very first team in NFL history to be 8-2 but with an overall point differential that is in the red.
The Vikings, who are still a very comfortable first in the NFC North even after the loss to Dallas, have benefited from an incredible record in close games this season. Seven of their eight wins have come by eight points or less. At the same time, Minnesota has racked up five wins over teams that are currently under .500.
In fairness, the Vikings do have some excellent wins on their ledger as well. But they are probably far from as good as their 8-2 record would suggest.
More must-reads: