Why The Vikings Beating The 49ers Makes No Sense

Monday night was one of the most baffling experiences I've had in my 25 years of Minnesota Vikings fandom and that's saying something. This team had shown no signs of being able to get out of their own way, falling flat on their face when presented with the opportunity to win games. The team was slated for some regression after winning 11 games by one score a year ago but up to this point, they took that as fact instead of public opinion by losing 4 one score games in the first 5 weeks. Everything about the first 6 weeks showcased the glaring deficiencies and straight up ineptitude in big moments. Even in the games they've won against the bottom feeder Bears and Panthers everything was a struggle, somehow snatching victory out of the jaws of defeat with opportunistic defensive touchdowns to cover for a stagnant offense in both cases. This hadn't been a run of bad luck with a belief in righting the ship, this is who they were, a bad football team.

The problems weren't solely attributed to turning the ball over 13 times in those 6 games like people want to believe. The eye test told me much more than box scores could and it screamed "bad football team" week in and week out. An offensive line featuring two elite tackles sounds like a dream come true until you fill the interior with guys that should be working the gates as turnstiles. A typically ball protective quarterback that's been abnormally turnover prone, mainly with putting the ball on the ground. A backup running back we vaulted into starter status that has many costly moments and doesn't wow you in any area. into A defensive line that has a single guy providing essentially all of the production and outside of that generates no pass rush, ever. A young secondary that's been better this year but still breaks on crucial plays and isn't afraid to give monster games to big name receivers. All of these aspects aren't attributes of teams that win football games, especially primetime games against the class of the NFC.

The 49ers coming off a loss to the Browns and their backup QB/RB duo were primed for a get right game against a Vikings team that narrowly escaped Tyson Bagent and the Bears. This is a scenario that was destined to end in a blowout win for the 49ers and I was prepared for it because I've seen this Vikings team get dismantled by any team with a pulse. That's not what happened at all. This was a performance I didn't think was possible and I'm truly flabbergasted it happened. There were multiple occasions where I expected it to come crashing down when faced with adversity or mistakes common to the franchise that have ripped the fan's hearts out in the past. Kirk's pick on the first drive, the missed extra point, the CMC touchdown, and the missed field goal late in the 4th were all times I said "here we go again" but they never rolled over. Every perceived issue I critiqued earlier magically disappeared; the shoddy offensive line allowed no sacks, the running game had some juice, and the suspect secondary played out of their minds (especially Cam Bynum).

All of these pieces coming together at once is what makes it surreal, collectively playing a level of football I haven't seen in 3 years, against a perennial Super Bowl contender. The reason it makes no sense to me can be summed up with this: why didn't we break in the moments we always seem to? Am I supposed to believe in what I watched the first 6 weeks or was this week a shift into respectability and consistency? I want to believe but believing means you think the end goal of winning a Super Bowl is realistic. Having blind faith in the Minnesota Vikings always ends in heartbreak but if we get this same team against the Packers, I'm diving in headfirst, believing it is actually different this year. I want the Vikings to make this win make sense so I can admit I was wrong to doubt.