You wouldn’t know the Vikings boast an 8-2 record based on some of the hot takes being tossed around on social media.

After the Vikings scrapped their way to a 23-13 win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday afternoon at Nissan Stadium, a large section of the fan base voiced their dissatisfaction that the margin of victory wasn’t larger.

The frustration was befitting of a franchise contending for the No. 1 pick when in reality the Vikings are currently in contention for the No. 1 seed.

Though some of this noise could be chalked up to a handful of bad actors simply shouting into the void, there does seem to be a feeling of angst about how the Vikings are winning games despite the fact that they have established themselves among the best teams in the NFL.

On the heels of a pair of sloppy wins over the Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars, respectively, that fact that the win over the Titans was much closer than it had to be didn’t do very much to instill confidence.

Here’s a counterpoint: It’s hard to win the NFL. Who cares how the Vikings are doing it?

Just because the Vikings aren’t blowing out the bad teams doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t be able to contend against the good teams.

That’s something head coach Kevin O’Connell went out of his way to acknowledge after the Vikings beat the Titans in what he knows easily could’ve been a rout had a few plays gone differently throughout the game.

“It would probably be really fun for us to just steamroll the NFL every single week,” O’Connell said. “It’s just not the way it’s going to go.”

The only team seemingly destroying their opponents on a weekly basis is the Detroit Lions, and even they recently had to scratch and claw their way to a win over the Houston Texans. You might remember that the Vikings obliterated the Texans a couple of months ago. That’s why it’s foolish to blindly compare results.

“It’s hard to get a pretty win,” linebacker Blake Cashman said. “There’s talent across the board.”

Indeed. That means every single game has the potential to be a dogfight regardless of what the matchup might suggest on paper.

“There are no homecoming games out here,” veteran safety Harrison Smith said. “It doesn’t matter what people’s records are.”

Exactly. This isn’t the NCAA where an athletics director can go out of their way to set up a matchup against the worst team imaginable in an attempt to ensure a win. This is the NFL, where every single player on the field has earned a right to play at the highest level.

“We’ve got to go play and try to find a way to win a game every single week,” O’Connell said. “I think if we started to view ourselves as, ‘We should beat this team,’ or, ‘We shouldn’t beat that team,’ that’s the wrong way to go about it.”

It’s important to look at the big picture when analyzing the Vikings in 2024. Even if they are running away with easy wins on a weekly basis, this isn’t a group of players masquerading as a Super Bowl contender like back in 2022.

Only the Lions (9-1), Kansas City Chiefs (9-1) and Buffalo Bills (9-2) have a better record than the Vikings (8-2) right now. Only the Lions (plus-159), Bills (plus-106), Philadelphia Eagles (plus-80), and Los Angeles Chargers (plus-75) currently have a better point differential than the Vikings (plus-74).

Now there is certainly room for the Vikings to improve moving forward. They need to prove they be more consistent on offense over the course of 60 minutes. They also need to prove they can limit some of the big plays on defense that have been a common theme.

“We’ve got to try to find a way to play our best football here down the stretch,” O’Connell said. “When we play well I think we’ve got a chance to beat anybody we play. There’s a lot that goes into that. We have to make sure we’re doing all the little things.”

Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell watches from the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Tony Pollard #20 of the Tennessee Titans is tackled by Stephon Gilmore #2 of the Minnesota Vikings in the second half of a game at Nissan Stadium on Nov. 17, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) fakes a hand off during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Stew Milne)

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