Predicting the first Minnesota Vikings loss as perfect start rolls through Week 4

The Minnesota Vikings did the Alabama-UGA thing on Sunday, jumping out to a quick 28-0 lead in the first half before gradually letting the Green Bay Packers back into the ballgame. The final margin of victory for Minnesota was razor-thin, 31-29, but a win is a win. The Vikings are now 4-0, the first (and potentially the only) NFL team to accomplish that feat in 2024.

It's hard not to be impressed by Kevin O'Connell and his team. If the season ended today, there wouldn't be much debate over who deserves Coach of the Year. O'Connell has long been a sharp offensive mind, but many questioned if he could maintain Minnesota's success with Sam Darnold, a bonafide journeyman, in the place of former Pro Bowl quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Well, Darnold has straight-up outperformed Cousins through four weeks. Some of that is circumstantial, of course, as Cousins is working his way back from an Achilles tear. But, Darnold looks completely at home in the Vikings offense. He was rock-solid yet again on Sunday, completing 20 of 28 passes for 275 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception.

Darnold has help, obviously. There may not be a better offensive ecosystem for a quarterback in all of the NFL right now. Minnesota's defense has been similarly airtight. Through four weeks, Minnesota has outclassed just about every team. It's only four weeks, but these aren't softball wins. San Francisco, Houston, Green Bay — these were all projected division champs and potential Super Bowl threats before the season. Minnesota is winning against top-notch competition.

How long will it last? Well, let's look ahead on the schedule.

Predicting how long the Minnesota Vikings can remain undefeated this season

They can't keep getting away with it! Except, they pretty much can.

This is a remarkably conquerable schedule down the stretch. Minnesota could practically go 17-0 against this schedule (read with sarcasm). On a more serious note, the Vikings do have a chance to keep this momentum up for a while. Their next two games are real tests — New York in London, then Detroit off the buy — but those two games are followed by a series of softballs.

The Rams, Colts, Jaguars, and Titans are all in varying states of disarray at the moment. Chicago and Arizona aren't exactly heavyweights either. That is a six-week gauntlet in which Minnesota should be the unabashed favorite in each game. Heck, at this rate, it's clear the Vikings will be betting favorites against New York and Detroit, too.

Next week's matchup with the Jets on Sunday morning on U.K. soil feels like the inflection point here. We can't really account for the weirdness of traveling overseas and playing in a new timezone, as that could effect both teams in different ways.

The Jets are a real team. Aaron Rodgers still has some of that old magic and the roster around him, on paper, is pretty dynamic. After dominating New England on Thursday Night Football a week ago, however, the Jets followed it up with an embarrassing 10-9 to the Broncos this afternoon. Something isn't quite clicking for this New York squad yet and the standard of excellence has been far higher for Minnesota so far.

So, given that it's a revenge game of sorts for Darnold against the team that drafted him, let's say the Vikings topple New York, send the Jets below .500, and return across the Atlantic with a 5-0 record. Then it's a critical division matchup at home against the Lions. The winner could, in theory, emerge in poll position in the NFC North.

The Vikings would have home-field advantage, but it's fair to wonder if the buy week might negatively impact momentum. It's important to build up rest in the NFL, especially after a trip overseas, but an undefeated team losing to stiff competition out of the buy week seems like a believable outcome. There could be rust after two weeks off.

So... that is my official prediction. Minnesota will end Week 7 with a 5-1 record, having lost a nail-biter to the spunky Lions. If the Vikings can get through Detroit, though, we might legitimately end up with a 10, 11, or 12-0 team on our hands. It's hard to imagine Sam Darnold leading the best team of a generation, but hey, the Vikings' schedule favors a pretty dominant run.