Minnesota Vikings lead pack through unpredictable first month

On Thursday night, the Cowboys suffered two big injuries on defense – to Micah Parsons and Demarcus Lawrence – and face a stretch of games against the Steelers, Lions and 49ers. The Seahawks are the only other undefeated team in the NFC, but they have played the Broncos, Patriots and the Miami Dolphins without Tua Tagovailoa. Their best test will come Monday night against the Detroit Lions, who already have one loss to the Bucs. The Bucs, whose Baker Mayfield may be the only quarterback who can fully appreciate Darnold’s revival because it so closely mirrors his own, beat up the listless Philadelphia Eagles, 33-16. The Eagles go into their bye week 2-2, and while their banged up wide receiver room (DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown both missed Sunday’s game) can use the week off, the bye will be filled with questions about whether the Eagles have really shaken off whatever sunk them last season, whether Jalen Hurts can stop turning the ball over (he already has six turnovers this season), and why an uber-talented roster still hasn’t scored a point in the first quarter this season, the only NFL team that has been blanked that way. Hurts said the Eagles are still trying to figure out their own identity.

“I clearly didn’t do enough,” Hurts told reporters after Sunday’s loss. “You can point fingers wherever, but I own all of that. I touch the ball every play. I take pride in that.”

After overhauling the coaching staff and actively improving the roster, the Eagles’ stumbles are unexpected. But the only team that can rival the Vikings as a happy surprise are the Washington Commanders, who lead the NFC East at 3-1 after smashing the Arizona Cardinals on the road, 42-14, just six days after beating the Bengals in Cincinnati. Quarterback Jayden Daniels is the likely Offensive Rookie of the Year, although the Commanders seem likely to be more than a vehicle for a handful of individual awards, if not this season then next.

The Vikings, though, have arrived already, thanks to the work O’Connell has done with Darnold, which has made O’Connell a leading contender for Coach of the Year. It’s hard to imagine the likes of the 49ers and Lions won’t at least put pressure on the Vikings, who are in an enviable position. They are being chased, and so far, they are handling it better than the quarterbacks in Flores’ sights.