The Vikings’ 13-point loss at Arizona last Sunday did more than end their four-game winning streak and serve as a speed bump in what had been a nearly perfect (record-wise) season.
It also created a question about how the Vikings will fare when they face quality opponents. Considering the Vikings (10-2) have only four games remaining in the regular season and are expected to make a playoff run, this has the potential to become a legitimate concern.
Only two of the Vikings’ 10 victories have come against a team that currently has a record over .500, and both of those came against Green Bay (8-4). If you look at the current records of the Vikings’ opponents, Arizona (8-4) was only the second team currently above .500 that they have played this season.
That is what makes Sunday’s game against Cincinnati all the more intriguing. The Bengals (9-3) are atop the AFC North and will provide the Vikings an immediate chance to prove the Cardinals loss was a fluke.
“I feel like with Cincinnati being so good that they are one of the top teams in the NFL,” tight end Visanthe Shiancoe said. “It will kind of let us gauge ourselves and see where we are at when it comes to top teams. We want last week to be something that doesn’t happen again.”
The Vikings can clinch a playoff berth with a victory over the Bengals, and if Green Bay loses at Chicago the Vikings would secure their second consecutive NFC North title. Cincinnati can claim its second AFC North title in five years with a victory.
“I think this game is very important because they are a playoff-caliber team and going to be a team that advances,” Vikings kicker Ryan Longwell said. “So you want to test yourself and play well. You can only play who is on your schedule, so they are next in line.”
If the Vikings don’t win Sunday, their next two games are at Carolina (5-7) and Chicago (5-7) before they close at home against the Giants (7-5).
By that point, the Vikings might have little left to play for, potentially making that less of a test against a quality opponent and more of a game to rest regulars.
Shiancoe said he hasn’t given much thought to the fact the Vikings haven’t played more upper-echelon teams and certainly isn’t going to apologize for the team’s schedule. Because of the up-and-down nature of some teams, a victory or loss can look much different in December than it did in October.
For instance, a Baltimore Ravens team that was expected to be in the thick of the playoff race had a 3-2 record before losing to the Vikings on Oct. 18. Baltimore is now sitting at an unimpressive 6-6.
The following week, the Vikings lost to the Steelers, who improved to 5-2 with that victory. On Thursday, the defending Super Bowl champions lost their fifth game in a row and are now 6-7.
The flip-side, though, is the Vikings have beaten up what appears to be a collection of subpar opponents in Cleveland, Detroit, St. Louis, Seattle and Chicago.
“You like to match up against guys that are at your level and higher,” Vikings guard Anthony Herrera said. “But as everybody knows in the NFL, you are two plays away from getting beat. So, I don’t really think any of the teams that we’ve played except for a couple weren’t good.
“I don’t believe the hype as far as everybody saying, ‘Well, we didn’t play teams that are above .500.’ Whatever. Go back and look at the tapes of the games they lost and see where the crucial plays were and see what happened. Those games could be flipped very easily.”
As far as putting their performance against the Cardinals behind them, Shiancoe said that happened immediately. Offensive lineman Artis Hicks admitted it took a bit longer than that but not much.
“We had a long flight back, so that next day we came in on Monday and watched the film and after we watched that film we left here about 4 o’clock and from 4 p.m. that game was in the past,” Hicks said.
“We had moved on to Cincinnati. You have to be able to do that in this profession because if you get down and you let things in the past worry you, you find yourself going on a losing streak and that’s the thing that no one wants to do. Especially not this time of the year.
“This is where teams are making their runs to position themselves in the playoffs for the big picture. You have to have a short-term memory, especially this time of year.”
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(c) 2009, Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
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