The Minnesota Vikings outplayed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon, but lost the game 20-17.
The national discussion about the Vikings isn’t how they outplayed the Buccaneers over the course of the game nor is it about a massively improved defense. It’s only about the regression to the mean.
Yes, the Vikings weren’t going to win 11 one-score games and not lose a single one in the regular season. Everyone knew that was going to be the case, but some are only talking about the regression without actually discussing the play on the field.
The latest batch of NFL power rankings doesn’t view the Vikings in the top half of the league, which could end up looking silly by the end of the month.