Since the NFL’s regular season expanded to 17 regular-season games in 2021, only seven teams have won 13 or more. In 2021, there were two: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Green Bay Packers. In 2022, that number ballooned to five teams that separated themselves from the rest of the crop. Or so you would think.
Three of the eventual conference championship teams were on this list (Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, and San Francisco 49ers). The Buffalo Bills were not involved that weekend because they faced a scorching-hot Cincinnati Bengals the week before in the divisional round. Amidst all of this was one team that was not like the others. One that did not get the same respect as their winning counterparts. One sole outlier: The 2022 Minnesota Vikings.
Don’t believe me? Look at the numbers, according to FootballOutsiders.com:
| Teams | Overall DVOA | Offensive DVOA | Defensive DVOA | Estimated Wins |
| 2021 Tampa Bay Bucs | 3rd | 1st | 9th | 13.3 |
| 2021 GB Packers | 8th | 2nd | 22nd | 10.8 |
| 2022 San Francisco 49ers | 2nd | 6th | 1st | 12.3 |
| 2022 Buffalo Bills | 1st | 2nd | 4th | 14.8 |
| 2022 Philadelphia Eagles | 3rd | 3rd | 6th | 12.6 |
| 2022 Kansas City Chiefs | 4th | 1st | 17th | 12 |
| 2022 Minnesota Vikings | 27th | 20th | 27th | 6.3 |
Every advanced metric points to this team being below-average to downright mediocre. So, what separated them from the rest of the pack?