The Vikings got another chance to show the rest of the NFL that they are serious Super Bowl contenders — not just a pretty good team that has an uncanny knack for kicking inferior opponents when they are down — when they played host to the two-time reigning NFC champions on Sunday.
Content to take the air out of the football on offense and out of opposing quarterbacks on defense while eking out narrow victories, they won eight of their first 11 games to claim first place in the NFC North.
But while stacking up all those wins, they had yet to beat anyone noteworthy, certainly nobody as talented and accomplished as the Seattle Seahawks.