I want to start this by saying this is not an overreaction to what the Minnesota Vikings did to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football, although what they did puts them in this conversation.
The Vikings, outside of a struggling Dan Bailey, have one of the most complete teams in the NFL. Dalvin Cook leads the league in rushing and is healthy for the first time in his NFL career. Kirk Cousins is not turning the ball over (only three interceptions in 285 attempts), and the defense is stout all the way around.
Kirk Cousins is the key to this whole thing in Minnesota. This was a quarterback who everybody, including myself, would make fun of for his lack of wins in primetime games against teams with winning records but the game Sunday night was a turning point. Gary Kubiak has had a major impact on Cousins and this Vikings offense since coming over from the Denver Broncos, where he won a Super Bowl with Peyton Manning.
There are two key dates for the Vikings coming up that will absolutely solidify them as legit NFC contenders and that's December 2nd, a Monday night game in Seattle. The other being December 23rd, a Monday night home game against the Packers. Should the Vikings win both of those, or even keep it close, they should be considered with teams such as the Seahawks, Packers, Saints, and 49ers as a team that can represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.
Watch out for the Minnesota Vikings. The Super Bowl contender nobody is talking about.