No. 3 (down 1 spot): NFL staff, Bleacher Report

The Minnesota Vikings entered Week 7 as the NFC’s only undefeated team, largely because they had avoided mistakes and been opportunistic on defense.

The latter was taken in their big game with the Detroit Lions, when a fumble by Ivan Pace, Jr. before a touchdown gave the team a late lead. But the two-point conversion attempt that would have given Minnesota a three-point cushion was unsuccessful. Sam Darnold forced an ill-advised pass to Jordan Addison, which was intercepted. Minnesota was also 4-of-10 on third down and committed eight penalties.

None of these mistakes alone cost the Vikings the game. But that resulted in a two-point loss, and Head Coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters that the team needs to clean things up to get back on the winning track.

“It’s these little self-inflicted (wounds), whether it’s a formation, a grab or a pre-snap violation. I’ve got to get that stuff fixed,” O’Connell said. “If you’re trying to win at the level that we’re trying to win against whoever we’re playing against, there’s nothing we can do to give football teams an edge. We just have to worry about all 11 guys running the game pre- and post-snap with a lot of detail in all three phases, and I’ll continue to push this team every day to try to do that.”

“Despite Sunday’s loss to the Lions, the Vikings didn’t seem out of place among the NFC’s best,” Bleacher Report NFL analyst Brent Sobleski said. “Yes, Minnesota is coming off its first loss. That’s okay. No one expected the Vikings to go undefeated. In fact, most didn’t expect them to start the season 5-1, especially with Sam Darnold in front.

“But Darnold and the team didn’t look out of place against the Lions. Instead, Minnesota played well enough on points to win the game,” Sobleski added. “The Vikings fell just short, but they still showed that they are among this year’s top candidates.”