Is it okay to get excited about the Vikings’ chances in 2017 now?

After their impressive performance in their Week 1 win over the New Orleans Saints, is it too early to have high expectations for the Minnesota Vikings this season?

The Week 1 matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints on Monday night was predicted by many to be a fairly close and competitive game. However, no one sent that memo to the Vikings apparently.

After a Saints field goal early in the first quarter, Minnesota went on to outscore New Orleans 29-8 until the Saints found the end zone in the final two minutes of the game. The Vikings easily got the win over New Orleans as their offense finished with 470 total yards and their defense held the Saints’ offense to just 60 yards on the ground.

Minnesota quarterback Sam Bradford put on an amazing performance for the team’s fans at U.S. Bank Stadium on Monday night. The Vikings’ signal caller finished the game completing 27 of his 32 passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns.

Other members of Minnesota’s roster stepped up and had huge games for the team as well on Monday including rookie running back Dalvin Cook (127 rushing yards) and wide receivers Stefon Diggs (seven catches, 93 yards, two touchdowns) and Adam Thielen (nine catches, 157 yards).

But are these performances something that can now be expected from the 2017 Vikings or was this just the product of facing a poor Saints defense?

Well New Orleans’ defense is pretty bad (like real bad), but playing against a bad defensive team has not always guaranteed a win for Minnesota in the past. Monday was different though, as the Vikings took full advantage of their opponents’ shortcomings and came out with a pretty easy victory.

Minnesota Vikings

So we should reserve a spot for Minnesota in the Super Bowl this year now after their play on Monday then, right?

Not quite, but there are plenty of reasons to be excited about the Vikings’ chances this year. Some envisioned Minnesota’s 2016 team to contend for a championship (pre-Teddy injury). So perhaps those people were just a year off with their predictions?

The picture of their Super Bowl chances should get a little clearer for the Vikings after Week 2, as they will be heading out on the road to take on a tough Pittsburgh Steelers team next Sunday. The Steelers are coming off a Week 1 win of their own after defeating the Cleveland Browns, thanks in part to Pittsburgh’s defense finishing the day with seven sacks.

If Minnesota can find a way to outplay the Steelers in Week 2 with ease like they did during their matchup with the Saints on Monday, then the Vikings certainly deserve to be mentioned among this year’s Super Bowl contenders.

Next: The good and the bad from the Vikings' Week 1 win

Something tells me though that Sunday’s game in Pittsburgh is not going to be as easy for Minnesota as it was for them in Week 1 against New Orleans.