10 quick thoughts on the Vikings win over the Commanders in Week 9

Even more rapid thoughts from Minnesota’s win over Washington

Minnesota’s defensive celebrations are elite: Following a big-time interception by Vikings safety Harrison Smith in the fourth quarter on Sunday, Minnesota’s defense had a celebration to remember.

More than a handful of Vikings defenders pretended to be bowling pins as Smith pretended to roll an imaginary bowling ball in their direction. The results were extraordinary.

Evans steps up when needed: Following the early exit of Cameron Dantzler, Minnesota turned to rookie corner Akayleb Evans to take his place out on the field for the rest of the game. With his opportunity, Evans definitely made the most of it.

The rookie corner finished the contest with four tackles (two for a loss) and one pass breakup. Given his inexperience, things could have certainly gone much worse, but Evans’ performance on Sunday should give the Vikings confidence about his future with the team.

NFC North title feels inevitable:

Since Week 4, all the Green Bay Packers have done is lose games. The Packers haven’t earned a victory since their overtime win over the New England Patriots on October 2nd.

Since then, all the Vikings have done is win games and increase their lead in the NFC North. Green Bay lost again on Sunday, this time to the Detroit Lions, and Minnesota now has a four-game lead over the Packers and Chicago Bears in the division, who are both 3-6 after their first nine matchups of the season.

Super Bowl preview on deck: It might seem odd to think about, but at 7-1, the Vikings definitely have Super Bowl expectations for the rest of the year. Next week, Minnesota will be taking on a Buffalo Bills team that has had Super Bowl expectations before the season even started.

The game will be played in Buffalo, so that will make getting a win tougher for the Vikings. But the Bills just suffered a surprising loss to the New York Jets on Sunday, so why shouldn’t Minnesota be able to get a victory over Buffalo too?