When are the Minnesota Vikings going to get the respect they deserve?

After a great performance from Sam Darnold against the Chicago Bears on Sunday afternoon, the Vikings are starting to get a little bit more respect. The perseverance from Darnold and the offense after the chaos at the regulation's end.

How does the media view the Vikings at the two thirds mark of the season? They are starting to get back into the top five.

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ESPN's NFL Nation

Last week: 6
This week: 5

Offense ranking: 14
Defense ranking: 1
Special teams ranking: 30

The FPI accurately puts the Vikings' defense at the top of the reasons the team is in an excellent position for a playoff berth. Coordinator Brian Flores' group bamboozled opposing quarterbacks early this season and has continued to find ways to pile up takeaways (22) and sacks (38). As a result, opponents are averaging 17.9 points per game (fifth best in the NFL). The offense has been middling, but that's probably a win given rookie first-round quarterback J.J. McCarthy's season-ending knee injury. The Vikings have gotten far more from quarterback Sam Darnold, including 21 touchdown passes, than anyone could have expected. — Kevin Seifert

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Yahoo! Sports' Frank Schwab

Last week: 10
This week: 7

With Justin Jefferson having a quiet day seeing a lot of Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson, Jordan Addison went off for 162 yards. T.J. Hockenson added 114 yards. Jefferson is unbelievable, but the Vikings have other stars to go along with him.

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CBS Sports' Pete Prisco

Last week: 6
This week: 5

They went unbeaten in their three-game road trip, which is tough to do. They were all close, but that matters little in the record.

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NFL.com's Eric Edholm

Last week: 6
This week: 5

Sam Darnold was charged with a fumble after his errant pitch on the Vikings' third play from scrimmage, and there was a sense of here we go again. But the win over the Titans ended up being a big bounceback game for the QB, who played pretty darned well for three quarters, until the offense went into a bit of a shell late. Darnold also took a costly fourth-quarter sack that might have been more impactful against a better opponent. Still, the early fumble was his only turnover of the game. The Vikings' defense did its job by sacking Will Levis five times and limiting the Titans' scoring chances, even with a few coverage busts. Tennessee ran 55 offensive plays; four of them accounted for 182 yards, and the remaining 51 plays netted just 112 yards. It wasn't artwork, but the Vikings won by double digits on the road. Now the meat of their schedule lies ahead. The playoffs are well within reach, but they'll be tested down the stretch.

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USA Today's Nate Davis

Last week: 7
This week: 8

After sweeping a three-game road trip, they'll play their next three at U.S. Bank Stadium. Did you know RB Aaron Jones has 141 more yards from scrimmage this season than WR Justin Jefferson?

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The Sporting News' Vinnie Iyer

Last week: 6
This week: 5

The Vikings are cruising with their defense and offense complementing each other well, and they won't relent while staying right behind the Lions in the NFC North.

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Bleacher Report's NFL Staff

Last week: 7
This week: 5

The Vikings have a franchise quarterback. No, it's not J.J. McCarthy, whom the organization sank a top-10 pick into this past April. The reclamation project known as Sam Darnold has turned into something special. Darnold has reclaimed his career after playing for three different teams over the past four seasons. He's comfortable and it shows, particularly in crunch time.

During Sunday's overtime victory over the Chicago Bears, Darnold completed 11-of-13 passes in the fourth quarter and overtime. He's now in line for a contract extension. McCarthy will just have to wait a while after his recovery from a knee injury before taking the reins. — Brent Sobleski

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Sports Illustrated's Conor Orr

Last week: 5
This week: 5

What incredible games from Aaron Jones and Jordan Addison, who were tone setters at different points in time and both of them bailed out Nick Mullens while Mullens was in the game with massive runs after the catch down the stretch. I sometimes feel like Justin Jefferson forces us to have a misperception of the true quality of Minnesota’s skill-position talent underneath the all-world wide receiver. 

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The Ringer's Diante Lee

Last week: 11
This week: 8

In the four games before Sunday’s matchup against the Bears, Minnesota’s offense had been the problem. Finally, on Sunday, quarterback Sam Darnold got through an outing without any backbreaking turnovers or mishaps in high-leverage situations—but the defense couldn’t get stops in the second half. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores’s scheme has done a great deal to mask talent deficiencies on that side of the ball this year, but this team doesn’t have many answers when the pass rush doesn’t get home. The Vikings will face several competent offenses across the rest of the season, so Flores will need to rediscover a winning edge quickly.

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Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio

Last week: 7
This week: 6

With three straight home games, they could fatten up their record before a finishing kick that consists of at Seattle, Green Bay, and at Detroit.

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The Athletic's Josh Kendall

Last week: 7
This week: 6

Best-case scenario: NFC Championship Game

The Vikings had a 300-yard passer, two 100-yard receivers and a 100-yard rusher in the same game for the first time since the 2000 season, and Justin Jefferson was not part of that. Sam Darnold got the passing yards. Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson got the receiving yards and Aaron Jones got the rushing yards. Darnold’s 330 passing yards were the fifth-most of his career, but his lack of playoff experience makes it hard to pick this team as a Super Bowl contender.

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