Vikings beat Texans 34-7 thanks to defense and Sam Darnold

They cheered for Darnold, for a defense that started with five players they signed as free agents this summer, for a team that began the season without much fanfare but stormed to the top of the NFC after three weeks, scoring 55 points more than its opponents. No doubt the ears in the home team's locker room were still ringing after the game when O'Connell told his players, “It feels real to me, guys. We are capable of absolutely anything that's in front of us right now.”

Their next test will be a trip to Lambeau Field to face either Jordan Love or a Green Bay Packers team that has developed an offensive formula without him. After that, they'll end their four-game streak against young quarterbacks and head to London for their 30th and perhaps final regular-season game against Aaron Rodgers, their 40-year-old nemesis for nearly two decades.

As fans left the stadium on Sunday afternoon, the ad on the U.S. Bank Stadium video board advertised the Vikings' next home game on Oct. 20 against the Lions. On Dec. 24, Detroit won its first division title in 30 years at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Lions' next trip to Minneapolis could be crucial in the race for the NFC North.

The Vikings, to the surprise of most outside their practice facility, appear to be part of that race. After a 27-point win on Sunday, the tepid preseason predictions seemed like little more than talk for a team that has proven it can make a splash of its own.

“We get something done every day,” safety Harrison Smith said. “We have a lot of purpose, joy and a determined attitude throughout the week. It's not like, 'We have to go to practice, we have to go to meetings.' There's none of that because we're doing things that we all believe in. I wake up and I love going to work. I think that's pretty much the case for everyone.”