Minnesota Vikings are NFC Favorites

There are plenty of good teams in the NFC. The Seattle Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys and Atlanta Falcons are just a few. But there's one team that stands above the rest in all-around play and skill.

The Minnesota Vikings.

The Minnesota Vikings are the best team in the NFC and arguably in the entire world of football. College, semi-pro, arena, CFL, you name it. Minnesota may just be the best football team in the world.

1. They're 5-0. For the first time since 2009, the Minnesota Vikings won their first five contests of the season. In those five wins, the Vikings are averaging 23.8 points per game and 12.6 points allowed per game. That's an 11.2 per game point differential.

These wins aren't coming by mistake. Minnesota is nearly doubling up its opponents over the course of the season, and some winnable games remain on the horizon.

2. The defense is playing at a Super Bowl caliber level. In an age of football obsessed with offense, points, flashy plays and celebrations, Minnesota's defense has wreaked havoc. Not only does the Viking defense rank first in the NFL in scoring defense, but it also ranks top-five in total yards allowed (287.6 YPG).

3. Sam Bradford is taking care of the football. What have been the two knocks on Sam Bradford during his playing career? He can't stay healthy, and he doesn't take care of the football. Well so far, he hasn't missed a game because of an injury, and he hasn't thrown an interception.

He's been operating the offense pretty well, too.

4. Everyone else has weaknesses. For Denver, it's a matter of who can and will play quarterback week to week. For New England, it's clearly health. For Atlanta, it's defense. For Seattle, it's health and offensive output. For Dallas, it's quarterback health and defensive consistency.

The Minnesota Vikings can stack up their weaknesses against any other team in the NFL and feel confident heading into each Sunday (Thursday and Monday, too) matchup.

5. Jeff Thurn says they're good.

The only two things that can derail Minnesota on this run to the Super Bowl are injuries and Blair Walsh. But if both those two categories remain in check by Mike Zimmer and his coaching staff, the rest of the NFL better watch out.