The Minnesota Vikings improved to 12-3 on the season defeating the New York Giants on Christmas Eve. It kept their hopes alive for the No. 1 seed in the NFC, as the Philadelphia Eagles dropped their matchup to the Dallas Cowboys. The odds of Philadelphia not winning a game the rest of the season is low, but Minnesota has to be happy about just having a chance at all.

There are varying opinions on this Vikings team, as they are tied for the second most wins in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs, but the three teams couldn’t be more different. Buffalo leads the league in point differential at +157 and the Chiefs are fifth at +106. Much further down the list is the Vikings, who are +5 on the season despite now being 12-3.

That win-loss record is an anomaly based on the team’s point differential. According to NFL on CBS, Minnesota has set a record for the lowest point differential for a team that is 12-3 or better through 15 games since the merger.

Rounding out the top five is the Oakland Raiders in 2016 at +49, Tennessee Titans in 1999 at +57, Green Bay Packers in 2021 at +59 and Green Bay Packers in 2019 at +60.

Usually, when you are winning that often, the point differential will be rather high. But, the Vikings have played nail-biters in all of their victories and their losses have all been blowouts. All three of their losses have been by double-digit points, including a 40-3 drubbing at the hands of the Cowboys in Week 11. 

On the other hand, all but one of their victories have been by one possession. Minnesota is 11-0 this season in one-score games, which does require some luck in addition to solid play.

The Vikings are certainly hoping that they can experience more success than the other teams on the list as half of them failed to win a playoff game. The 1999 Titans made the Super Bowl, as their run began with the Music City Miracle against the Buffalo Bills.