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Welcome back from the bye. Hopefully everyone was able to direct their free time toward positive and productive pursuits.

My non-game Sunday involved raking for the first time and mowing the lawn for possibly the last time of 2026, some household chores and a bit of recreational football watching.

It also was accompanied by gratitude from being able to enjoy a couple of days relaxing with our neighborhood friends at Whitewater State Park, a true jewel in Southeastern Minnesota. The hikes were fantastic, as always, and we had plenty of laughs by the fireside with a group that essentially "adopted" our family more than a decade ago. It is rare for the bye week to line up with that annual trip, but it was much appreciated.

The 5-0 Minnesota Vikings are returning to action this week by hosting the Colts (2-4) at noon (CT) Sunday, Oct. 25, and will try to extend their NFL-leading win streak to 11 games.

"Voice of the Vikings" Paul Allen, who is in his 25^th season as the play-by-play announcer for the Vikings Audio Network, will sound the Gjallarhorn before his 500^th game on the call.

It's quite fitting that Allen, who launched his career calling horseraces and incorporated that style into football games, will hit the milestone with Minnesota hosting a team from a city also famous for 500 and with a nickname inspired by horseracing. I'll have a write-up this week in which Allen reflects on the opportunity.

Lastly, the next milestone starting to appear on the green road sign is the NFL's trade deadline, which is 3 p.m. (CT) on Tuesday, Nov. 10.

People are wondering if the Vikings become buyers to further supplement their roster.

The early indications of Nolan Teasley's tenure as General Manager are that Minnesota will continue to do whatever the team thinks it can to continue strengthening the roster, whether that involves buying or swapping.

Bill Arnsparger and the 1972 Dolphins "No Name Defense" are considered one of the best overall defensive units in NFL history. Looking back at the first five games in 1972 and comparing them to the 2026 Minnesota Vikings led by Brian Flores, both teams started the regular season at 5-0.

Both defenses allowed 64 points (12.8 PPG)

Here is how some of the key positions compare:

Safety: Jake Scott – Harrison Smith
MLB: Nick Buoniconti – Blake Cashman
Safety: Dick Anderson – Joshua Metellus
DL: Manny Fernandez – Jalen Redmond
OLB: Doug Swift and Bob Matheson – Andrew Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner

Part of a great defense includes special teams, and the 2026 Vikings special teams unit holds up against any team. Will Reichard and Myles Price have both been outstanding.

Brian Flores deserves immense credit for the job he is doing. As a lifelong Vikings fan, I am proud of the team's direction. The leadership from Kevin O'Connell and Brian Flores shows that teamwork across all three phases is essential to winning. The team is built on a strong running game with three good running backs, complemented by a passing game that continues to grow alongside it.

I love the team we are building in 2026.

SKOL,

— Larry Lujan in Henderson, Nevada

This seems like a great place to start, given Arnsparger was the defensive line coach of the Baltimore Colts (1964-69) before becoming the defensive coordinator of the Dolphins, a role he held for four seasons that included three consecutive Super Bowl appearances, wins in VII and VIII and the unblemished 1972 season.

It's beyond my purview to comment too much on the inner-workings and effectiveness of that squad, but the results are indisputable.

Minnesota's defense and special teams have fueled this 5-0 start, and Reichard and Price continued right where they left off in 2025, helping with scoring opportunities from considerable lengths and field position while the offense has been working to coalesce and offsetting injuries.

Flores and O'Connell are quite a combination, and they enjoy getting together each week so O'Connell can formulate the overall game plan after incorporating defensive thoughts from Flores.

The Texans just released Daniel Sobkowicz from their practice squad. I see a lot of Adam Thielen in him. I watched his career at Illinois State University. Consider bringing him in for a tryout. I'm a 56-year Vikings fan.

Thanks,

— Brad Stull in Cheyenne, Wyoming

NFL scouting departments continuously monitor when players become available. Sobkowicz set records at Illinois State for career receptions (262) and receiving touchdowns (41), and he finished 7 yards shy of the school's receiving yardage record. During 2025, he ripped off 83 receptions for 1,141 yards and 19 touchdowns, helping Illinois State make it to the FCS Championship.

I watched a four-minute highlight reel of Sobkowicz's TDs during the 2025 playoffs, and I can see some elements of his game that align with things that Thielen did at an incredible level for so long, from tracking the ball and winning contested catches to running precise routes and finishing with one or two hands.

His historic playoff run included three touchdowns at North Dakota State: an in-breaking route, a fade with fancy footwork along the sideline and a stay-alive scramble drill, showing savvy in the red zone. He had a 93-yarder after coming down with a 50-50 go ball (the UC-Davis defender fell down at the catch point) and a diving one-hander for a 17-yard strike in the following round of the playoffs.

Suggesting a new nickname…

Justin JefferSON, Jordan AddiSON, T.J. HockenSON ... SONs of Anarchy!

— K.G.

I've never seen the show that ran seven seasons from 2008-14. Heard people enjoyed it, though.

That is a coincidence for some of Minnesota's top pass catchers. So is the number of offensive players with at least one "J" name.

Folks are welcome to weigh in or send their suggestions for nicknaming this year's squad.

Dear Mailbag,

I have no idea why anyone cares what Nick Shook thinks about the Vikings and whether their league-leading 5-0 record is fraudulent. I have some news for this guy, "You are what your record says you are, Pal." How many other teams are 5-0 at this point? His opinion doesn't mean squat.

— Skip Ringerud, Vikings fan since 1964

The Chiefs (already had their bye), the 49ers (hosting the Commanders tonight) and the Vikings are the NFL's only teams to start the season 5-0.

Skip is correct in that external opinions from anyone will have no bearing on wherever this season goes. Most everyone remembers the 2024 Vikings started 5-0 before their bye but then fell in Week 7 to Detroit (a game that proved to be quite pivotal) and at the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday Night Football before ripping off nine consecutive wins. That loss at L.A. included the knee injury that sidelined Christian Darrisaw the remainder of that season and had him working his way back through things last year.

Trying to stay as healthy as possible will be important but is never guaranteed. The Vikings, however, can control how much stock they put into any external opinions and how keenly they focus on each week's task at hand. The latter part is why O'Connell emphasizes the mentality of going 1-0 each week.

Hey, long-time Vikings fan from Down Under.

What's happened to the fake punt? Has any team tried it yet this year? Brett Thorson is not a small guy, and I'm betting he was brought up in Australia with some sort of rugby ball in his hands.

And I know lining Will Reichard up for a field goal is almost a certain three points, but when was the last time the Vikings tried a fake field goal?

Cheers,

— Craig from Queenstown, New Zealand

Fake punts often occur when a team is looking for a spark, or in an attempt to keep the ball away from an explosive offense — or when an opponent has revealed a particular glitch for a future foe to exploit.

According to TruMedia, the only fake punt so far in 2026 (through Sunday's late afternoon games) occurred when Kansas City visited Las Vegas in Week 4. The Raiders were using an interesting placement of players, and Chiefs punter Matt Araiza capitalized with a 12-yard run to the right to convert a fourth-and-9 early in the game.

There are so many outliers in that play. The fourth-and-9 occurred after an illegal formation penalty on the Chiefs, and it occurred less than two minutes into the contest. Ultimately, the Raiders responded by not allowing another first down on that opening possession.

The most recent Vikings game involving a fake punt occurred at Seattle in December 2024. Trailing 20-17 early in the fourth quarter, Julian Love took a direct snap and rushed for 2 to convert fourth-and-1. Minnesota's defense, however, recovered with a 6-yard TFL by Jonathan Greenard and a 6-yard sack by Andrew Van Ginkel in a game Minnesota eventually claimed 27-24.

Minnesota's most recent attempt at a fake punt involved a direct snap to Ty Chandler for a gain of 31 on fourth-and-4 at Denver in 2023, but the drive ended with a field goal, which wasn't enough to prevent a Broncos comeback in the fourth quarter.

Former punter Ryan Wright attempted two passes on fake punts as a rookie in 2022. His first was a 13-yard completion for Jalen Nailor's first career catch (against the Saints in London). His second was an incompletion against the Colts in Minnesota's record-setting comeback victory.

The only Vikings game involving a fake field goal during the O'Connell era occurred last December at Dallas. Kicker Brandon Aubrey ran for a gain of 6 on fourth-and-4 at the Minnesota 29-yard line to extend the first possession of the game for the Cowboys. That drive ended with a TD, but the Vikings eventually prevailed.

The most recent fake field goal for a TD by Minnesota occurred in 2006 with Ryan Longwell completing a 16-yard pass to Richard Owens to spark an eventual 16-13 OT win against the Panthers.

Craig, I haven't commented or questioned the team yet this year. I'm just enjoying the WINS! Shout out to Aaron Jones. He is remarkable and was the only RB playing [at New Orleans] — 113 yards; I don't know how he does it. Rest Aaron rest. Thankful for Will the Thrill!

But I have been wondering for 2-3 weeks, why are the injuries on the offensive team, and not the defensive team. Kyler Murray in game one, Justin, Addison, Josh Oliver, Darrisaw, Donovan Jackson, Jordan Mason and T.J. Hockenson of the starters (did I miss some?). Can you explain why, or is it coincidence? That is 8, and yet the offense played well enough to score more points than the opponent five times! That is very good. Couple that with getting back most of them healed and rested, continued improvement of Kyler connecting to his receivers, well, we have very thrilling games coming up. The Colts will be a good game to sharpen up on everything, the Lions will be fun and a test, but then the [Bills]. That will be a very good test for the whole season. SKOL 8-0.

— Gill Sorg from New Mexico, near El Paso, Texas, where Aaron Jones is loved so much

I'd say Aaron Jones was likely the most deserving of the bye week landing when it did.

The 31-year-old has shouldered the load without Mason, rushing 85 times for 370 yards in the past four weeks.

I don't believe there's anything with the correlation on offense beyond coincidence. That unit has been on the field more than the defense in recent weeks. The other component is Oliver's injury occurred while blocking for a field goal at Tampa Bay. His injury and Jackson's have sidelined both key players for the remainder of the regular season.

The upcoming slate should tell us more about this year's team.

View the Vikings 2026 Schedule.

Check out the Vikings current 2027 NFL Draft Selections.

Look ahead to the Vikings 2027 Opponents.

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Download the official Vikings App.

Learn about the 2028 NFL Draft in Minnesota.