Halloween is approaching fast, but T.J. Hockenson and his friends decided to celebrate a little early — on another holiday entirely created by them.

The Vikings tight end and his fellow position cohorts took part in "National Tight Ends Day" on Sunday. The football holiday, originated by San Francisco TEs George Kittle and Garrett Celek (and former QB Jimmy Garoppolo) in 2018, has been recognized by the NFL since 2019 and has grown in popularity.

This past week was a historic one for "NTED" record books. Thirteen touchdowns were scored by 11 different tight ends on Sunday alone (15 TDs were scored by 13 TEs in Week 7 in total), marking the second-most ever in "National Tight Ends Day" history. The 2024 rendition of the holiday featured 16 touchdowns by tight ends.

Hockenson’s score came at a pivotal moment during Minnesota's 16-10 victory over the Colts. After Indianapolis had a promising drive result in a missed field goal attempt by Spencer Shrader from 56 yards, the Vikings used a trio of Jordan Mason runs and a 35-yard scramble from Kyler Murray to get to the Colts 5-yard line. One play later, Murray dropped back and fired a pass to Hockenson, who spun and reached the ball just inside the pylon before falling out of bounds.

The acrobatic score put Minnesota up 13-6 with 14:36 remaining, was Hockenson's second of the season and second on "National Tight Ends Day" (scored in 2020 at Atlanta as a member of the Lions).

Tight ends have also etched their way into the record books this season. According to NFL Media Research, the position has scored 110 total touchdowns through the first seven weeks of the regular season, the most in NFL history.

Minnesota (6-0) pushed its win streak to 11 consecutive games dating back to Week 14 of last season — the third-longest mark in franchise history (regular-season games only) — and is the NFL's last unbeaten team this season, following losses by the 49ers at the Falcons and by the Chiefs at the Seahawks. It also helped the Vikings move up in this week's power rankings, with its biggest jump being five spots. Here's a look at where the Vikings landed heading into Week 8:

No. 1 (up 3 spots): Nick Shook – NFL.com

Week 7 claimed two of the three remaining undefeated teams in the NFL, leaving the Vikings as the last unbeaten squad standing. They climbed to the mountaintop by winning in their familiar fashion, with defense leading the way. Brian Flores' unit is unquestionably elite and getting more creative with its approach each week. If the offense ever catches up, Minnesota will become a strong Super Bowl favorite.

No. 2 (up 1 spot): Brent Sobleski – Bleacher Report

The Minnesota Vikings continue to be buoyed by their defense. Brian Flores' unit is doing most of the work to keep Minnesota unbeaten.

The contributions feel far too lopsided to go all-in with the league's only undefeated squad. The 6-0 start is impressive, but Minnesota's offensive limitations raise questions about its sustainability.

Minnesota's defense deserves all the credit it gets. Flores is only getting more aggressive with his play-calling, too. In fact, the unit blitzed Daniel Jones on 85 percent of his dropbacks Sunday, which was the most by an NFL team over the past 20 seasons.

Meanwhile, Kyler Murray has yet to throw for 250 yards this season. Plus, the Vikings running backs room took another hit. Just when Jordan Mason returned, Aaron Jones, Sr., left Sunday's game with an injury.

Minnesota's offense somehow needs to generate more than it has to date. An unblemished record doesn't change that fact.

No. 1 (up 2 spots): Pete Prisco – CBS Sports

[The Vikings] still don't score enough on offense, but the defense is special. Brian Flores is so good at what he does in coordinating it.

No. 5 (down 2 spots): Nate Davis – USA Today

Maybe [the Vikings are] the 2000 Ravens and only need to score 17 points a week … which is close to what they're providing. That wouldn't be such a concerning trend if they weren't having so much difficulty handling teams like Miami and Indianapolis.

No. 4 (no change): Josh Kendall and Chad Graff – The Athletic

Good news arrived Monday when the team learned that Aaron Jones, Sr., shouldn't have to miss extended time. But this running game still isn't what the Vikings envisioned when they hired Frank Smith to help overhaul that phase of the offense. With an undefeated start, will first-year General Manager Nolan Teasley eye a big move before the trade deadline?

No. 2 (up 5 spots): Conor Orr – Sports Illustrated

I thought this was one of the best representations of what I have been trying to articulate: Brian Flores' defense is absolutely on pace to be one of the greatest defenses ever. This should create an obvious urgency at the deadline.

No. 2 (up 1 spot): Vinnie Iyer – Sporting News

The Vikings might be using some old black magic to remain as the NFC's only undefeated team. But they do have a macabre schedule coming up in Minnesota, with Detroit, Buffalo, Green Bay and San Francisco as the next four opponents. They need to bag some more offense, stat.

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