NFL players and coaches don't want to fly over the Atlantic and give up a home game to play in London. That's just the way it is. If they wanted to sightsee in London, they'd do it in the offseason.

Given that fact as context, the Vikings' week in London couldn't have gone much better than it did.

They practiced at a golf resort. They had time to adjust to the time change. They played in front of a remarkable number of friendly fans, whether they were Vikings fans who made the trip or Vikings fans for a night.

Wembley Stadium is beautiful, and loud, and much better at picking music than most American stadiums.

Most important, the Vikings won while finding their quarterback. Matt Cassel performed well enough that the Vikings resembled the team I thought they'd be all along: A talented team whose offense helps make up for weaknesses on the back seven of the defense.

If they keep Cassel at quarterback, as they should, and Chris Cook and Jamarca Sanford get healthy over the bye, this could be a dangerous team the rest of the way.