Vikings safety Harrison Smith is only a 23-year-old rookie. So he doesn't have full perspective on just how encouraging this season's revival has been for an organization that suffered through a 3-13 nightmare in 2011.
But Smith does know enough about the cruel dynamics of the NFL to understand that there's not a huge difference between miserable seasons and invigorating ones.
That's why a Vikings home loss on Sunday would have been harsh, further disintegrating the cheer that had built through the season's first two months.
Instead, with Smith providing a decisive 56-yard interception return touchdown in a 21-14 victory over Chicago, the Vikings still are free to speak the league's magic word -- playoffs -- in mid-December.
And they can do so without a Jim Mora tone of exasperation.
"We still have a chance," Smith said after Sunday's win. "We know every game's a must-win for us. But we're still in the thick of things. And the playoffs are still a real possibility."
At this point, staring at the NFL standings and trying to decipher a clear postseason picture is more difficult than detecting a 3D schooner in one of those 1990s "Magic Eye" drawings.
Ten NFC teams are at .500 or above, including the Vikings and their opponent on Sunday, St. Louis.