NFL Chatter: Which Jets team will show up Sunday?

December 6, 2014 at 1:41AM

The Vikings are the only team in the NFL that doesn't have a victory against a team that currently has a .500 record or better.

Really.

Yes, even the one-win Raiders have done it. Ditto for the two-win Titans, Jets, Jaguars and Buccaneers.

Yep. Same goes for the three-win Redskins, Panthers and Giants.

The Bucs and Jets both beat the Steelers, while the Titans and Raiders both beat the Chiefs. The Panthers beat the Lions, the Redskins beat the Cowboys, the Jaguars beat the Browns and the Giants beat the Texans.

The Vikings, meanwhile, are 0-5 against the Packers, Patriots, Lions and Bills. But at least they are 5-2 against teams with a losing record.

Next up is Sunday's home game against a 2-10 Jets team whose road résumé includes an 0-5 record and a league-worst minus-89-point differential. The only other teams that haven't won on the road are Oakland and Jacksonville.

It's hard to get a feel for which Jets team the Vikings will face. Will it be the blasé squad that lost to the Bills by 35 points in Detroit two weeks ago? Or will it be the determined group that beat the Steelers three weeks ago and pounded out 277 yards in a three-point loss to the Dolphins on Monday?

Coach Rex Ryan is highly unlikely to survive the meltdown season and a fourth consecutive year without a playoff berth. But he could make Sunday uncomfortable for a Vikings team that ranks 24th in run defense and allowed the Panthers to rush for 178 yards last week.

THIRD-AND-2

Three observations

• Every team in the NFC West is over .500 in its past five games. No other division can say that.

• The Denver defense actually ranks higher (third) than its offense (fifth). However, the Broncos rank fifth in scoring and 17th in points allowed.

• The Packers have thrown four interceptions while intercepting 15 passes. The plus-11 ratio leads the league by four.

Two predictions

• You thought things were uncomfortable for Jim Harbaugh in San Francisco? Now add a loss to Oakland.

• Kyle Orton will hang with Peyton Manning until throwing a late interception.

MARK CRAIG

about the writer

about the writer

Mark Craig

Sports reporter

Mark Craig has covered the NFL nearly every year since Brett Favre was a rookie back in 1991. A sports writer since 1987, he is covering his 30th NFL season out of 37 years with the Canton (Ohio) Repository (1987-99) and the Star Tribune (1999-present).

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