What's the only difference for the Vikings between last year and this year? Results

The 2021 Vikings, through four games, were outscoring opponents by a slim 94-92 margin. They had allowed 389 yards per game on defense, and they had played two games that came down to a last-minute score.

The 2022 Vikings, through four games, are outscoring opponents by a slim 86-80 margin. They have allowed 394.5 yards per game on defense, and they have played two games that came down to a last-minute score.

It is an oversimplification, but not a stretch, to say this: The only fundamental difference so far between the 2021 Mike Zimmer-coached Vikings and the 2022 Kevin O'Connell-coached Vikings is the final result.

Last year's team was 1-3 through four games, earning the consolation prize as perhaps the best NFL team with a losing record at that point in the season. In those two down-to-the-wire games, the Vikings lost in overtime to the Bengals after a Dalvin Cook fumble and lost to the Cardinals after Greg Joseph missed a chip shot field goal.

This year's team is 3-1 through four games, earning the right to feel more fortunate than good to be in that position. In those two down-to-the-wire games, Kirk Cousins rallied the Vikings with a last-minute TD against the Lions while Joseph's late 47-yard field goal Sunday in London provided the final margin against the Saints.

What remains for debate — and which Patrick Reusse and I talked about on Monday's Daily Delivery podcast — is how we should interpret these crunch time differences.

In the ultra-close NFL, where the majority of games seem to go down to the final minutes, is there already a detectible benefit to O'Connell's approach that is helping the Vikings perform better when it matters most?

Or is the sample size too small, giving rise to the idea that these results will eventually even out and pull the Vikings back toward .500 just as they were lifted up toward that mark as things went their way later in the 2021 season?

And should we be concerned that the statistics and in-game approach from O'Connell have produced at least 59 minutes of uneven, clock management-challenged, pull-your-hair-out football almost every week that look very similar to the Zimmer-ball that got the coach fired?

Or should fans (and the Vikings themselves) be heartened to know that they are already 3-1 despite playing one great game, one lousy game and two mediocre (at best) games — with the prospect of better days ahead as players settle into new roles and systems?

These questions will get answers as the season goes on. For now, we're left with the classic mantra of Zimmer's mentor, Bill Parcells: "You are what your record says you are."