The Vikings will conclude their bye week and return to work on Monday with even an even larger lead in the NFC North.
The Vikings entered the bye with a 7-1 record and gained more separation after both the Bears and the Packers dropped to 4-4 with embarrassing performances on Sunday.
The Bears trailed the Arizona Cardinals 31-7 at halftime at home before losing 41-21.
The Packers became the first team to lose to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a 38-28 loss.
While there will be much hand-wringing and anger in those markets this week, the Vikings will get back to work on Monday with a noon practice. They now have a comfortable three-game lead in the division with three consecutive home games against Detroit, Seattle and Chicago.
If the Vikings lead in the division didn't already seem insurmountable going into the bye, it certainly does now with the Bears and Packers losing on Sunday and their favorable schedule coming out of the bye.
