Foxborough, Ma. -- This is a quick reaction to today's Vikings game. My actual column will be in the Monday newspaper and online later at startribune.com
The Vikings entered the season 2-8 on the road against playoff teams under Mike Zimmer.
They currently stand at 2-9, and if the Bears and Patriots reach the playoffs, they will be 2-11.
Sunday in Foxborough, the Patriots handled them easily, 24-10, and the Vikings' next game will be on the road against another presumptive playoff team, Seattle.
The Vikings have not beaten a team with a winning record this season, and the team against which they are 1-0-1 this season - Green Bay - just fired its coach.
The Vikings are 6-5-1 with four games remaining and their spotty play on Sunday provided another reminder that we have little evidence, apart from preseason prognostications, that they are a good team.
Sunday, they were often puzzling, throwing well short of the first-down sticks on key third and fourth downs in the fourth quarter, leaving Dalvin Cook off the field on another key third down that became a pass to backup Latavius Murray, and leaving a Patriots receiver wide open for an easy touchdown.
As in the last difficult road game the Vikings faced, at Chicago, quarterback Kirk Cousins looked comfortable only when the Vikings went with a hurry-up offense, but even then he didn't produce enough big plays, instead throwing mostly short passes.
