The question of whether the Vikings' offense is as good as (or better than) the defense this season can be parsed with numbers, but it also comes down to trust.

I've seen the defense come up big more often in the past than I've seen the offense do it, and that's still my expectation (right or wrong). If there was one play from the 3 yard line in the closing seconds, a touchdown wins the game, would you rather have the Vikings' offense trying to score or the defense trying to make a stop?

I still like the defense more in that situation — whether that's the recency bias of seeing them do it against Denver or six seasons of seeing Zimmers defenses.

But if you're a Vikings fan, you have to feel good about the balance on this team. Teams are most dangerous when they can win in a variety of ways, particularly in the playoffs. I can picture the Vikings winning 16-13 or 30-27. They finally have a team that can do both.

Read Michael Rand's blog at startribune.com/randball. michael.rand@startribune.com.