NFL Winners and Losers: Believe it, Vikings are contenders and Sam Darnold is an MVP candidate

When the Minnesota Vikings beat the San Francisco 49ers, it was a nice upset. Then the Vikings beat the Houston Texans, and it grew into a cool early-season story.

After Week 4, there's no mistaking what is happening with the Vikings anymore. They're not just one of the best teams in the NFL, they might be the best team in the NFL based on the early returns.

If there was any wonder about the Vikings' standing in the NFL's hierarchy after a 3-0 start, they erased it after what happened at Lambeau Field. The Vikings led the Green Bay Packers 28-0 in the first half and while the Packers rallied in the fourth quarter Minnesota was so dominant though three quarters that it didn't matter. The Vikings won 31-29 in a win that was a lot more impressive than the final score would indicate.

Now the Vikings resume looks a little different. No team has a trio of quality wins like the Vikings, and all three were unquestionable. The 49ers, Texans and Packers were all considered potential Super Bowl contenders, and the Vikings looked great in all three.

Which must make the Vikings Super Bowl contenders themselves.

It doesn't happen often where a team comes out of nowhere to become a bonafide championship contender. The 1999 St. Louis Rams were a special case. But there's no reason to believe the Vikings aren't capable of remaining one of the best teams in the NFL all season. And in another bizarre twist, Sam Darnold should start to get some MVP attention after Sunday.

Darnold has been fantastic. He had three touchdown passes before halftime on Sunday. He's off to a blazing hot start and has done so without tight end T.J. Hockenson and with Jordan Addison missing two games. Addison returned Sunday and scored two first-half touchdowns. He did throw an interception and lost a fumble in the second half, which helped allow the Packers to cut the Vikings' lead to 28-22 early in the fourth quarter, and maybe that's a concern given his turnover issues through his career. But there's no real reason to believe he's going to fall apart. Darnold struggled to start his career, but looking back the story of his surge this season makes sense. He was a huge prospect out of USC. He went to an absolutely miserable situation with the New York jets, then another bad situation with the Carolina Panthers. He spent a season with some competent coaching on the San Francisco 49ers, then went to another great coaching staff in Minnesota. He had the talent, just never the situation or the patience to let him develop. He looks like a new quarterback with Kevin O'Connell calling plays. He's just 27 years old and that's not too late for a quarterback to have a career revival.

The offense has been very good with Darnold playing as well as anyone in the NFL. The defense has been way better than anyone expected, with defensive coordinator Brian Flores getting endless praise for his dizzying schemes that have made every quarterback look bad this season. The 49ers had seven points through three quarters in Week 2, the Texans were shut out until late in the third quarter last week and despite having Jordan Love back in the lineup the Packers had zero points until the Vikings muffed a punt right before halftime gave Green Bay the ball at Minnesota's 3-yard line. That's the only time the Packers scored in the first three quarters. The way the Packers moved the ball in the fourth quarter might have shown some cracks, or it's more likely the Vikings let down and that was the biggest factor in Green Bay suddenly looking decent on offense.

This Vikings team might be a massive surprise but it doesn't look like a fluke. If you removed the preseason expectations and started with a clean slate in the opener, you'd see a highly efficient offense led by a quarterback who should get some early MVP buzz, with a defense that has been arguably the best in the league, and a team that has had decisive victories over three straight quality opponents. That looks like a championship contender.

Here are the rest of the winners and losers from Week 4 of the NFL season:

WINNERS

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: For the second time this calendar year, the Buccaneers completely outclassed the Philadelphia Eagles at home.

A lot of attention will to go the no-show by the Eagles on Sunday, but give the Buccaneers credit. They looked bad in a Week 3 loss to the Denver Broncos but bounced right back with a strong 33-16 win over the Eagles that looked a lot like the playoff beatdown they delivered Philadelphia in last season's playoffs. Baker Mayfield had two passing touchdowns and a rushing toucdhown on the board less than 16 minutes into the game. The defense flustered a severely shorthanded Eagles offense.

Tampa Bay looked like perhaps the best team in the NFC South through two weeks. Now it seems that last week's loss was just a blip for a pretty good team.

Bears' offensive approach: The Chicago Bears didn't ask Caleb Williams to do everything on Sunday, and the results were a lot better.

D'Andre Swift broke out of an early-season slump with 93 yards rushing and a long touchdown, and Williams had a strong game. He passed only 23 times but completed 17 of them for 157 yards and a touchdown. Matthew Stafford had a late interception and the Bears beat the Los Angeles Rams 24-18.

The Bears were asking way too much of Williams the first few games of his career, including 52 passing attempts in Week 3. With a much more balanced approach, the Bears as a whole looked much better. Go figure.

Younghoe Koo: It helps to have a kicker you can trust from anywhere on the field.

The New Orleans Saints scored late to take a lead and the Atlanta Falcons' drive to answer it stalled. The Falcons had to decide whether to go for it or let Koo try a 58-yard field goal. Koo's career long was 54 yards.

Raheem Morris had Koo try it, and the kicker made the coach look smart. Koo nailed it with two seconds left and the Falcons escaped with a 26-24 win. That kick is the difference between the Saints being 3-1 and 2-2, and the Falcons being 1-3 and 2-2. That's a big swing in the NFC South.

The Falcons haven't always been great this season but they have a couple dramatic wins while they figure things out. They can thank their kicker for Sunday's win.

Joe Flacco: Last season, Flacco was unemployed as November hit. He ended up winning NFL Comeback Player of the Year as he led the Cleveland Browns to the playoffs and had a new start to his career.

The Indianapolis Colts signed him this past offseason and they're glad they did.

Flacco came in for Anthony Richardson when Richardson suffered a a hip injury and did his job as a seasoned veteran. Flacco completed 16-of-26 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns as the Colts got a big 27-24 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Colts don't want to be without Richardson for long, but they know exactly what to expect out of Flacco if he has to play.

LOSERS

Doug Pederson: Coming close to beating the Houston Texans isn't going to do much for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Jaguars battled and led until the final seconds, but C.J. Stroud hit Dare Ogunbowale for a short touchdown pass with 18 seconds left and the Texans won 24-20. The Jaguars are 0-4 to start the season and as the head coach of one of the NFL's most disappointing teams, Pederson might be in a lot of trouble.

There was a key sequence at the start of the fourth quarter when the Jaguars had fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line. It seemed like a Trevor Lawrence run out of an empty set would be the play, and that's exactly what the Jaguars did. The Texans weren't fooled, Lawrence was stuffed and the Jaguars got nothing. That's the type of uninspired playcalling that might cost Pederson his job before long.

Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets: The Jets had a game they really should have won on Sunday against the Denver Broncos. And they gave it away.

By the end of the ugly 10-9 loss in the rain, Rodgers was limping around and the Jets were a disappointing 2-2. They lost despite allowing negative passing yards in the first half.

Bo Nix's stat line through two quarters was unbelievable. He had completed 7-of-15 passes for -7 yards. Not one completion went for positive yardage. But the Jets didn't do much themselves and the Broncos were still in the game despite a shockingly bad offensive half.

That's because the Jets couldn't score. They had multiple chances late in the game to take the lead but couldn't do it. Then at the end, when the Broncos missed a field goal and the Jets gained a few yards to give their kicker Greg Zuerlein a 50-yard shot to win the game, Zuerlein pushed his kick wide right and the Broncos had the win. Maybe if the offense could have gotten a few more yards, the kick would have been a little easier.

The Jets looked great during a win over the New England Patriots in Week 3 and it appeared that was their first step toward being one of the NFL's most dangerous teams. Then they had a massive step back on Sunday.

That Panthers revival: It turns out the Carolina Panthers aren't back, after all. But the Cincinnati Bengals are still somewhat alive.

The Bengals beat the Panthers 34-24 to avoid an 0-4 start. While the Panthers offense still looks much better with Andy Dalton at quarterback, the rest of the roster has issues. A win over the Las Vegas Raiders last week was nice, but Week 4 was a reminder that the Panthers are still a deeply flawed team.

For the Bengals, it was a huge victory. A fourth straight loss to start the season might have made them irrelevant in the playoff race. They had a strong, balanced offensive attack and got the win. They have some renewed hope, while the Panthers had a reality check.