NFL Fact Or Fiction: Vikings Destined For A Fall? Chiefs No Longer Elite? Giants Legit?

The Vikings are 6-0, but is a collapse inevitable? Are the Chiefs off the mountain as a top Super Bowl contender? And those NFC-East leading Giants (4-2-1) … are they actually for real? I break down those topics and more in this edition of “Fact or Fiction,” where I render a verdict on fan takes sent to our @NFLonFOX Instagram after every week of league action. Let’s dive in: Fact or Fiction: Fact As long as the Vikings’ offense continues to struggle, this is 100 percent true. Elite defense and great special teams play is awesome and can win you games — a lot of games, in some cases — but it has a ceiling. Despite being the NFL’s only unbeaten team, Minnesota can’t be a true Super Bowl contender without offensive competence. On a team that features star receiver Justin Jefferson, QB Kyler Murray has only three touchdown passes. The thought was that the tide would start to shift for Minnesota’s offense last week, when it got starting left tackle Christian Darrisaw, tight end T.J. Hockenson, wide receiver Jordan Addison and running back Jordan Mason all back in the lineup from injuries. But it was more of the same against the Colts. Minnesota scored just 16 points, including one touchdown, against a struggling Indianapolis defense. The Vikings have scored 23 or fewer points in five of their six games this season. They haven’t put up a touchdown in a third of their games this year, and only the Dolphins, Titans and Chargers have scored fewer points. Minnesota’s 125 points are tied for the second-fewest by any team through a 6-0 start since 1950, according to NFL Research. And the Vikings are entering a gauntlet: at the Detroit Lions (4-2), vs. the Buffalo Bills (5-1), at the Green Bay Packers (4-3) and at the San Francisco 49ers (6-1). Those four teams are a combined 19-7. The Vikings need to figure it out on offense, fast. Otherwise, the cracks will start to reveal themselves over the next several weeks. Fact or Fiction: Fact This is true … and also not a problem! Most NFL quarterbacks are system dependent. There are, what, roughly five or so truly transcendent QBs in the league right now? Of course, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow are in that category. Bears QB Caleb Williams is a rising superstar, but we didn’t see his career start to take off until he got into Ben Johnson’s system. Niners QB Brock Purdy, a leading MVP candidate, is thriving in large part because he plays in Kyle Shanahan’s system. So, we can’t hold a “system QB” label against Goff. If teams can’t get the rare generational QB, they actually want someone like Goff. He should be in the MVP conversation because of his production this season. He’s thrown 14 touchdowns to zero interceptions. He leads the league in passing yards per game (298.0) and passer rating (112.5). He’s the only NFL player to have multiple games with 300-plus passing yards, multiple passing touchdowns and zero interceptions in 2026. He’s tied for the most passing touchdowns without an interception through the first six games of a season, according to NFL on FOX research. Goff benefits a ton from the talent around him. He has one of the league’s best wide receiver tandems in Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, a superstar running back in Jahmyr Gibbs and a great offensive line protecting him. But something should be said about how Goff consistently puts Detroit’s playmakers in positions to succeed, keeps the offense on schedule and delivers timely chunk plays. He’s the perfect quarterback for the Lions. “He’s playing at such a high level,” coach Dan Campbell said Sunday. “We have a tremendous amount of trust. He’s just going to take care of the football, do the right thing, make explosive passes when they’re there, get it to the right person, manage the game when we need him to manage it, push the ball when we need him to push it.” Fact or Fiction: Fiction The Chiefs are one of the NFL’s best teams and they have a glaring issue. I think both things can be true. It’s understandable, though, to be especially low on the Chiefs coming out of Week 7. Everyone knows that the Seahawks’ “Dark Side” defense is elite and that playing in Seattle is really tough, but for Kansas City to look that bad offensively was concerning. The Chiefs were held to their fewest points (3), total yards (213), first downs (11) and red-zone drives (0) in any game started by Patrick Mahomes, according to NFL on FOX research. In two games since its Week 5 bye, Kansas City is averaging just 12.5 points per game and 317.5 total yards per game. That’s down from 29.5 ppg and 412.0 yards per game over the first four weeks. The Chiefs’ recent struggles are impacted largely by being shorthanded at receiver. The team hasn’t had starters Rashee Rice and Tyquan Thornton since Week 4, with the latter being on injured reserve. That has enabled opponents to focus on stopping Kenneth Walker III in the backfield without fearing the Chiefs’ passing attack. Rice should return in the near future from his hamstring injury, given that he wasn’t placed on IR, but don’t be surprised to see Kansas City scour the trade market for a wideout who can stretch the field. The Titans’ Calvin Ridley and the Browns’ Jerry Jeudy are names to watch. The Jaguars’ Brian Thomas Jr. would be perfect, but I don’t see Jacksonville trading him to a fellow contender at the top of the AFC. Fact or Fiction: Fiction First of all, I’m actually on board the J.J. McCarthy train. Now, I’m not necessarily buying that he can sustain his level of play from last week’s overtime win over the Houston Texans and his fourth-quarter performance against the New Orleans Saints the week prior. But being in a new environment is good for the former Vikings QB, and I do think he can at least manage Giants OC Matt Nagy’s offense. McCarthy just needs to get the ball to the playmakers and let them work. Receiver Malik Nabers has been on fire with four straight 100-yard games. Lead back Cam Skattebo is coming off a career-high 124 rushing yards last week. My main concern with the Giants is their defense. They don’t do a good job stopping the run (128.1 rushing yards allowed per game, 25th) or rushing the passer (29th in sacks, 20th in pressure rate). The 2-4 Saints scored a season-high 34 points on them. The Giants allowed the 1-4-1 Washington Commanders to put up 27 points, the second-most they’ve had in a game this season. There are individual standouts on New York’s defense, including former first-round cornerback Deonte Banks, but the overall unit hasn’t played up to par. And a McCarthy-led offense is still too much of a wild card to believe it can lead John Harbaugh’s squad to compete with the upper echelon in the NFC.