Vikings Still Lead Division After Overtime Loss To Bengals

EAGAN, MN—It may be a small consolation, but the Minnesota Vikings head into Week 2 in first place in the NFC North.

The Vikings forced overtime with the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday, but lost 27-24. All four teams in the NFC North lost their first game; as a FanNation writer for Sports Illustrated explains, the Vikings were the only team who played a non-conference team, and thus are top of the division with an 0-0 conference record.

The Vikings' offense took nine penalties in the first half; Head Coach Mike Zimmer pointed to these penalties as something his side must work on.

Zimmer highlighted his defense's pass rush as a bright spot, noting his players sacked Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow five times.

"I think we still have a chance to be a really good team," Zimmer said at a press conference Monday. "I know we didn't show it, really, in all three phases the other day but there's a lot of things I see are pretty darn good."

Kirk Cousins was 36 of 49 for 351 yards and two touchdowns and had no turnovers. The most talked-about turnover was, of course, a ruled fumble by Dalvin Cook in overtime that allowed the Bengals to set up the game-winning kick.