The Streak Is Gone. The Lead Isn't.

Minnesota lost at Ford Field on Sunday, ending a six-game run that had turned the preseason disaster narrative completely on its head. The final score dropped the Vikings to 6-1, but they still sit atop the NFC North and hold a playoff spot with 10 games left. One loss in Detroit does not undo what this team built from September through late October.

The more pressing question coming out of Sunday is Kyler Murray's status. He's listed as questionable, which means the Vikings could be heading into a critical stretch of the schedule without their starter — a situation that is at least familiar by now. Carson Wentz went 4-0 as the bridge option earlier this season, so the contingency has a track record. That doesn't make the uncertainty comfortable, but it makes it manageable in a way it wouldn't have been for most teams.

Ten games remain, and the magic number sits at 9. The structure of this season hasn't changed: the Vikings are a legitimate contender with a functional roster, a defense that has held up without Jamal Adams, and a ground game that Aaron Jones Sr. has steadied all year. A loss in a division road game is not a crisis. Murray's health over the next two weeks is the thing worth watching.