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Vikings Not Sweating Last Year's Post-Bye Breakdown

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- It's back to work for the Vikings following their bye week. This Sunday it's a matchup in our nation's capitol as Minnesota seeks its fifth win in a row.

As well as things are going, what happened after the bye week last year can't be forgotten.

"It's a good vibe. We're all happy, we're all ready to get back out there and play some football," cornerback Xavier Rhodes said.

After a week off, the Vikings find themselves in the driver's seat heading into the second half of the season. They sit atop the division, are carrying a winning streak...just like last year?

Of course, the bye week was when everything fell apart for the Vikings last year. They went into it 5-0, then lost their next four straight coming out of it and eight of their final 11. The Vikings players vow this year will be different.

"I think people look too far into that stuff," wide receiver Adam Thielen said. "I think we're a totally different team this year than we have been in the past. And I don't think it had anything to do with, last year, I don't think it had anything to do with going into the bye week. It was just the fact that we didn't play well enough in those games and we weren't doing the things that we needed to do to win. So it had nothing to do with going into a bye week, and being 5-0 and then whatever after that. For this year, we're just gonna keep playing football and take it one game at a time."

"How crazy the NFL can be. You can be at the top one day, the bottom the next. So it's just about being consistent," linebacker Anthony Barr said.

Vikings players say they didn't do anything different this year. They're not changing anything about their approach.

"Last year's last year, we aren't even thinking about that," Rhodes said. "It's a whole new year."

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