I'm not a big stats guy, but even a fella like me can look at the statistical leaderboards after five weeks and see that the Vikings are excelling in multiple facets of the game. A quick glance at the numbers:
- Among quarterbacks, Brett Favre is third in the league in completion percentage (69.1%) with just Ben Roethlisberger and Peyton Manning in front of him. His 104.1 quarterback rating places him at fourth in the league. Our pal across the border, Aaron Rodgers? Well, at least he's leading the league in something (sacks). If you thought Favre's protection was a little lacking, consider that Rodgers has been sacked nearly twice as much as Favre has (20 vs. 11). And that's with Green Bay taking last weekend off. I greatly enjoy the fact that the Mullet is single-handedly responsible for nearly 25% of those sacks.
- We've talked about Adrian Peterson's quiet games against the Packers and Rams, but AD is still second in the league in rushing yards. His 481 yards put him six yards behind the pace-setter, Cedric Benson. AD leads all running backs with seven rushing touchdowns.
- On the defensive side, E.J. Henderson's 41 tackles put him in 10th place in the league. Jared Allen is in second place on the sack leaderboard, trailing Antwan Odom and Elvis Dumervil (who have eight sacks each) with 6.5 sacks. Allen and Chad Greenway are also among 11 players who have recovered two or more fumbles this season, and the Mullet has forced three fumbles. The numbers justify the early MVP talk.
- The Steal Of The Draft (Percy Harvin) has proven himself to be a lethal kickoff returner, and the stats back that up. His 31.2 yards-per-return average puts him in second place in the league. Darius Reynaud, who has missed the last two games, is averaging 17.3 per punt return -- also good enough for second in the NFL. The guy he was replaced with, Jaymar Johnson? Three returns, averaging 18.0 yards apiece.
- Points per game? The Vikings are third in the league with an average of 31.2. If you would have told me this time last season that the Vikes would be one of the highest-scoring offenses in 2009 -- after the first five weeks, at least -- there's absolutely no way I would have believed you. Just as important as the points-per-game average is the turnover differential (+8). Your Vikings lead the league in that category.
Anything I missed? Give me a shout in the comments.