Daily Norseman FanPulse: And here. . .we. . .go!

There’s nothing quite like a big victory to help fans of a team regain their confidence, and it appears that’s just what’s happened after the Minnesota Vikings’ 28-12 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1 at U.S. Bank Stadium.

The victory made the Vikings one of the biggest upward movers of the week among the SB Nation family of football sites. While the 69% confidence our readers had going into Week 1 was nice. . .come on, like everyone isn’t going to make that joke. . .after the victory it’s now up to 86%. That 17-point jump is tied for the fourth-largest jump of Week 1.

That was the biggest jump in the NFC North as well. Fans of the Vikings’ Week 2 opponent, the Green Bay Packers, saw a modest increase in the confidence of their fanbase, as they moved from 61% to 68%. The other two NFC north squads? Well. . .not so much.

After playing to a 27-27 tie against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1, fans of the Detroit Lions have lost a lot of confidence in their team. Going into the game, 63% of Lions’ fans were confident in the direction of their team, but following a tie in a game they really should have won, that number is now down to 29%. This week, though, that’s not even the biggest drop in the division.

No, that distinction belongs to the Chicago Bears. We know their confidence levels were sky high all through last season, and with good reason. But, following an ugly loss to Green Bay in the 2019 regular season opener, the percentage of fans that are confident in the team dropped from 97% all the way down to 56%, a 41-point drop.

The biggest drop in the NFL, though, doesn’t belong to the Bears. Instead, it belongs to the team that the Vikings pummeled in Week 1, the Atlanta Falcons. Going into last Sunday’s game, a solid 88% of fans were confident in the direction the Falcons were going in. After the game? Just 22%. That 66-point drop was the biggest among the SB Nation NFL blogs going into Week 2.

Both the Falcons and the Bears appeared in our national question for this week, asking readers who the most disappointing team of Week 1 of NFL action was. They finished at the bottom of the poll, though, as the two AFC North representatives swept the top two spots.

Nearly half of respondents called the Cleveland Browns the most disappointing team in Week 1 of this season, after they took a 43-13 thumping courtesy of the Tennessee Titans. The Pittsburgh Steelers, fresh off of a 30-point loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday Night Football, took the second spot.

I’d like to see what a victory over Green Bay would do for the confidence of Vikings fans. Hopefully, at this time next week, that’s exactly what we’ll be discussing.