Mirror, Mirror: Are The Minnesota Vikings This Year's New York Giants?

The Vikings are 0-2. After losing dramatically to the Packers on MNF, and giving up 18 unanswered points to the three-legged Colts, most people have given up on the Minnesota Vikings.

Leading up to one of the most anticipated Vikings seasons since the days of John Randle (No. 93), Randal Cunningham (No. 7), and Randall McDaniel, the Vikings were thought to be an early Super Bowl contender, and would be the team to finally bring the Lombardi Trophy to Minneapolis. Headlined by Kevin Williams (No. 93) and Tarvaris Jackson (No. 7) leading the way, the Vikings were picked by SI to finish first atop the NFC North.

But SI left Vikings fans with false hope and an SI cover jinx.

One year ago today, the New York Giants were 0-2. After losing a shootout with the Cowboys, and then getting blown out by the Packers, people had written off the Giants.

But the G-men won six of their next seven (their loss was to the Cowboys again), and despite a 41-17 blowout at the hands of the Vikings, the Giants played like a contender for the rest of the year, even giving the undefeated Patriots a scare in the last game of the season.

Eli Manning was criticised all year because he wasn't playing as consistently as his brother, Peyton. As one SportsCenter announcer put it, "If Eli's last name were anything but Manning, he would be heralded as one of the brightest young players in the game." Peyton Manning is on pace to break all of Brett Favre's QB records, and once held the record for most TD passes in a season until Tom Brady eclipsed it in the Patriots 16-0 run.

The football gods were gracious and gave second chances to the Giants. They earned a Wild Card position in the playoffs, where they beat the Cowboys (0-2 against them in the regular season) the Packers (who they lost to 35-17 in Week 2), and the Patriots (who beat the Giants to cap off 16-0) for the championship.

But today, it is the Vikings who are 0-2...and the Vikings are almost exact mirror images of the 2007 New York Giants. Great run defense, young star running backs, and a media-scrutinised quarterback.

All that is left to do is wait and watch to see if the football gods grant the same leniancy as they did to last year's Giants.