The Minnesota Vikings have been one of the most pleasant surprises in the NFL this season. Minnesota is 12-2 after getting a huge division win over Chicago on Monday Night Football. Now the Vikings are tied with the Lions and Eagles atop the NFC playoff standings.

During the offseason, seemingly nobody pegged the Vikings as a contender in the NFC. That never stopped Vikings running back Aaron Jones from believing.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero asked Jones to recall a statement he made to his mother before the start of the 2024 season.

“Not a lot of people would have had this Vikings team being 12-2,” Pelissero said. “But I remember you told your mom back in camp that you thought there was something special with this group. What did you see that everybody else missed?”

“Just a hungry group of men in the locker room,” Jones replied. “A lot of us on [one-year deals], you've got to go out there and prove yourself.”

Jones has had an incredible 2024 campaign with the Vikings. He has 215 attempts for 979 yards with five touchdowns with three games left to play. Jones is pacing towards his personal best for rushing yards in a season, with 1,121 during the 2022 season with the Packers.

“When nobody believes in you but the guys around you, that’s powerful,” Jones concluded. “And if everybody believes, we can accomplish a lot of things.”

If Jones keeps playing at a high level, there's no telling how far the Vikings could go in the playoffs.

Recapping the Vikings' big Week 15 win against the Bears on MNF

Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones (33) reacts after a touchdown run during the third quarter against the Chicago Bears at U.S. Bank Stadium.
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The Vikings are thrilled to have gotten a big win on Monday Night Football. It was an important win and it never looked in doubt throughout the whole game.

Chicago did not score until the second half when it was already 13-0 in Minnesota's favor.

Aaron Jones also spoke with Pelissero about how Minnesota took over the game in the second half. They repelled a comeback attempt by the Bears and cruised to another NFC North victory.

“I think we just came out and in the second half we started executing better,” Jones told Tom Pelissero after the game. “Started moving the ball on the second series. Our defense came out light-out all night ready to play, taking the ball away. They let us go out there and be able to run the ball as well, feel like that opened up a lot of things.”

The Vikings also received a strong performance from their defense, which helped lead to the victory. Minnesota sacked Caleb Williams twice, including one strip sack that led to a Vikings touchdown shortly afterwards.

The pressure is on Minnesota to keep winning games to have a chance at an NFC North title.

Next up for the Vikings is a Week 16 matchup against the Seahawks.