For the Vikings, a sense of early urgency after Lions upset Chiefs

A funny thing happened this offseason.

The Lions, who played quite well down the stretch last season, became a trendy early pick to ascend in 2023. But those sentiments almost peaked too early for some of us — my hand is raised — and we then decided the Lions' hype was overcooked before they had even played a down this season.

Come on. The Lions are the Lions. Bad things always happen. They aren't going to sneak up on anyone this year. Mark them down for 8-9 or worse, and give the Vikings the nod as the favorites still in the weak NFC North.

But then the games actually started. The Lions played the opener Thursday in Kansas City, a contest in which the Chiefs were relatively modest four-point favorites but in which the assumption was clear: The defending Super Bowl champs, even as they deal with some contractual and injury turmoil, would win and the Lions would lose.

When Detroit pulled out a 21-20 victory, it changed the complexion of the Lions' season — and by extension that of the Vikings and the entire NFC North — in the process, something I talked about on Friday's Daily Delivery podcast.

In the NFL, games fall into three general categories: Games that are expected wins, games that are expected losses and games that are true toss-ups.

When you go through the exercise of trying to guess what record a team will end up with at the end of the season — as my colleagues and I did with the Vikings again this year — those categories come in handy.

I have the Vikings at 9-8, which I thought was fair and maybe even a bit generous. As it turns out, I was the most pessimistic of our group for the second year in a row, albeit not as much as last year's tremendously incorrect 7-10 prognostication.

That 9-8 guess certainly comes with the expectation that the Vikings will win Sunday against Tampa Bay, quarterbacked now by a No. 1 overall draft bust (Baker Mayfield) instead of a sixth round GOAT (Tom Brady).

And the notion that 9-8 still might be enough to win the NFC North was influenced by a belief that the Lions were not for real.

Just three hours into the season, though, we already had to recalibrate. It puts immediate pressure on the Vikings to win Sunday — to make sure an expected win turns into a real one — and it could be a game that everyone else in the division is chasing all season.

Here are four more things to know today as we carry over a theme of weekend urgency:

*The Twins are in control of the AL Central, but they need to keep it that way. The lead is six now, and it must never shrink below four. That should be doable against a very soft closing schedule, starting with the underachieving Mets on Friday.

*The Lynx have two games left in the regular season and can finish anywhere from fourth to seventh in the WNBA playoff race. Finishing fourth is a long shot, but winning their final two against sub-.500 teams is doable and would clinch at least the No. 5 seed.

*The Gophers are nearly a three-touchdown favorite against Eastern Michigan on Saturday. Their opener against Nebraska was too close for comfort, and a more prolific offensive showing is needed this weekend.

*Team USA lost in the FIBA World Cup semifinals to Germany. Anthony Edwards had 23 points but also a key late turnover.