Timberwolves among best 'on the planet,' definitely better than a push in Minnesota

With the game on the line, the Vikings used one of their lightest players (Brandon Powell) to try to shove forward an immobile quarterback (Nick Mullens) behind an offensive line — and particularly a center (Garrett Bradbury) — known more for being nimble than forceful.

And when it didn't work, they tried it again.

Mullens, who averages about 6.3 inches per carry for his NFL career (40 rushes, 7 yards), could not muster the four or five needed to get the first down.

The plays failed, the Vikings were left to rue a game that got away and Vikings fans gained more evidence that Kevin O'Connell is a very good coach six days a week and an average one on gamedays — especially when he offered the explanation that by using Powell as the pusher he was trying to keep the Bengals out of their goal-line defense, a familiar line of overthinking that cost them in a critical spot against the Chargers earlier this year.

By the end of Saturday, though, the Vikings' physical and mental meltdown in Cincinnati was only the second most absurd thing to happen in the context of Minnesota sports — something Patrick Reusse and I talked about on Monday's Daily Delivery podcast.

The more amazing thing was yet to come: After the Wolves routed the Pacers to improve their already best record in the Western Conference, veteran Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said this of Minnesota: "They are one of the best teams on the planet."

Since the NBA is the best league on Earth, this was a fancy way of saying the Wolves are one of the league's best teams. Carlisle is not breaking news there based on Minnesota's record.

But still it is cause for a double-take. After all the years of being somewhere between bad and mediocre, the Wolves are one of the best? The ... Minnesota Timberwolves? We're sure? Should we be lowering our voices when we say that?

The rest of the season and the playoffs will tell us more, but for now it seems true. And this is definitely true: If this marketplace can only hold space for one great team at a time, the Wolves are it right now.

The Vikings, even had they pushed Mullens' tush a bit harder and won that game, would still be a mediocre team with a big quarterback question. The Wild's seven-of-nine surge under new coach John Hynes means they could be in a battle to the end for a low playoff seed.

The Twins gave us a brief glimpse of what they are capable of in the past two months of 2023, but they won't be as good in 2024 even if the AL Central props them up. The Lynx, Loons and any major Gophers teams? I sense competence in a lot of senses but not greatness.

That leaves us the Wolves. Among the best on the planet, and definitely better than a push in the Minnesota conversation.