Vikings give up chunks of points, yards and yet here they are at 12 wins possibly going on 13

Two stats that might make Vikings defensive coordinator Ed Donatell more than a tad nervous when the boss, Kevin O'Connell, gets around to deciding who on this year's staff stays or goes …

— The 2021 Vikings team that became the final blow to the Mike Zimmer era gave up 426 points, a 25.1 average per game that ranked 24^th.

— The 2022 Vikings, who might be the strangest outfit in the franchise's 62 seasons, have given up 414 points, a 25.9 average that ranks 31^st. Only a 3-13 Bears team that has lost nine straight entering Sunday's regular-season finale against the Vikings at Soldier Field ranks lower in points allowed (27.1).

"I don't know what to say because I guess those are the numbers," said Vikings safety Harrison Smith. "It's weird how stuff shakes out sometimes."

Indeed.

Zimmer went 8-9 last year, missed the playoffs for the second straight year and got fired. Yet his last Purple squad had more takeaways (24-23). It had a better turnover differential (plus-11 to plus-2). It ranked higher in sacks per pass play (fourth to 23^rd), third downs (fourth to 14^th) and red zone (14^th to 20^th). And, heck, it even scored more points per game (25.0 to 24.7).

Yet O'Connell's team is 12-4 and division champs. If it beats the Bears, it will improve by five wins over last year. Only the Lions, Jaguars and Giants have improved their win totals by five while the Eagles also can do so on Sunday.

"I don't look at the numbers, honestly, at this point," Smith said. "We're winning, so just go win more, I guess."

Zimmer, who built the defense and called the plays, had five top-10 scoring defenses, including three top-five units and the No. 1 group in 2017. He also finished with the first back-to-back teams to surrender 400-point seasons, going 7-9 and 8-9 to miss the playoffs.

O'Connell wasn't expecting the '85 Bears this year, but he also wasn't figuring on becoming the 10^th team in franchise history to allow 400 or more points or the 11^th to give up 25 or more points a game.

"A big part of this league is responding to setbacks," Donatell said. "We like to view them as temporary. We'll learn from them. Our main focus now is winning our 13^th game. It's pretty hard to do in this league. We want to build some momentum going into the playoffs."

In a small bit of defense of Donatell, the Vikings have given up four return touchdowns, which means there are 28 points for which the defense isn't responsible. Last year's Vikings gave up two return touchdowns while the 2020 Vikings team that gave up 475 points surrendered four return touchdowns.

The Vikings head into Soldier Field as one of only six NFL teams with at least 12 wins. Four of those teams rank in the top eight in scoring defense: 49ers (1), Bills (2), Cowboys (7) and Eagles (8). The Vikings are the only one of the six to have scored fewer points (395) than they've allowed (414).

The Vikings have made the playoffs 31 times. Among the first 30 qualifiers, only the 1978, 1982, 1993, 1996 and 1997 teams went into the postseason having scored fewer points than they had allowed. Only the 1982 team, which went 5-4 during the strike-shortened season, and the 1997 team, which went 9-7 and finished fourth in the NFC Central, won a playoff game.

The team's worst defense statistically to make the playoffs before this season was Mike Tice's 2004 team, which gave up 395 points, a 24.7 average that ranked 26^th. That team won a playoff game at Lambeau Field before losing at Philadelphia.

"I've seen a lot of playoffs over the years and there's just so many scenarios," Donatell said. "There's a lot of people who will write the narratives what teams will win or lose. I just know there's many ways it can work out."

O'Connell was asked Friday to assess his defense.

"I think the positives have really been turning the football over and being opportunistic," he said. "I think we continue to try to evolve the scheme. … It's an evolving thing."

Whether that evolution includes Donatell beyond this year's playoffs is sure to play out over the final weeks for one of the doggone strangest teams in franchise history.