EDEN PRAIRIE (AP) &8212; The Minnesota Vikings have won exactly one game in the last five weeks.

They have shown flaws all over the field &8212; from an offense that has to scratch and claw to score points to a defense that gives up passing yards by the truckload.

Yet here they sit, after Sunday&8217;s 31-26 victory over Arizona, one game out in the NFC playoff race.

&8220;We&8217;re still in it,&8221; cornerback Antoine Winfield said Monday.

The Chicago Bears (9-2) may have a stranglehold on the NFC North, but the Vikings (5-6) are just behind Carolina and the New York Giants in the race for the two wild card spots.

Surprised?

&8220;I&8217;m never surprised by anything in this league,&8221; right tackle Mike Rosenthal said. &8220;Anything can happen. I&8217;m never surprised when guys have big games. I&8217;m never surprised when a team loses that shouldn&8217;t.&8221;

It&8217;s been that kind of season.

After a surprisingly easy victory in Seattle on Oct. 22, the Vikings were 4-2 and looking like one of the top teams in the NFC. But they were dominated at home against New England the following week, then lost three more to San Francisco, Green Bay and Miami in what was supposed to be the soft part of their schedule.

Fortunately for Minnesota, the rest of the NFC has been just as inconsistent. Atlanta, San Francisco and St. Louis are also 5-6, while the other three division leaders all have four losses.

&8220;It&8217;s kind of the way the NFL has been the last few years with the parity,&8221; guard Jason Whittle said. &8220;Right now, there&8217;s a lot of teams that are right there in that mid range. This is the time of year where you&8217;re going to go up or down. Hopefully we can be one of those teams to get on a roll here and make a run at the playoffs.&8221;

The Vikings are on the road the next two weeks with visits to Chicago and Detroit. They come home to face the Jets, then finish the season with a game at Green Bay and home against St. Louis.

The combined record of the last four teams on that list heading into Monday was 17-26, so there is reason for optimism.

But the Vikings still have a lot to work on if they are to make a serious run at the playoffs. The pass defense and pass rush has to improve as more and more teams simply refuse to run the ball against their stellar defensive front.

They also have to find a way to harness the productive offense that took the field against Arizona on Sunday and avoid the mistake-prone, points-starved unit that languished during the team&8217;s recent four-game losing streak.

Coach Brad Childress, of course, is preaching the time-honored cliche of one game at a time. The last time the Vikings met Chicago, they had the Bears on the ropes until a botched handoff from Brad Johnson to Chester Taylor set up a late touchdown.

&8220;That was like two months ago,&8221; Winfield said. &8220;We can&8217;t look at that. They&8217;re a different team. We&8217;re a different team.&8221;

Childress said he isn&8217;t looking at the playoff picture yet.

&8220;For me to look at all the matches, &8217;If we do that, they do that,&8217; I mean those are all ifs,&8221; Childress said. &8220;The best way we can serve ourselves is to play well this week and beat the Bears.&8221;