For the Minnesota Vikings, 2011 has been an unbelievable season. For the Vikings, Sunday's 34-28 loss at Detroit against the Lions was an unbelievable game.

It is unbelievable that now for the eighth time this season the Vikings have lost a contest by seven points or less. Each of those losses was a very winnable game for the Vikings and in fact the ten-point loss in Atlanta could have been much closer had the officials properly awarded the Vikings a late game touchdown that would have drawn the Vikings within a field goal. On the year, the Vikings have played 10 games whose outcomes were not decided until the game's final minutes and they have only managed to win one of them, the 24-21 nail-biter at Carolina. Unbelievable.

It is unbelievable that 23 months ago the Vikings took a 13-4 team stockpiled with talent  - as evidenced by its ten Pro Bowl selections - into the Crescent City to face the Saints to determine which team would represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. Now 23 months later, at 2-11 the Vikings have the NFC's worst record (tied with the St. Louis Rams). Unbelievable.

It is unbelievable how similar the loss in New Orleans that January, 2010, was to Sunday's loss in Detroit, albeit with obviously much different stakes. In each game the Vikings finished with 28 points. In the NFC Championship Game the Vikings moved up and down the field at will, outgaining the Saints 475 yards to 310 yards and registering a season-high 31 first downs to the Saints' 15. Sunday, the Vikings again moved up and down the field at will, outgaining the Lions 425 yards to 280 yards and registering a season-high 29 first downs to the Lions' 13. In New Orleans, the game was shaping up such that it appeared the Vikings would win the game on the final play in regulation. In Detroit the game was shaping up such that it appeared the Vikings would win the game on the final play in regulation. As it turned out instead, the last Vikings offensive play of each game would end with a turnover, in the title game it was their fifth, and in Sunday's game, it was their sixth! Unbelievable.

It is unbelievable that in Sunday's game, Vikings backup Quarterback Joe Webb came into the ballgame to throw for 84 yards and a touchdown, and rush for 109 yards and a touchdown. All in just less than a half! His single-game rushing total is a Viking record for a quarterback, and he had the Vikings on the one yard line with nine seconds left on the clock with a chance to rally completely back from a 31-14 deficit. Yet no matter how impressive his display was on Sunday, and in his first career start last year in Philadelphia when Webb outshone the Eagles' Michael Vick, the Vikings organization has not an ounce of recognition or appreciation for what they have in Webb. Hence, they brought in an over-the-hill veteran to start at quarterback this season, and used a first round pick to draft at Webb's position even though the team had glaring needs elsewhere on the roster. Unbelievable.

It is unbelievable that on the final play of the game Sunday, an entire NFL officiating crew allowed the Lions' DeAndre Levy to grab Webb by his facemask, yank his head around by it, and completely ignore the flagrant foul as if it never happened, thus allowing the game to end with a stench stronger than a pro football team's laundry tub after a game. So instead of receiving an un-timed down from inside the Lions one yard line with an easy chance for an all-so-rare victory, the Vikings had to walk off the field in disbelief. Unbelievable.

It is unbelievable that a head football coach after being jobbed by the officials that probably cost his team a win, did not provide a post-game tirade worthy of great footage that could be used in humorous television commercials for years to come. Vikings Coach Leslie Frazier, seemingly oblivious to the controversial no-call, commented after the game, "People told me that they grabbed Joe's facemask and that's one of the reasons why he wasn't able to get his head up to make the throw." That's it? Frazier did not even see it himself? What in the world was the head coach watching on the last play of the game with his team on the one yard line going for the win? Unbelievable.

Or maybe Frazier not going ballistic with his team being ripped off because he simply did not notice what happened to his quarterback, is not really unbelievable afterall. That is the same head coach that apparently did not notice a bogus spot earlier in the fourth quarter, when a Lions receiver gave up first down yardage on his own, and was clearly tackled short of the first down marker. An accurate spot would have brought up a fourth down. The officials gave the Lions a first down anyway, as Vikings players vehemently signaled to their coach to drop his red challenge flag. Their coach simply stood by calmly while he allowed the game to proceed. The Lions would then move into field goal range, burning more time off of the clock and adding the final three points to their score. This is the same head coach who two weeks earlier, stood by calmly on the sideline while his receiver, Percy Harvin, was wrongly denied a touchdown in Atlanta that would have tightened that score up at a very critical juncture. No challenge flag from the coach that time either as Frazier stood by calmly and watched, completely disengaged from the team that he allegedly coaches. Unbelievable.