Post by ratsalad on Nov 18, 2023 4:50:08 GMT -6
If the Vikings do manage to get a "W" in Denver this weekend to get to 7-4, then you'd have to think the expectation would be another "W" vs Chicago at home the following weekend right before the BYE to get to 8-4...
...and while the Division title would certainly still be "in-play" given that we still have 2 games with Detroit, the more probable path to the Playoffs is a Wild Card spot...
...and if the Vikings really want to win that Wild Card game, the "easiest" path to winning that is probably to get the 5th seed, primarily because the NFC South winner (which will undoubtedly have the lowest record among the NFC Division winners) will get the 4th seed and since the 5th seed plays the 4th seed on Wild Card weekend, playing the NFC South Division winner is probably the best path/chance the Vikings have in the Playoffs to advance. Regardless of who gets the #1 seed, winning @ Philly, @ SF or @ Dallas during Wild Card weekend will be the most difficult, but winning @ Atlanta, @ New Orleans or @ Tampa Bay should be a bit easier.
Knowing all that, if you look at the records of NFC teams who had the 5th seed (since the Playoff format shifted to 7 teams), the lowest win total was 11 wins:
2020: Tampa Bay was 5th seed at 11-5 (they eventually won Super Bowl)
2021: Arizona was 5th seed at 11-6 (started off 7-0 but collapsed in 2nd half; lost to #4 seed LAR in Wild Card Rd who won Super Bowl)
2022: Dallas was 5th seed at 12-5 (they beat 4th seed Tampa who was NFC South, but lost to SF during Divisional Rd)
So, to get to the 5th seed and give us the best chance of advancing to the Divisional Rd, we need to get to 11 wins, which means winning at least 5 out of our last 7 games, so the Vikings can only "afford" 2 more losses, or else they'll get a 6th or 7th seed and probably play @ Philly, @ SF or @ Dallas and have a lower chance at advancing.
Just win the division and worry about all that other stuff later. It's very winnable right now