Post by Tim on Dec 5, 2017 20:32:20 GMT -6
If the playoffs started today, the Minnesota Vikings would own the top seed in the NFC and home-field advantage all the way to and including the Super Bowl.
Still, there are a lot of power rankings that have the Philadelphia Eagles ahead of the Vikings:
NFL.com has the Eagles at #2 and Vikings at #3.
This SBNation report has four rankings, including the NFL.com. Only CBS has the Vikings above the Eagles. John Breech of CBSSports.com in his Week 14 picks has the Vikings beating the Panthers 23-16 and the Rams beating the Eagles 30-27—further establishing the Vikings as the best team in the NFC.
Chris Simms from the Bleacher Report also has Philadelphia ahead of Minnesota.
At least one of the local papers has the guts to put the Vikings ahead of the Eagles. Mark Craig of the Star Tribune, at the risk of being a homer, has the Vikings third and Eagles fourth.
A superficial look at some superficial statistics seems to agree with my opinion that the Vikings are better than the Eagles (why would I use any that refute my claim?)
Here are some comparisons:
Record against potential playoff teams:
Eagles 1-2
Vikings 3-1
Record against teams with a winning record:
Eagles 1-1. The Panthers and Seahawks are the only two teams the Eagles have faced with a winning record. The Chiefs are currently sitting at 6-6.
Vikings 4-1. Along with the Saints, Steelers, Ravens, and Rams, the Vikings also beat the Falcons, knocking them temporarily out of the playoff picture.
The combined record of all opponents:
Eagles' opponents are 59-85 for 0.410 winning percentage (includes facing the 5-7 Redskins twice.)
Vikings opponents are 72-72 an even 0.500 percentage (includes facing the 6-6 Lions twice.)
I realize Philadelphia is the more popular pick with second-year QB sensation Carson Wentz at the helm. Wentz leads the NFL with 29 touchdown passes and is a great story as a kid from North Dakota. Yet, what's wrong with the story of an undrafted quarterback playing for his third team after being jettisoned from his last team after taking Jared Goff just ahead of Wentz in the draft. The plan wasn't for Case Keenum to start for the Vikings this year. All he's done is lead Minnesota with the best record in the NFL and tie a franchise-best mark of five consecutive road wins. Keenum has been so good in leading the Purple that the push to start Teddy Bridgewater has actually started to fade away—there are still those die-hard Ted Heads calling for him to start, but they obviously don't like a good thing and have not heard the repeated mantra "if it's not broke, don't fix it."
I guess I am fine with so many people still thinking the Eagles are the best team in the NFC—no, check that. I'm not and for the life of me, I wonder what they're smoking. I guess we will just have to let Week 14 play out and finally prove once and for all who the best team in the NFC is. Then set our sights on the Patriots, perhaps in Minneapolis on February 4th, 2018.
SKOL.
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Still, there are a lot of power rankings that have the Philadelphia Eagles ahead of the Vikings:
NFL.com has the Eagles at #2 and Vikings at #3.
This SBNation report has four rankings, including the NFL.com. Only CBS has the Vikings above the Eagles. John Breech of CBSSports.com in his Week 14 picks has the Vikings beating the Panthers 23-16 and the Rams beating the Eagles 30-27—further establishing the Vikings as the best team in the NFC.
Chris Simms from the Bleacher Report also has Philadelphia ahead of Minnesota.
At least one of the local papers has the guts to put the Vikings ahead of the Eagles. Mark Craig of the Star Tribune, at the risk of being a homer, has the Vikings third and Eagles fourth.
A superficial look at some superficial statistics seems to agree with my opinion that the Vikings are better than the Eagles (why would I use any that refute my claim?)
Here are some comparisons:
Record against potential playoff teams:
Eagles 1-2
- W2 lost to the Chiefs 27-20
- W6 beat the Panthers 28-23
- W13 lost to the Seahawks 24-10
Vikings 3-1
- W1 beat the Saints 29-19
- W2 lost to the Steelers 26-9
- W7 beat the Ravens 24-16
- W11 beat the Rams 24-7
Record against teams with a winning record:
Eagles 1-1. The Panthers and Seahawks are the only two teams the Eagles have faced with a winning record. The Chiefs are currently sitting at 6-6.
Vikings 4-1. Along with the Saints, Steelers, Ravens, and Rams, the Vikings also beat the Falcons, knocking them temporarily out of the playoff picture.
The combined record of all opponents:
Eagles' opponents are 59-85 for 0.410 winning percentage (includes facing the 5-7 Redskins twice.)
Vikings opponents are 72-72 an even 0.500 percentage (includes facing the 6-6 Lions twice.)
I realize Philadelphia is the more popular pick with second-year QB sensation Carson Wentz at the helm. Wentz leads the NFL with 29 touchdown passes and is a great story as a kid from North Dakota. Yet, what's wrong with the story of an undrafted quarterback playing for his third team after being jettisoned from his last team after taking Jared Goff just ahead of Wentz in the draft. The plan wasn't for Case Keenum to start for the Vikings this year. All he's done is lead Minnesota with the best record in the NFL and tie a franchise-best mark of five consecutive road wins. Keenum has been so good in leading the Purple that the push to start Teddy Bridgewater has actually started to fade away—there are still those die-hard Ted Heads calling for him to start, but they obviously don't like a good thing and have not heard the repeated mantra "if it's not broke, don't fix it."
I guess I am fine with so many people still thinking the Eagles are the best team in the NFC—no, check that. I'm not and for the life of me, I wonder what they're smoking. I guess we will just have to let Week 14 play out and finally prove once and for all who the best team in the NFC is. Then set our sights on the Patriots, perhaps in Minneapolis on February 4th, 2018.
SKOL.
... and neither is this Chris guy.