Unbelievable: Detroit Dominance Dashes Vikings Playoff Dreams
Detroit eked out a 34-31 win over the Packers on Thursday night, creating a two-horse race with the Vikings for the crown in the NFC North.
There really wasn’t a good or bad outcome from the Thursday night divisional game. Detroit’s win pushes the Packers two losses behind the Vikings, which is good for the Vikings in the battle for the top wild-card spot in the NFC. Had Green Bay won, the Vikings would’ve had a chance to move into a tie with the Lions for first place in the North.
The situation now has the Vikings in a position where if they beat Kirk Cousins and Atlanta on Sunday, they’ll still be one game game behind Detroit but two games ahead of Green Bay. A loss to the Falcons, however, would drop the Vikings two games behind the Lions while sitting only one game in front of Green Bay.
When it comes to remaining schedules, the Vikings have the third-hardest set of games to go in the NFL. Minnesota still plays Atlanta (6-6), Chicago (4-8), Seattle (7-5), Green Bay (9-4) and Detroit (12-1).
Green Bay’s remaining strength of schedule ranks 15th, with games against the Seahawks (7-5), Saints (4-8), Vikings (10-2) and Bears (4-8).
Detroit’s remaining strength of schedule ranks fifth, with games against Buffalo (10-2), Chicago (4-8), San Francisco (5-7) and Minnesota (10-2). The Buffalo game is in Detroit while the test against the 49ers in San Francisco.
If the Vikings don’t win the North to claim the No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the playoffs, they pretty much just have to hold off the Packers to ensure a first-round playoff game against the No. 4 seed, which will be champion of the West or South.
The South appears to be a race between the Falcons and Buccaneers while all four teams — Seahawks, Cardinals, Rams and 49ers — are tightly packed in the West.
The Athletic’s prediction machine gives Minnesota a projected final record of 13-4 but only an 11% chance to win the North. It has the Lions finishing 14-3 and the Packers going 12-5.
With the regular season coming to an end on Jan. 5, all of the unknowns will be answered in the next 30 days.
