Back from the Bye, Vikes Say Hi to a Crowded NFC
Joe Oberle
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Vikings Territory Breakdown
During their bye week, the Vikings nearly said bye-bye to their playoff chances. They held onto their 6th seed position in the NFC playoff picture, but the red-hot Green Bay Packers tied them at 6-6 and crept into the seventh spot. The Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are also 6-6, so the Vikings playoff chances dropped to 41 percent and their margin for error plummeted to about zilch with five regular season games to go. It’s crunch time in Minnesota.
Coming off the bye, the Vikings heads to Las Vegas where fortunes are gained (but more often lost in the casinos) and there are so many questions pestering the Purple personnel department: Who will start at QB? How much will JJ play and contribute? How much money should they give Kirk Cousins this offseason. Will any amount of money be enough for Brian Flores to return? Why can’t we have nice things?
Those questions won’t all be answered on Sunday when the Vikings face the Raiders, who earlier this season were the first team to fire their head coach (please, keep Flores away from the Raiders owner Mark Davis). But that won’t stop us at the Vikings Territory Breakdown podcast (Joe Oberle, senior writer at vikingsterritory.com and purplePTSD.com and Mark Craig, NFL and Vikings writer for the Star Tribune and startribune.com) from trying to answer them. Tune in to check it out.
It is indeed crunch time. The Vikings have five regular season games left and the wolves are at the door. The Vikings can hold them at bay by playing well on the road and taking care of the Lions and Packers and making it to the playoffs. But only time (and much better offense) will tell, and the clock is ticking.
Listen to Vikings Territory Breakdown here or on your favorite podcast Network.
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