Dec 18, 2022; Denver, Colorado, USA; Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker (3) reacts to his interception in the second half against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
The Minnesota Vikings defeated the Chicago Bears last weekend in a rollercoaster game that broke in the purple team’s favor.
Kevin O’Connell’s team has a 9-2 record and a 97.9% chance of reaching the postseason.
For Minnesota to miss the postseason, it would have to finish the season with a 0-6 or 1-5 record, which just doesn’t seem too likely. So, these are the Vikings’ likeliest playoff opponents in the Wildcard Round (if one assumes they don’t pass the Detroit Lions and win the NFC North).
The Seahawks have defeated the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals in back-to-back weeks, dubs that have done wonders for their playoff probability.
At the No. 3 seed through 12 weeks, Seattle would host Green Bay if the postseason kicked off today.
The Vikings play the Seahawks at Lumen Filed in Week 16, a potential playoff preview, which is a theme on this list.
Although the Falcons have dropped the Buccaneers twice, Tampa Bay is just one game back of Atlanta — and Kirk Cousins’ team faces the Los Angeles Chargers and Vikings in the next two weeks.
Tampa Bay will have to get around the bad tiebreaker with Atlanta, but welcoming Mike Evans back to action on Sunday helped its playoff math.
Not for nothing, the Buccaneers also have the league’s easiest remaining schedule.
For now, the Cardinals live in second place inside the NFC West. A season with a healthy Kyler Murray evidently matters.
San Francisco has tumbled recently and may be too far removed to recover. That gives Arizona and Seattle a green light to win the NFC West.
Should the Cardinals earn the third or fourth seed, the Vikings would travel to Glendale in mid-January.
Minnesota and Atlanta lock horns at U.S. Bank Stadium in two weeks, a possible playoff teaser.
Why? Well, the Falcons are trending toward winning the NFC South and feel like a prime candidate for the NFC’s No. 4 seed. If Minnesota finishes 11-6 or 12-5, it will be on deck for the fifth seed or similar.
That would mandate a Falc0ns-Vikings tryst in Atlanta in Round 1 of the postseason. The Kirk Cousins legacy showdown.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.