Thursday’s Football Game Suddenly Important for Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings’ magic number to reach the postseason — in a year when they were supposed to win six or seven games, according to sportsbooks — is one.
Thursday’s Football Game Suddenly Important for Vikings
The franchise needs a win on Monday Night Football over the Chicago Bears this week — or a loss by the Los Angeles Rams to the San Francisco 49ers four days prior.
And as luck would have it, the Rams and 49ers play this Thursday night. Vikings fans can watch this week’s edition of Thursday Night Football with vested interest. A 49ers win would plop Minnesota in the postseason, guaranteeing the purple team a Wildcard spot at worst.
The Rams upset the Buffalo Bills after some curious late-game clock management and playcalling last weekend, delaying Minnesota’s postseason admission by at least one week. The Vikings had a pseudo three-team parlay in Week 14 — beat the Atlanta Falcons, hope the Seattle Seahawks topple the Arizona Cardinals, and ask the Bills to deliver on the road over the Rams.
Only two parlay items occurred, forcing Minnesota to wait an extra week to clinch.
San Francisco is a 2.5-point favorite heading into Week 15, and if it chips off Los Angeles at home, well, Minnesota can celebrate the postseason entry well before Monday Night Football. Otherwise, the Vikings are 6.5-point favorites to take down the Bears at home.
Meanwhile, the possible playoff opponents for Minnesota continue to take shape. In mathematic order, these are the Vikings’ most probable playoff opponents with the tournament five weeks away:
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Atlanta Falcons
- Seattle Seahawks
- Los Angeles Rams
- Arizona Cardinals
- San Francisco 49ers
It’s worth noting that the 49ers probably have to run the table to reach the postseason, and onlookers should consider the Buccaneers or Falcons the most likely playoff opponent for the Vikings in Round 1. The winner of the NFC South will probably host Kevin O’Connell’s team in the Wildcard Round.
The Rams are part of the “magic number” equation for the Vikings because they beat Minnesota in Week 8. Had Minnesota won that contest, well, a playoff berth would be in the books, and it would be vying for the NFC North crown, plus homefield advantage throughout the postseason.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell said about his team’s recent triumph over the Falcons, “What it was, in my opinion, was an incredible growth moment for [Sam Darnold] to just come back the next week and start stacking some things that are kind of leading into a layered kind of success type approach, which is what happened to a lot of quarterbacks in this league, especially the ones that their trajectory over the course of a season or their career is pointing sky high.”
“This day will be something he can build off of — I truly do believe that. And our offense, there’s a lot of things we’ll be able to highlight, about who we want to be about as a football team that will show up on tape,” O’Connell added.
The Rams have lost nine times to San Francisco in their last dozen showdowns.
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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.
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