Vikings Dealt a Precarious Playoff Label by NFL Analyst
The Minnesota Vikings probably have to finish the season with a 6-3 record to reach the postseason dance, and one outfit claims the team is a “fringe” postseason contender.
The Vikings have a 4-4 record, a very difficult schedule, and a quarterback learning on the fly. One analyst has thoughts on their playoff hopes.
That’s the word from CBS Sports this week, a website that sized up the playoff field, decided who may reach the dance, and who will be on the outside looking in.
Vikings Get the “Fringe” Bucket from CBS Sports
A win streak could change all of this.
CBS Sports on the Vikings’ Playoff Hopes
Per Jared Dubin, Minnesota is a fringe postseason flirtation.
He wrote this week, “Tier 3: The fringe. Bears, Bengals, Cowboys, Falcons, Jaguars, Panthers, Steelers, Texans, Vikings. These teams are not yet eliminated from playoff contention, but they also seem fairly unlikely to make much noise if they do make it to the postseason because of their various flaws.”
“For the Bears, Bengals, Cowboys and Steelers, that flaw is just their defense. Those teams all rank inside the bottom seven in yards allowed and three of them are in the bottom four in points allowed. They check in 24th, 32nd, 31st and 21st, respectively, in EPA per play allowed, via Tru Media, with all of them ranking in the bottom eight against the pass and only the Bears checking in as above-average against the run.”
Ironically, the Vikings are the only team in the NFL with a .500 record entering Week 10.
“I don’t care how good your offense is; you can’t expect to win playoff games when the other team can consistently light you up on the opposite side of the ball. For the Falcons, Panthers, Texans and Vikings, the questions are mainly on the offensive side. Atlanta can run it, but Michael Penix Jr. has been highly inconsistent. Rico Dowdle can run it, but Bryce Young and the passing offense are not nearly consistent enough,” Dubin continued.
“The Texans have been plodding their way through the season offensively all year. And we’ve only seen three games of the Vikings’ offense with J.J. McCarthy under center, and that offense has looked decent or better for maybe five quarters.”
The Win in Detroit That Turned Everything Around
The Vikings wouldn’t be fringe anything — besides maybe Top 10 draft pick sniffers — if they didn’t win at Detroit last weekend.
Minnesota waltzed into Detroit in Week 9 as nearly 10-point underdogs, winning by three, mainly because Kevin O’Connell leaned on his rushing offense and allowed McCarthy to cook in crunchtime. The team has also healed in recent weeks after an onslaught of early-season injuries.
Had Minnesota lost at Detroit, its record would be 3-5, and hope to reach the postseason would be on life support.
A Crowded NFC Field
The Vikings can absolutely forge a path to the postseason — but it won’t be easy. At the moment, there are no truly elite teams in the conference; there are seven good and really good ones.
These teams have a grip on the NFC’s seven playoff seeds through nine weeks:
- Detroit Lions
- Green Bay Packers
- Philadelphia Eagles
- San Francisco 49ers
- Seattle Seahawks
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Los Angeles Rams
One of those teams must tail off for Minnesota to wiggle into the picture. Who will it be? Perhaps the 49ers’ injuries will be too much to overcome.
Otherwise, Minnesota may have to win seven of the next nine games to edge one of the current seed holders.
Little Room for Error
Nine games left. In a normal season, the Vikings would have to finish with a 6-3 record the rest of the way. The club also has the NFL’s toughest remaining schedule.
The easiest way to interpret Minnesota’s playoff quest — to get out of the “fringe” territory — is this: the Vikings can lose just three more games. Any more than that basically will disqualify them from the contention.
Probably 7-2 to be safe; 6-3 to be frisky.
The Tier Above Minnesota
Dubin noted about the tier head of the purple team: “Tier 2: The outer circle. 49ers, Buccaneers, Broncos, Chargers, Colts, Packers, Patriots, Ravens. This is probably the most interesting tier, given that it includes teams with records ranging from 7-2 to just 3-5.”
“These are the teams that are contenders, but have … something missing that is holding us back from declaring them to be among the best of the best. For the 49ers, that something is the massive wave of injuries. They’re still without Brandon Aiyuk and Ricky Pearsall. Fred Warner and Nick Bosa are out for the year. We don’t know if or when Brock Purdy will be fully healthy. It’s just a lot to deal with.”
The 49ers take on the Rams this weekend.
“The Bucs have injuries of their own with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Bucky Irving and more still sidelined. And their offense unsurprisingly hasn’t been as consistent or explosive as it was last year. The Broncos have an elite defense, but their offense is … suspect and can look terrible for multiple quarters at a time,” Dubin added.
“We’ve seen that it also has the capability to go off at any moment, but those lulls are concerning to say the least. The Chargers may or may not have any healthy offensive linemen remaining on their roster at the moment.”
The Vikings have a 21% chance to reach the postseason, according to oddsmakers.
You must be logged in to post a comment.