Week 17 vs Chicago Bears (Sunday Jan. 1, 12 PM CT, Fox)
The Vikes play on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day. Make sure you curb your New Year’s Eve drinking or you will be too hungover to enjoy the season-ending game between the Vikings and Bears at U.S. Bank Stadium.
You definitely don’t want to miss this game. It could have huge playoff implications! What if the Vikings need this game to clinch a Wild Card berth? What if the Bears are still in it at this point?
Thinking this far ahead actually feels bizarre. There are so many unknowns even today, and there will be even more unknowns added to those unknowns between now and next January. By the time we get to the end of the season, everything will be different than what we expected at the start. Some players will be better than we expected, some will be not as good.
When you boil it down for the Vikings, they have to answer a few key questions: Can they get their O-line fixed, can they find another receiving weapon, can Teddy Bridgewater develop and can their defense take the next step from really good to great? If they get positive results in all those areas, they’ll be in the playoffs and might make a serious run at the title. But nothing is for certain.