Vikings still projected to win the NFC North this season

Currently sitting in second place in the NFC North, FiveThirtyEight projects the Minnesota Vikings to still win their division this season.

Prior to the start of the 2018 NFL season, the Minnesota Vikings were predicted by many to finish first in the NFC North for the second straight year.

Nine games into the season though, the Vikings are currently sitting in second place in the division behind the Chicago Bears. With a 5-3-1 record, Minnesota’s winning percentage (61.1) is just slightly below the Bears’ (62.5) who currently have a 5-3 record.

Despite their second-place standing right now, the Vikings are still projected to end the year atop the NFC North.

Minnesota Vikings

According to FiveThirtyEight, Minnesota currently has a 46 percent chance to win the division this season. The Vikings’ chances for an NFC North title in 2018 are still higher than the odds for Chicago (42 percent), the Detroit Lions (six percent), or the Green Bay Packers (six percent).

FiveThirtyEight also has Minnesota with a 59 percent chance to make this year’s playoffs, a seven percent chance to capture a first-round bye in the postseason, and a three percent chance to win the Super Bowl. The site currently has the Kansas City Chiefs with the highest odds to finish the year as Super Bowl champions (18 percent).

With four games against NFC North opponents left on their 2018 schedule (including two against the Bears), the Vikings really control their own destiny toward a second straight divisional title. Minnesota and Chicago face each other during the final game of the season and it’s quite possible that the NFC North title could be decided with the results of that matchup.

If the Vikings do end up finishing first in their division again this year, it will be the first time since 2009 that they have won the NFC North in back-to-back seasons.