After losing to the Chicago Bears on Sunday, how many more wins will the Minnesota Vikings likely need to earn a spot in the 2018 NFL playoffs?
A win on Sunday night over the Chicago Bears would have made the path to the postseason much easier for the Minnesota Vikings this year. But unfortunately for the Vikings, they now face a tough road to the playoffs after losing to the Bears.
With the loss, Minnesota is now sitting with a 5-4-1 record. As of Monday, the Vikings would be the No. 6 seed in the NFC if the playoffs started next week.
Right behind Minnesota in the NFC playoff picture are the Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks, who both currently have 5-5 records.
Minnesota Vikings
There are also four other teams in the NFC that have at least four wins this season (Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles) and they will also end up fighting with the Vikings for a spot in the playoffs.
So realistically, how many more wins will Minnesota need to earn a shot in the postseason this year?
The way everything is shaping up right now, four more victories is likely the minimum the Vikings will need in order to qualify for the playoffs this season. Anything below four would likely result in Minnesota watching the postseason from their couch like all of their fans.
If the Vikings are only able to win four more games for the rest of the year, one of those victories will likely have to come on the road against the Seahawks in Week 14.
Minnesota and Seattle are both projected to finish with nine wins this season, so that Week 14 matchup could end up deciding who gets into the playoffs and who doesn’t this year.
Of course a lot can happen between the next six weeks. But as everything currently stands, the Vikings will likely need to win four of their final six games to qualify for the postseason.
It’s certainly not going to be an easy task for Minnesota to complete. But it’s one that they need accomplish if they want to continue playing past Week 17 this season.