Vikings will go to the playoffs, but not win the NFC North
Heading into the Vikings final five games, they find themselves in a favorable position to put some heat on the Green Bay Packers. Three of their final five games will take place at U.S. Bank Stadium, where the Vikings currently are 5-0 and are the only NFC team to still be unbeaten at home this season.
With matchups against a schizophrenic Chargers team, the Lions without Matthew Stafford and the Bears with a quarterback identity crisis, the Vikings should have a clear enough path to pick up those wins. Heck, if they play like they’ve been playing, there’s also no reason they can’t win the showdown with the Packers in Week 16.
However, this stretch could come down to next week’s game in Seattle. The Vikings have had a rocky relationship with Seattle recently as they’ve lost their last five meetings with the Seahawks and haven’t won in Seattle since 2006. Mix in the bad memories of last year’s 21-7 loss to the Seahawks that got John DeFilippo fired and the conditions are ripe for a loss.
That doesn’t pair well with a Packer schedule that should provide little to no resistance down the stretch. Green Bay will travel to the 2-9 New York Giants, host the 2-9 Washington Redskins and the 4-6 Chicago Bears before coming to Minnesota in Week 16, but wrap up 2019 with a trip to 3-7-1 Detroit.
With the Packers already owning a 3-0 record in the NFC North (and the Vikings sitting at 1-2), that would put Green Bay in the driver’s seat for the NFC North title and a home playoff game.