The Minnesota Vikings begin a crucial four-game stretch to end the season as they host the Detroit Lions on Sunday afternoon.
Throughout the 2019 season, one can’t think about where the Minnesota Vikings were one year ago. Thrown into the mix for an NFC Wild Card spot, the Vikings controlled their own destiny heading into the final month of the season.
With a couple of winnable games and a couple of tough tests thrown in, the path for the Vikings to get a shot in the playoffs was there, but the Vikings couldn’t come through in the big spots and were left sitting on their couch come January.
Heading into the final four games of this year, the Vikings are in a similar situation. Minnesota left a golden opportunity to pick up a win in Seattle on Monday and now will need help to wrestle the NFC North away from the Green Bay Packers.
Although they have a matchup with Green Bay in Week 16, the Packers’ 3-0 record in the NFC North is two games ahead of the Vikings and will be used as a tiebreaker if they finish with the same record.
That makes Sunday’s matchup against the 3-9-1 Detroit Lions even more interesting. The Vikings not only can’t afford to lose games if they want to keep their NFC North title hopes alive but they likely have to sweep all three divisional games that will be played at U.S. Bank Stadium in the final month.
While Minnesota can hang its hat on being the only undefeated team in the NFC at home this season, their last home game is a reminder of how small the margin of error can be. With playoff positioning on the line, what could happen when the Vikings meet the Lions on Sunday afternoon?