How the Vikings can still capture the top seed in the NFC

Will the Vikings finish as the No. 1 seed in the NFC?

While it would great for Minnesota to enter the playoffs as the top seed in the NFC, it just seems highly unlikely.

The Vikings have a good shot to win their remaining three games. But Minnesota having to depend on multiple teams falling flat on their faces during the next three weeks is what will ultimately keep them from capturing home-field advantage in the postseason.

Currently, the Vikings have a six percent chance to earn a first-round bye in this year’s playoffs according to FiveThirtyEight. This percentage for Minnesota jumps to 33 percent, however, with a win and losses by the 49ers, Saints, Seahawks, and Packers this week.

Look, anything is possible in the NFL. There have been numerous moments to prove this to be true time and time again. But the Vikings finishing the season as the top seed in the NFC isn’t something people should be putting money on.

Now, Minnesota getting the No. 2 seed in the conference is something that has a much more legitimate chance of happening.

One scenario that produces this outcome includes the Vikings winning their final three games, Green Bay losing in Week 15 and Week 16, and New Orleans losing in Week 17. Either San Francisco or Seattle could win their remaining three matchups this year in this scenario and Minnesota would still enter the NFC playoffs as the No. 2 seed.

Now, this is a sequence of events that has a much better chance of happening than everything that has to go down in order for the Vikings to finish as the top seed in the NFC.