4 teams that could keep the Vikings out of the 2020 playoffs
By Adam Patrick
Which teams could prevent the Minnesota Vikings from making this season’s playoffs?
At 4-6, the Minnesota Vikings are on the brink of being mathematically eliminated from making the playoffs this season.
Things could change for the Vikings if the NFL is forced to add an eighth spot in each conference for this year’s postseason. But for now, Minnesota has a lot of work to do and they need a bunch of help to continue playing football after Week 17.
Even if the Vikings do perform well during the rest of the season and they win at least five of their final six games, there’s still a chance that they could be left on the outside of the playoffs. The NFC is very competitive this year as there are currently four teams within a game and half of the top seed in the conference.
So even if Minnesota finishes the season with at least nine wins, who are some of the teams that could prevent them from earning a spot in the playoffs?
Team No. 1
Seattle Seahawks
- Current Record: 7-3
- Remaining Strength of Schedule: 27th-hardest
To begin the season, the Seahawks got off to a great start. They won six of their first seven games and they appeared to be a serious Super Bowl contender. But Seattle has now lost two of their last three matchups as teams are beginning to expose some of their biggest weaknesses.
Still, the Seahawks roster is full of talent and they’ll be taking on the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, New York Jets, and the Washington Football Team during the next four weeks. So they have a great opportunity to get back on track and potentially grab the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoff bracket.
FiveThirtyEight currently has the Seahawks with a 95 percent chance to make the postseason this year and even if they ended the regular season with the same record as the Vikings, Seattle would win the tiebreaker since they defeated Minnesota by a point back in Week 5.