3 believable Minnesota Vikings playoff scenarios after Week 12
By Adam Patrick
Vikings get No. 7 seed (Version I)
What has to happen:
- Vikings finish 9-7
- One of their four wins must be against the Lions in Week 17
- Cardinals finish 9-7
- Bears finish 8-8
- 49ers finish 8-8
Minnesota getting into the playoffs as the seventh and final seed in the NFC is likely what will happen if they qualify for the postseason this year. Since the Vikings started 1-5 this season, they pretty much knocked themselves out of contention for any of the top playoff spots in the NFC.
In this scenario, Minnesota can afford to lose one of their remaining five games. But they have to make sure that one of their four wins comes against the Detroit Lions in Week 17.
If the Vikings and Cardinals both finish with the same record against NFC opponents, the tiebreaker would then move to common opponents. If Minnesota were able to defeat the Lions in the final week of the season, then they would have a better record (3-2) than the Cardinals (2-3) in matchups against common opponents (Panthers, Cowboys, Lions, Seahawks).