Following Week 16 of the 2022 NFL season, where do the Minnesota Vikings fall in terms of the NFC North and NFC standings?
With some help from the Dallas Cowboys, the possibility of the Minnesota Vikings surpassing the Philadelphia Eagles as the No. 1 seed in the NFC just got a little more believable.
A 40-34 loss to the Cowboys on Saturday reduced the Eagles’ current record to 13-2, meaning the Vikings are now just 1.5 games behind the top spot in the NFC.
Minnesota still needs to win the final two matchups on their 2022 regular-season schedule in addition to Philadelphia losing both of their remaining games in order for a change to take place at the top of the conference. But, at the very least, the possibility of the upcoming NFC playoffs having to go through U.S. Bank Stadium continues to exist.
NFC North Standings after Week 16
- 1. Minnesota Vikings (12-3)*
- 2. Detroit Lions (7-8)
- 3. Green Bay Packers (7-8)
- 4. Chicago Bears (3-12)
*Clinched division title
After everyone in the National media fell in love with the Detroit Lions during the last few weeks, the second-best team in the NFC North fell flat on their face on Saturday when they suffered a 37-23 loss to the Carolina Panthers.
The loss is just the Lions’ second in their last eight matchups, but their likelihood of making the playoffs this season certainly went down due to the results on Saturday.
Speaking of the playoffs, the Green Bay Packers‘ chances of a postseason berth went from ultra-slim to slim after they were able to pull off an upset over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
The Packers still need a lot of help from other teams in addition to winning both of the remaining games on their schedule (including next week against the Vikings). But, unfortunately, Green Bay’s win on Sunday still has them in the hunt for a spot in the playoffs.