The Minnesota Vikings are chasing the No. 1 seed in the NFC and Sunday’s game with the Detroit Lions will determine who has home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. But if you thought Sunday’s game was important, it becomes even more important according to a recent NFL player poll conducted by ESPN.
The poll included 111 current players and asked which stadiums in the NFL had the biggest home-field advantage. While the Kansas City Chiefs (Arrowhead Stadium) and the Seattle Seahawks (Lumen Field) had the top two spots on the list, the Vikings ranked third and were in the top tier of places that “can leave you scarred.”
Darius Slayton, Fred Warner are among the players who label the Vikings’ home-field advantage the best
While the Chiefs, who led the poll with 57 points, and the Seahawks, who finished second with 41.5 points weren’t shocking names at the top of the list, the Vikings finished third with 28.5 points and 10 points ahead of the fourth-place Philadelphia Eagles (18.5).
One of the players who listed the Vikings toward the top was New York Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton, who said he felt out of place in the atmosphere at U.S. Bank Stadium.
“You feel it. As soon as you’re in there everything is purple. You feel like you’re out of place there. That is what a good atmosphere does. It makes you feel like you’re in the wrong place. If you’re in a different color, you feel like you don’t belong there.”
Fred Warner of the San Francisco 49ers also said the atmosphere made him rethink his gameday approach.
“They made me think differently about how I approach just being on the sideline. Just staying focused on the game and not everything else.”
Then there was an anonymous member of the Houston Texans who said he was “scarred” from hearing the SKOL chant “early and often.” While the player may be anonymous, there’s a good chance it could have been offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil, who was called for six penalties in a 34-7 loss in Minneapolis last September.
The Minnesota Vikings need home-field advantage for the NFL playoffs
It’s one thing for fans to claim they’re one of the loudest places in the NFL. It’s another when players publicly anoint places as tough to play. With such a big advantage, it’s clear why the Vikings would want to earn home field through the playoffs for the first time since 1998.
It's also a better scenario than the alternative path to the Super Bowl. If the Vikings lose to the Lions on Sunday, they will fall to the fifth seed in the NFC and will not be guaranteed a home game throughout the playoffs.
It makes Sunday's game against the Lions even more important and could decide whether the Vikings go to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1977,