Vikings News: Harrison Smith, Justin Jefferson, Josh Dobbs, NFC North

NFC North title back in reach for the Vikings

After it seemed like the Vikings' chances of winning the NFC North this season came to an end following a loss to the Chicago Bears in Week 12, the Bears did Minnesota a nice favor on Sunday.

Chicago easily defeated the Detroit Lions by a final score of 28-13, and with the Lions' loss, their lead over the Vikings for first place in the NFC North is back to just two games.

With two of Minnesota's final four matchups left on their regular-season schedule against Detroit, the Vikings can still surprise some people and capture their division title for the second year in a row.

In addition to facing the Lions twice, Minnesota also has a pair of difficult matchups against the Bengals and Green Bay Packers left on their 2023 schedule. But so does Detroit, as they have to take on the Denver Broncos and Dallas Cowboys in addition to taking on the Vikings twice.

At the beginning of the 2023 campaign, winning back-to-back NFC North titles didn't seem like it was going to be possible for Minnesota. But after the last few weeks, the Vikings finishing the 2023 season at the top of their division is more possible than ever.