It's a little bit hard to believe, but with Week 9 coming to a close this past Monday night, the 2025 NFL season has officially reached its midway point. And while the Minnesota Vikings obviously can't be thrilled with being in last place in the NFC North, they should also feel a bit thankful to be at .500, given the myriad of injuries they've been forced to fight through. Sure, it hasn't been a 49ers-level issue, but it's been bad enough.
Things still aren't perfect in that department, but getting J.J. McCarthy back on the field following a five-game absence certainly provided a spark on Sunday, as the second-year signal-caller helped the Vikes to a 27-24 upset win over the Detroit Lions, throwing for two touchdowns while adding a third on the ground to earn his second NFL victory.
Oddly enough, his first was by the exact same 27-24 score in Week 1 against the Chicago Bears, a game in which he threw two touchdowns and added a third on the ground. So, that's fun, as it is for Vikings fans to see their beloved Purple & Gold keep themselves in the playoff hunt, as a loss to the Lions would have been devastating.
The Minnesota Vikings moved within one game of the final wild-card slot with their Week 9 win over the Lions
Here's a quick look at the NFC playoff picture heading into Week 10. The top seven teams, of course (four division winners, three wild cards), will earn postseason berths come January.
Updated NFC playoff picture
- Philadelphia Eagles (6-2, 1st NFC East)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-2, 1st NFC South)
- Seattle Seahawks (6-2, 1st NFC West)
- Green Bay Packers (5-2-1, 1st NFC North)
- Los Angeles Rams (6-2, 2nd NFC West)
- San Francisco 49ers (6-3, 3rd NFC West)
- Detroit Lions (5-3, 2nd NFC North)
- Chicago Bears (5-3, 3rd NFC North)
- Carolina Panthers (5-4, 2nd NFC South)
- Minnesota Vikings (4-4, 4th NFC North)
- Dallas Cowboys (3-5-1, 2nd NFC East)
- Arizona Cardinals (3-5, 4th NFC West)
- Atlanta Falcons (3-5, 3rd NFC South)
- Washington Commanders (3-6, 3rd NFC East)
- New York Giants (2-7, 4th NFC East)
- New Orleans Saints (1-8, 4th NFC South)
As you can see, the Vikings, currently 4-4, reside in the No. 10 slot in the NFC standings, which is two spots higher than where they were a week ago following their embarrassing 37-10 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Chargers.
They're still two games behind in the loss column to the NFC North-leading Packers, who were upset by the Carolina Panthers this past Sunday, but did get within one game in the win column. Minnesota still has its two dates with Green Bay remaining, the first in Week 12 and the second in the regular-season finale in Week 18.
The Vikes are also within a game of the Bears, who took a wild Week 9 win over the Bengals, and within a game of the Lions, who currently hold the final wild-card spot at 5-3. Minnesota still has one matchup each with both Chicago (Week 12) and Detroit (Week 17), but already having a win over each is obviously good news for the Vikings, as those victories could easily come into play in tiebreaker scenarios down the stretch.
With nine teams in the NFC having either five or six wins, getting a fourth one was huge for the Vikings, and they'll look to notch victory number five this Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens. Stay tuned; it's going to be an entertaining second half of the season.