Coming off a massive Week 9 win over the rival Detroit Lions, a victory that evened their record at 4-4, the Minnesota Vikings had the chance to get back over .500 for the first time in more than a month this past Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens.
Unfortunately for Kevin O'Connell's crew, however, that attempt proved to be a futile exercise, as the Vikes took a 27-19 loss to a Ravens team that has now won three straight after a 1-5 start.
While J.J. McCarthy threw for a career-high 248 yards and added a career-best 48 rushing yards on just five carries, the second-year signal-caller also completed a career-worst 47.6 percent of his passes, connecting on just 20 of 42 throws.
And while McCarthy tossed a fourth-quarter touchdown to Jalen Nailor, he also threw a pair of interceptions, both of which led to Baltimore scores. The Ravens also capitalized on a third-quarter fumble from Myles Price on the kickoff following one of those scores, scoring a touchdown on the sixth play of the ensuing drive to take a 19-10 lead.
With the loss, the Vikings dropped to 4-5 on the season, and while it certainly didn't bode well that the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears each picked up victories, Minnesota did catch a little break on Monday night with the Green Bay Packers taking a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Minnesota Vikings currently sit in 10th place in the overall NFC standings
Here's a look at the entire NFC playoff picture as it stands heading into Week 11.
Updated NFC playoff picture
- Philadelphia Eagles (7-2, 1st NFC East)
- Seattle Seahawks (7-2, 1st NFC West)
- Detroit Lions (6-3, 1st NFC North)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3, 1st NFC South)
- Los Angeles Rams (7-2, 2nd NFC West)
- Chicago Bears (6-3, 2nd NFC North)
- Green Bay Packers (5-3-1, 3rd NFC North)
- San Francisco 49ers (6-4, 3rd NFC West)
- Carolina Panthers (5-5, 2nd NFC South)
- Minnesota Vikings (4-5, 4th NFC North)
- Dallas Cowboys (3-5-1, 2nd NFC East)
- Arizona Cardinals (3-6, 4th NFC West)
- Atlanta Falcons (3-6, 3rd NFC South)
- Washington Commanders (3-7, 3rd NFC East)
- New Orleans Saints (2-8, 4th NFC South)
- New York Giants (2-8, 4th NFC East)
As you can see, the Vikings currently hold the No. 10 slot in the overall NFC standings, which is the same position they held a week ago following their win over Detroit.
But while they hold that same No. 10 spot, things have changed a bit. A week ago, Minnesota, at 4-4, was just one game back of the Lions, who sat in the seventh position at 5-3. Now, however, with an easy win over the Washington Commanders and Green Bay's loss to Philly, Detroit sits atop the NFC North at 6-3. The Bears also improved to 6-3 on Sunday with a comeback win over the New York Giants.
The good news for the Vikings here is that they already own a victory over both the Lions and the Bears, with a second matchup with Chicago set for this Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium. A win there would obviously give Minnesota a big boost if a tiebreaker with Chicago comes into play down the line. Their second battle with Detroit comes in Week 17 on Christmas Day.
As for the Packers, Minnesota should be thanking the Eagles, as the Vikings now trail the Packers, who currently hold the final wild-card spot, by just two games in the loss column. Minnesota and Green Bay will meet for the first time in Week 12 and will then run it back in the regular-season finale in Week 18.
Furthermore, the Vikings also caught a couple of breaks, as the other two teams directly in front of them in the standings took Week 10 defeats as well, with the San Francisco 49ers falling to the Los Angeles Rams and the Carolina Panthers taking an embarrassing loss to the New Orleans Saints.
So, while the loss to the Ravens certainly didn't help the Vikings, things certainly could've been much worse. A win over the Bears this Sunday would undoubtedly go a long way in keeping Minnesota in the mix moving forward.