The Minnesota Vikings have two pivotal games left in the regular season, and they both come against NFC North foes. They face the Green Bay Packers this Sunday and then will play the Detroit Lions in Week 18. These games will decide the winner of the NFC North.
ESPN provided a breakdown of the NFL playoff picture entering Week 17. Their Football Power Index (FPI) powered their projections for the rest of the season.
The Vikings are one of four NFC teams to have already secured a playoff berth. ESPN’s projections give the Vikings a 23% chance to win the NFC North. Detroit can clinch the division if the Vikings lose to the Packers and the Lions beat the 49ers. A Vikings victory over the Packers would make the Lions-49ers game meaningless.
ESPN gives the Vikings an 18% chance to earn a first-round bye and secure home field, the second-highest mark in the NFC. The Vikings would need to beat Green Bay and Detroit to guarantee this. Minnesota would still have hope to win home-field advantage if they lost to the Packers as long as the 49ers beat the Lions. However, this would give the Eagles a chance to steal home field.
Finally, ESPN gives the Vikings a 13% chance to advance to the Super Bowl. This is the fourth-highest total in the conference, behind the Lions (38%), Eagles (16%), and Packers (16%).
The playoffs haven’t officially begun, but the jockeying for the NFC’s top seed is in full force.