Minnesota Vikings 2020 NFL schedule: 5 must-win games

You wouldn’t think this game is as important as it is, but here’s why the Vikings need to beat the Detroit Lions at Ford Field so badly. For Minnesota to win the division, the Vikings will need to go at least 4-2 in NFC North. That means Minnesota needs to sweep at least one team in divisional play. The likeliest team for the Vikings to sweep is obviously the lousy Lions. Get. It. Done.

While the Lions were a terrible team last year, they should be slightly better than they were a season ago. This team has the talent to win somewhere around six or seven games, especially if starting quarterback Matthew Stafford is healthy. Once he got hurt, there wasn’t a sorrier football team in the NFL last season. His return is crucial to them even approaching respectability.

If the Vikings win at Ford Field, it lessens the pressure they’d feel to get a road victory over the Chicago Bears at Solider Field or the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Though Minnesota has the talent to pull off a road victory at either Chicago or Green Bay, those feel more like scheduled losses than wins at this point. If the Vikings win at Detroit on Thanksgiving, that’s fantastic!

Simply put, splitting with the Lions won’t prevent the Vikings from making the playoffs if they take care of business elsewhere. However, it’s unrealistic to think Minnesota can win the NFC North this fall with a 3-3 record in the division. Sweeping the Bears is probably the next easiest accomplishment in the division for the Vikings, but will they really want to bank on that, though?