NFL: 5 best bets to be NFC Wild Card teams in 2020

Will they be the third-best team in the division or the division winner?

The NFC North will be a fascinating division to follow this fall for so many reasons. Though most people expect the Detroit Lions to bring up the rear, they might be closer to 7-9 than 3-13-1 this year, especially if Matthew Stafford looks to be back to good from his season-ending injury. The rest of the division can win the division or be a Wild Card team, including the Minnesota Vikings.

When compared to the two other teams with serious postseason aspirations in their division in the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers, the Vikings have the least amount of variance of the trio. Though so many like the Packers to repeat as division champions, if you had to pick one NFC North team to qualify for the 2020 NFL playoffs, the smart money would be on the Vikings.

The Mike Zimmer defense is a proven commodity. While losing Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills might hurt the passing game, it could be seen as an addition by subtraction to have him out of the building. Kirk Cousins played well in his second season in Minneapolis. Let’s not forget the Vikings have an emerging star for him to hand the ball off to in Dalvin Cook playing in a contract year.

The reason the Vikings find themselves a spot higher on this list than the Seattle Seahawks is while both teams give off the vibe they’ll be one of seven bound for the playoffs this year, Seattle feels a bit more likely to win its division than does Minnesota. Expect both NFC contending teams to make the postseason this year. There’s a decent chance they could meet on Wild Card Weekend.