Updated NFC Playoff Picture, NFC Wild Card standings after Vikings lose
By Josh Hill
After the Minnesota Vikings lost in Week 14, let’s check in on the updated NFC Playoff Picture and NFC Wild Card standings.
As the NFL schedule nears the middle of December and the end of the regular season, teams are discovering that their success is nothing more than a house of cards.
Nothing proved that more than the utter silliness we saw in the NFC on Sunday, as the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings were embarrassed in games that true contenders should have no problem with.
Minnesota came into Week 14 a win away from clinching an NFC North title but were underdogs on the road in Detroit. It turns out Vegas was right, as the Vikings were thoroughly embarrassed in a blown loss to the Lions. The final score makes it look a lot closer than it was, and the point remains that a team in the position Minnesota is shouldn’t have issues like it did in Week 14.
The Lions are sneaking into the Wild Card with their huge win over the Vikings. After starting the season slow, Detroit sits at 6-7 and just two games out of the No. 7 seed in the NFC Wild Card standings. A lot needs to happen, including a meltdown by the Seahawks and a few other teams to close out the season, but the fact that the Lions are in this position is a victory in and of itself.
As for the Vikings, nothing called into question their legitimacy as a true contender than the way things went on Sunday. Kirk Cousins once again won the box score game but lost the actual one, missing passes in key situations and putting the Vikings on the ropes in a way a more talented quarterback might not have.
Minnesota still controls its own destiny and will almost certainly win the NFC North. But it’s hard to remember a time when a team with the record Minnesota has, and the accolades it will finish the season with, will enter the playoffs with such little faith.
Here’s how the chaos that happened impacts the NFL Playoff Picture as it begins to take shape and lock into place.