Wins aren't the only thing on the Vikings ultimate holiday wishlist

Coming into this 2024 NFL season, the Minnesota Vikings weren't expected to be any kind of genuine threat in the NFC. But with two weeks to go, here they are.

It's not as if this was supposed to be a full rebuilding year, but it was undoubtedly designed to be somewhat of a transition kind of a season.

After letting Kirk Cousins waltz into free agency, the Vikes signed Sam Darnold to a one-year contract, but he was only meant to serve as a bridge quarterback and semi-mentor to whichever quarterback they selected in the NFL Draft, which turned out to be Michigan's J.J. McCarthy.

Of course, all those plans went out the window when McCarthy went down with a season-ending knee injury during the preseason. But even with their best-laid plans going awry, Minnesota has gotten a career year from Darnold and is in the midst of a magical season that nobody saw coming, perhaps not even the Vikings themselves.

With Darnold, Justin Jefferson, and Aaron Jones leading a potent offensive attack that's putting up the ninth-most points in the league (26.4) and a defensive unit allowing the second-fewest (18.4), the Vikings are 13-2 thus far, marking their best record through 15 games since 1998.

And following Sunday's come-from-behind win over the Seattle Seahawks, Minnesota will take an eight-game winning streak into its Week 17 matchup with the Green Bay Packers, which is the first of two divisional matchups to close out the regular season, the second being a Week 18 showdown with the Detroit Lions, which could decide the NFC North.

Naturally, this is where we'll kick things off, as we look at a few things on the Vikings' ultimate holiday wishlist.

The Vikings want nothing more this holiday season than two more wins to lock up the NFC North and the No. 1 seed in the conference

The path to the NFC North crown and the No. 1 seed in the conference couldn't be more straightforward for the Vikings, as wins over the Packers and Lions gives them both.

Now, the Vikings can still lose to the Packers on Sunday and stay in contention for both, but only if the Lions lose to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night. In this scenario, Minnesota and Detroit would each be 13-3 going into the regular-season finale, setting up a winner-take-all scenario.

However, if Minnesota defeats Green Bay and Detroit knocks off San Francisco, the NFC North belongs to the Lions. Because even if the Vikings beat Detroit in Week 18 to tie the season series, thus taking the head-to-head tiebreaker out of play, the Lions would win the second tiebreaker, which is the better record within the division. Detroit would be 5-1, while Minnesota would sit at 4-2.

The Philadelphia Eagles, of course, are still mathematically involved in the race for the No. 1 seed, but after dropping to 12-3 with Sunday's loss to the Washington Commanders, Nick Sirianni's squad needs a lot of things to go its way.

First, the Eagles have to win out, which means beating the red-hot Dallas Cowboys this Sunday and the New York Giants in Week 18. And with Jalen Hurts possibly having to sit out in concussion protocol, that'll be a bit tougher, at least against Dallas anyway.

Philly also needs Detroit to lose its final two games and have Minnesota lose to Green Bay.

If all that plays out, the Eagles and Vikings would be 14-3, while the Lions would be out of the mix at 13-4. Philadelphia would then win a common-game tiebreaker over Minnesota, as the Eagles beat the Packers in Week 1, while the Vikes would have lost to Green Bay in Week 17.

Again, if the Vikings can just win out, they can avoid all of this mathematical madness, so that's obviously what they're hoping will happen.

The Vikings are also hoping to get some defensive players healthy

The Vikings don't have a ton to complain about on the offensive side of the football right now, whether it be injuries or performance.

But a little holiday help on the defensive side of things certainly wouldn't hurt.

As far as the injury front is concerned, safety Harrison Smith, who ranks fourth on the team in total tackles, just missed his first game of the year on Sunday against Seattle with a foot injury, as did rookie defensive tackle Jalen Redmond, who was recently moved into the starting lineup but sat out with a concussion.

Backup cornerback Fabian Moreau, who's filled in admirably when called upon, also missed the game against the Seahawks with a hip injury.

Then, of course, there's Ivan Pace Jr., who has missed Minnesota's last four outings after suffering a hamstring injury against the Chicago Bears in Week 12. Pace is set to return to practice this week, but his availability against Green Bay is still up in the air, as O'Connell naturally wants to remain cautious to ensure he's ready for the playoffs.