Lions loss to Cowboys may be significant for Vikings
Detroit's loss to the Cowboys on Saturday night may be a blessing for the Vikings.
Before Saturday night's game in Dallas the Lions were 11-4, sitting third in the NFC behind second place Philadelphia (11-4) and the first place 49ers (11-4). San Francisco holds the top seed thanks to a win over the Eagles and a better conference record than the Lions. Philly held the tiebreaker over the Lions thanks to a better strength of victory.
Now at 11-5, the Lions could lock in the No. 3 seed if both the Eagles and 49ers win on Sunday. If that happens, there will be little reason for Detroit to play its best players in Week 18 against the Vikings.
The Eagles are 13-point favorites at home against the three-win Cardinals and the 49ers are 14-point favorites on the road against the 4-11 Washington Commanders, so the odds favor Detroit settling into the third seed with no ability to move up or down in the final week of the regular season.
None of that matters if the Vikings don't beat the Packers on Sunday Night Football because the Vikings need to win out to have a chance at the postseason. They'll also need the Rams or Seahawks to lose once in the final two weeks.
The Rams visit the New York Giants this week and close the regular season next week in San Francisco. The Seahawks host the Steelers this week before wrapping up next week on the road against Kyler Murray and the Cardinals.
The best-case scenario for Minnesota is the Rams or Seahawks losing while the 49ers and Eagles win. That would set the stage for the Vikings to control their own destiny, only needing a win at home against the Packers and then possibly winning in Detroit against a team that has nothing to play for.
According to The Upshot's NFL playoff simulator via the New York Times, the Vikings enter Sunday with a 25% chance to make the playoffs. They have a chance, but by no means is their path to the postseason a smooth surface.
Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.