Monday Night is a Must-Win Game For Vikings' Playoff Hopes

The Vikings didn't get any help in the playoff race on Sunday. They need to beat the Bears to stay alive.

Sunday's NFL action couldn't have gone much worse for the Vikings, who have worked their way back into the playoff hunt with two consecutive victories. Each of the three teams who entered Week 10 occupying a wild card spot in the NFC won, as did both NFC North teams who played.

What that means is that Monday night's game against the Bears is essentially a must-win game for the Vikings. If they can't find a way to win, it will become extremely difficult for them to make a push for a playoff spot over the final seven contests. The stakes for this matchup in Chicago were always going to be massive, but the results of Week 10's other games raise them even a little bit higher.

Things started off decently for the Vikings on Sunday; the Packers fell behind the Jaguars and Teddy Bridgewater got the Panthers out to an early lead against the Buccaneers. However, neither of those leads would hold up. Green Bay narrowly handled business against the Jags at Lambeau Field, winning 24-20 to move to 7-2 on the season, and the Bucs' offense was relentless in a 46-23 win over the Panthers.

At least it looked like the Lions might lose after blowing a 21-point lead against Washington, but then they won on a 59-yard field goal as time expired. In total, all three games in the early slate went the wrong way for the Vikings.

The two biggest games were yet to come. The Cardinals and Rams, owners of the NFC's sixth and seventh seeds entering Sunday, faced very tough opponents in the Bills and Seahawks, respectively. If at least one of those late-afternoon games went the Vikings' way, it wouldn't have been an awful day.

No such luck.

The Seahawks had exceeded 30 points in seven of eight games and hadn't scored fewer than 27 all year, yet the Rams held them to just 16. Russell Wilson had an uncharacteristically awful game in a 23-16 loss that dropped Seattle to the seventh seed.

At least one thing went right for the Vikings, it seemed. Old friend Stefon Diggs came through for his former team, catching what appeared to be a game-winning touchdown pass with 34 seconds left against the Cardinals. And then even that didn't hold up, as Arizona pulled off the play of the year to steal a win in unbelievable fashion.

Don't ever say it's impossible... pic.twitter.com/lqe2UkxsCT

— Deandre Hopkins (@DeAndreHopkins) November 16, 2020

So, yeah. All five of the games that the Vikings could've benefited from went the wrong way.

Here are the updated NFC standings:

Of course, no one in the Vikings organization is actually scoreboard-watching at this point in the season. They need to take care of their own business and control what they can control. That means getting the job done at Soldier Field on Monday Night Football and keeping hope alive for another week.

If they do that, we can keep having conversations about the playoff race and which teams the Vikings should root for in various games. If they lose to the Bears, it's all probably a moot point.

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