Vikings playoff scenarios: How they get the 1, 5 or 6 seed

The Vikings have clinched a playoff spot, but seeding is still up for grabs in the NFC.

Justin Jefferson scores a touchdown against the Seahawks in Week 16 at Lumen Field in Seattle. / Minnesota Viking

If the Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, the result of Monday's game between the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers will not change the fact that the NFC North will be decided in Week 18 when Minnesota plays at Detroit.

A win over Green Bay would get Minnesota to 14-2. The Lions will also be 14-2 if they beat the 49ers, but if they lose they'll be 13-3. But as long as the Vikings win Sunday, the division will be settled in Week 18.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell doesn't care what the situation is Monday night. He's promised that Detroit is going full throttle in San Francisco.

"I'll make this easy for everybody that way all the critics can jump out and start attacking, but that way you don't have to debate them anymore," Campbell said. "We're bringing everything we got to this game and we are playing, I don't care what it looks like and where it's at and who's this, who's that. We're going out to play and win this game, out on the West Coast. So there you go."

How the Vikings can get the No. 1 seed

Simple. Win out. If the Vikings finish 15-2, the Lions and Philadelphia Eagles can do no better than 14-3 and the road through the NFC to the Super Bowl would go through U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

How the Vikings can get the No. 5 seed

If the Vikings lose to the Packers on Sunday, the Lions will win the North by beating the 49ers on Monday night. In that scenario, Minnesota would be 13-3 and Detroit would be 14-2, so even if the Vikings defeated Detroit in Week 18 and both teams finished 14-3, the Lions win the tiebreaker (best record against divisional opponents).

In that scenario, Detroit would be 5-1 and Minnesota would be 4-2 against division opponents.

There are multiple ways the Vikings would end up with the No. 5 seed. If they beat Green Bay on Sunday, that's the worst Minnesota can do. If the Vikings lose to the Packers, though, there are still paths to the No. 5 seed — by beating Detroit in the season finale, or if the Chicago Bears beat the Packers in Week 18.

How the Vikings can fall to the No. 6 seed

If the Vikings lose out and the Packers win out, the tiebreaker between the two (both would be 13-4) would come down to best won-lost-tied percentage in common games. Both have played the Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Lions, Bears, Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, Houston Texans, 49ers and Seattle Seahawks.

The Packers are 9-2 in those games with the Bears in Week 18 pending. The Vikings are also 9-2 in those games with the Lions in Week 18 pending. So in the hypothetical where the Vikings lose out and the Packers win out, the Packers would get the No. 5 seed and the Vikings would be the No. 6. The Vikings cannot fall lower than No. 6.