And they’re keeping pace in the NFC North
Because tonight’s Monday Night Football matchup won’t appreciably change anything we’re going to be talking about here, let’s kick off our Monday by looking at the playoff picture in the NFC. The Minnesota Vikings are currently in a pretty good position to make the postseason and are keeping pace for a shot at a division title. There’s plenty of work to be done, but the purple are doing what they need to do.
Here’s a look at what the playoff picture in the NFC would look like if the season ended today, with some odds courtesy of our friends from FanDuel.
1) Detroit Lions (9-1, 1st place NFC North, -410 to win division, +440 to win Super Bowl)
Yes, the Lions had another blowout victory on Sunday, over the same Jacksonville team the Vikings struggled with last week, no less. They’re in the driver’s seat in the conference right now, but there are still plenty of things that can happen over the next seven weeks of the season. Will they actually stumble at some point? We don’t know for sure, but we’ll have to hope for it to happen, I suppose.
Week 12 opponent: at Indianapolis
2) Philadelphia Eagles (8-2, 1st place NFC East, -490 to win division, +950 to win Super Bowl)
The Eagles made a statement on Thursday night, taking down Washington to take control of the NFC East. The Eagles are now a game and a half up on Washington in that race and are in a position to host at least one playoff game. Jalen Hurts has turned it around lately and the defense in Philadelphia is coming together nicely as well. I know we don’t like the Eagles around here, necessarily, but they’re figuring things out, and that’s bad for everyone else.
Week 12 opponent: at L.A. Rams
3) Arizona Cardinals (6-4, 1st place NFC West, +100 to win division, +6000 to win Super Bowl)
The Cardinals improved on Sunday by. . .not doing anything at all. During their bye week, they moved up to the #3 spot in the conference due in large part to Atlanta deciding not to show up in Denver in Week 11. The Vikings will get an up close look at the Cardinals in a couple of weeks when they head to U.S. Bank Stadium in a game that could end up getting moved into prime time.
Week 12 opponent: at Seattle
4) Atlanta Falcons (6-5, 1st place NFC South, -550 to win division, +4400 to win Super Bowl)
It looked a couple of weeks ago like the Falcons could be on cruise control, and they should still win the NFC South. However, they lost to the Saints in Week 10 and then got obliterated by Denver in Week 11, so there are still some things to iron out. If the season ended today, the Falcons would host Minnesota on Super Wild Card weekend. It wouldn’t be surprising if it still ended up that way.
Week 12 opponent: Bye
5) Minnesota Vikings (8-2, 2nd place NFC North, +500 to win division, +2500 to win Super Bowl)
With other teams around them stumbling, the Vikings continue to do just enough to keep themselves in the top wild card spot in the NFC and keep pace with Detroit in the division. Yes, they’re struggling to put away teams that they should be blowing out, but wins are wins. . .we’re not trying to impress the playoff committee here or anything. Still, with Detroit not showing any signs of slowing down, the Vikings are going to have to keep their foot on the gas.
Week 12 opponent: at Chicago
6) Green Bay Packers (7-3, 3rd place NFC North, +1200 to win division, +1900 to win Super Bowl)
That the Packers have a worse chance of winning the NFC North than the Vikings do and yet somehow have a better chance of winning the Super Bowl is pretty funny. The Packers backed into a win over Chicago on Sunday but are still firmly in third place in the division. They’re currently behind Minnesota on both regular record and head-to-head record and will still get another shot at the Vikings down the track. I don’t get gambling odds, man. . .honestly, I don’t.
Week 12 opponent: vs San Francisco
7) Washington Commanders (7-4, 2nd place NFC North, +400 to win division, +3800 to win Super Bowl)
The Commanders missed out on an opportunity to take control of the NFC East when they got thumped by Philadelphia on Thursday night, but they’ll get another opportunity at them later on in the season. For now, they occupy the final NFC playoff spot and would get a matchup with the Eagles in Philadelphia if the season ended today. Jayden Daniels hasn’t been the same since he suffered a rib injury a couple of weeks ago, and hopefully the mini-bye will give him a chance to heal up a bit.
Week 12 opponent: vs Dallas
Outside Looking In
8) Los Angeles Rams (5-5, 2nd place NFC West)
9) Seattle Seahawks (5-5, 3rd place NFC West)
10) San Francisco 49ers (5-5, 4th place, NFC West)
11) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-6, 2nd place, NFC South)
12) Chicago Bears (4-6, 4th place, NFC North)
13) New Orleans Saints (4-7, 3rd place, NFC South)
14) Dallas Cowboys (3-6, 3rd place, NFC East)
15) Carolina Panthers (3-7, 4th place, NFC South)
16) New York Giants (2-8, 4th place, NFC East)
That is your NFC Playoff Picture after 11 weeks, ladies and gentlemen. We’re coming down the stretch and hopefully the Minnesota Vikings can maintain where they are and make that Week 18 game at Ford Field actually mean something.