This Vikings season has been a dream, winning 14 of 16 games this year. However, the Lions have done the same, meaning that the two best records in the NFC are both in the NFC North.
Entering Week 17, the Vikings owned the No. 5 seed in the NFC playoffs despite having a better record than all but two teams in the entire league. The Vikings then defeated the Packers 27-25, temporarily taking the No. 1 seed in the NFC with Detroit playing on Monday night.
Minnesota still controls its own destiny, as all the team needs to do is beat the Lions to earn the top spot in the playoffs.
With so much playoff positioning still to be determined, here is where the Vikings stand in the NFC and the NFC North with one week left in the season.
Vikings playoff picture
NFC North standings
The Lions and Vikings were tied at the top of the NFC North with identical 13-2 records before this week, but Detroit owns the tiebreakers after beating Minnesota earlier this year. Therefore, even though the Vikings temporarily owned the NFC North lead, both teams control their own destiny.
The two teams, now both sitting at 14-2, are set to face off in the final week of the season, which will decide the division and who gets a bye in the first round.
The Packers are a strong team with an 11-5 record, but Green Bay cannot win the NFC North this year. The Bears are eliminated from playoff contention with a 4-12 record.
Whichever one of the Lions and Vikings wins the division will be the No. 1 overall seed, while the second-place finisher will be in line to be the No. 5 seed in the playoffs.
The Vikings didn’t clinch the NFC North during Week 17 but they avoided being eliminated from NFC North contention. The result of the Lions’ matchup on Monday night, which wound up being a Detroit victory, did not matter for the NFC North race. Detroit and Minnesota will fight for the division crown next week.
The Vikings end the season against the Lions to close out the year, to whom they lost earlier this year.
Vikings updated playoff chances
Entering this week, ESPN’s Football Power Index gave the Vikings a 22.9 percent chance of winning the division compared to 77.1 percent for the Lions.