NFC Playoff Picture: Minnesota Vikings Week 15 Rooting Interests For Wild Card Race
Nothing particularly matters this week in the Vikings' pursuit of an NFC wild card spot unless they can beat the Bears on Monday night. It's an absolute must-win game for a 6-7 team whose next two matchups after that come against the Rams and Packers, two of the best teams in the league.
But unless the Vikings go 4-0 down the stretch, they could use a little help in the other games going on involving wild card contenders. Before we dive into that, here's a look at the standings heading into Sunday.
Games to watch in Week 15
Falcons (6-7) at 49ers (7-6) — Sunday, 3:05 p.m. CT, CBS
Rooting interest: Falcons, I think? This is a tough one because ideally, the Vikings would like both teams to lose. The Falcons are still hanging around in the wild card race despite literally ranking 32nd in DVOA, and with the Lions up next on their schedule, they could conceivably get to 8-7 if they pull off the upset over the 49ers as 8.5-point underdogs.
But I think you cheer for the Falcons anyways if you're the Vikings. Getting San Francisco to 7-7 (with a tough game against the Titans coming next Thursday) would be big, and the Falcons probably just aren't good enough to make a run to the playoffs. The 49ers have the tiebreaker over the Vikings, so a loss here (if the Vikings are able to win) would help.
Update: The 49ers won handily, 31-13.
Saints (6-7) at Buccaneers (10-3) — Sunday, 7:20 p.m. CT, NBC
Rooting interest: Buccaneers. The Saints handed the Bucs a rare loss when they met earlier this season, but that's not stopping Tampa Bay from being 11-point favorites in this game. Tom Brady and company handing the Saints a loss would be nice for the Vikings.
Update: The Saints won 9-0 in a slugfest, which was a big blow for the Vikings.
Washington (6-7) at Eagles (6-7) — Tuesday, 7:00 p.m. CT, FOX
Rooting interest: Eagles, I think? Another tough one because both teams are 6-7. The good news for the Vikings is one of them is going to win. The bad news is one of them is going to lose. They meet again in a couple of weeks and also each play the Giants and Cowboys, so there's no difference in schedule strength.
The reason why the Eagles are probably the pick here is because of the potential tiebreakers. If the Vikings and Washington end up with the same record, Washington will win the conference record tiebreaker. If the Vikings and Eagles end up tied, they'll have the same conference record. Next up is common games, where the Vikings are currently 3-3 and the Eagles 2-3. If the Eagles beat the Cowboys in Week 18, the next tiebreaker would be strength of victory, where the Vikings currently have a slight advantage (teams Minnesota has beaten this year are a combined 35-42-1, teams Philly has beaten are 28-49-1).
With all of that said, you could also argue that Philly is a better team so the pick here should be Washington. It could probably go either way.
Seahawks (5-8) at Rams (9-4) — Tuesday, 7:00 p.m. CT, FOX
Rooting interest: Seahawks. A Seattle win would keep them one game behind the Vikings in the standings, but since they lost the head-to-head, they're not really a threat. The only way they could pass the Vikings is if they win out and Minnesota goes 2-2, at which point the Vikings probably wouldn't be making it anyways.
This one isn't as notable as the other three, but a Rams loss could make things a bit interesting heading into Vikings-Rams the day after Christmas. If the Vikings beat the Bears and then win that game, they'd be right behind LA at 8-7 vs. 9-6. The Rams finish the season with the Ravens and 49ers, so there's a scenario where they end up 10-7 or 9-8 and the Vikings have a chance to catch them in the standings. It's a major longshot, but you might as well cheer for the Seahawks.
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