3 glaring moments where the playoffs slipped out of the Vikings' grasp

Looking back, these might be the top three moments that kept the Vikings out of the postseason.

Dec 25, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell looks on in the second quarter against the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium. | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

When the Vikings dropped back-to-back games in Green Bay and Seattle in late November (by a combined score of 49-6) to fall to 4-8 on the season, they were functionally eliminated from the postseason. Mathematical elimination came a couple weeks later.

But after a 4-0 record in December, it's remarkable to think about how tantalizingly close to a playoff spot the Vikings might find themselves when the season wraps up. If they win at home next week against a Packers team that has nothing to play for, the Vikings will be 9-8 and just a half game behind the 7-seed Packers at 9-7-1. In a vacuum, Green Bay's tie against the Cowboys back in September is the reason why next Sunday's game isn't a winner-take-all battle for the final playoff spot in the NFC.

Of course, the Vikings have no one to blame but themselves for falling short of the playoffs. They weren't nearly good enough on offense, and specifically at the quarterback position. They let several winnable games slip away, even if they also stole a few games in a season where they've gone 5-4 in one-score contests.

Looking back at some of those winnable games that went the other way, these are the three most glaring moments in which the playoffs slipped out of the Vikings' grasp. They're presented in chronological order.

3rd and 9 caps a day of missed opportunities against the Eagles

Back in Week 7, the Vikings were 3-2 when they came out of their bye for a huge game against the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles. The afternoon got off to a rough start when a Carson Wentz pick-six gave Philadelphia a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter. But despite two early Wentz interceptions and some explosive plays by Jalen Hurts in the passing game, the Vikings were able to hang around.

A Jordan Mason touchdown run late in the third quarter made it a 21-16 game. Jake Elliott then missed a field goal early in the fourth, giving the Vikings life. But with a 1st and 10 at the Eagles' 15, the Vikings wound up settling for their fourth field goal on five trips to the red zone. A.J. Brown's second touchdown of the day made it a two-score game at 28-19.

The Vikings then made it back to the red zone for a sixth time, only to settle for a fifth field goal after T.J. Hockenson had a touchdown overturned. Even after that, they needed one stop on a 3rd and 9 with 1:45 left to get the ball back, down by six points. And that's when Brown used a double move to run right past Isaiah Rodgers — who had no safety help — for a 45-yard gain to seal the deal.

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Price's fumble helps the Ravens pull away

After a big upset win over the Lions in J.J. McCarthy's return to action moved the Vikings to 4-4, the Ravens were in town in Week 10. And on a day where the Vikings could've easily won, they couldn't overcome turnovers, penalties, and struggles to convert on third down.

Minnesota led 10-3 early on and 10-9 at halftime. McCarthy's second interception of the day set up another Ravens field goal that made it a 12-10 game. And on the ensuing kickoff, rookie Myles Price lost a fumble that Baltimore recovered. A couple minutes later, the Ravens capitalized on a short field to go up by nine. From there, a comeback proved too difficult to pull off.

McCarthy played poorly and didn't get enough help from Justin Jefferson, who played one of the worst games of his career. But no single moment hurt the Vikings more than Price's fumble in the third quarter.

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A killer kick return by the Bears

Excluding injuries, there's one moment that stands head and shoulders above any other you can point to when looking back at the Vikings' season and what went wrong. It was a week after the Ravens loss, with the Bears at U.S. Bank Stadium. McCarthy had stunk it up again and the Vikings trailed 16-3 heading into the fourth quarter. But they weren't dead.

A big Price punt return set up a Mason touchdown to make it 16-10. Then, when the Vikings needed it most, McCarthy shined on a 10-play, 85-yard touchdown drive, capped by a strike to Jordan Addison to give Minnesota an improbable lead with 50 seconds left. And that's when disaster struck on special teams again.

The ensuing Vikings kickoff saw multiple players stray from their coverage lanes, and Devin Duvernay took advantage of a big hole to go 56 yards to the Vikings' 40. The Bears only needed a few yards after that to set up a game-winning 48-yard field goal by Cairo Santos as time expired.

Who knows how the season could've turned out if that kick return had been covered properly?

Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

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