Vikings Officially Clinch Playoff Berth, Seed and Opponent To Be Determined

With the Rams losing in San Francisco, the Vikings are in.

The Minnesota Vikings are officially going back to the playoffs.

Thanks to the 49ers' victory over the Rams on Saturday night, the Vikings have clinched a berth in the 2019 postseason. Their seed in the NFC and their first round opponent are still up in the air, but they're in. They have their chance to make a run.

This is their third trip to the postseason in Mike Zimmer's six years as head coach, with all three coming in odd-numbered years (2015, 2017, 2019). After losing in the wild-card round in '15 and the NFC Championship Game in '17, the Vikings are hoping to take the next step.

The odds will be against a run to the Super Bowl. The Vikings aren't going to win the NFC North barring a stunning Lions upset in Week 17, so they'd have to win three straight games on the road over good teams. But this is a team that has shown that when it's playing well, it can hang with just about anyone.

After missing out on the playoffs in the first year of Kirk Cousins' contract last season, this has been an impressive and encouraging bounce-back season for Cousins and the rest of the team. The Vikings' offseason decisions (promoting Kevin Stefanski to full-time offensive coordinator, bringing in Gary Kubiak, signing Josh Kline) and draft picks (Garrett Bradbury, Irv Smith Jr., Alexander Mattison, Olabisi Johnson) have all paid off for an offense that has improved greatly from last season.

Behind Cousins, Stefon Diggs, and Dalvin Cook, and the scheme and playcalling of Kubiak and Stefanski, this offense has become explosive and turned into the strength of the team. They'll need Cook to get healthy for the playoffs, but with Adam Thielen back, this is an offense than can put up points in a hurry.

The defense, generally the strength of Zimmer's teams, is the biggest concern. The talent is there, but the production has been inconsistent, especially in the secondary. If this team is going to make a run, they'll need that unit to turn things around.

The most important thing right now as that they're in the playoffs. Only 12 of 32 teams make it every year. And early on, it didn't look like the Vikings would be one of them. They started 2-2 with discouraging losses in Green Bay and Chicago, and tensions were mounting. But they've gone 8-2 since then, thanks to an undefeated record at home, and here they are.