A Look at all 4 Potential Wild Card Opponents for the Vikings
Josh Frey
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Heading into the final week of the regular season, the Minnesota Vikings still do not have a set matchup for the Wild Card round of the playoffs. With multiple options on the table, here’s a look at all 4 potential Wild Card opponents for the Vikings in a couple weeks.
New York Giants
With the Vikings sitting in the No. 3 seed, the New York Giants are by far the most likely playoff opponent for Minnesota right now. Per Football Outsiders, the two teams have a 95.5% chance of meeting in the Wild Card.
The two teams met on Christmas Eve as part of the Week 16 slate of games. Of course, this game ended in a Vikings win after Greg Joseph hit a 61-yard field goal to end the game with a 27-24 score. The two teams may be destined to meet again this January.
Detroit Lions
While the Giants are Minnesota’s most likely opponent in the Wild Card, the Detroit Lions are the least likely opponent. A number of things have to play out in order for the Vikings to play the Lion for a third time this season. They include the following:
- MIN beats CHI
- ARI beats SF
- LAR beats SEA
- DET beats GB
Overall, the Vikings have a 4.5% chance of being the No. 2 seed, and the Lions have a 13% chance of landing in the No. 7 seed. Overall, this might be a game that the Vikings should be glad to avoid. In Week 3, Minnesota fell behind Detroit by double digits on two separate occasions before pulling off the comeback win. Then, in Week 14, Detroit strolled to a 34-23 win over Minnesota at Ford Field.
Green Bay Packers
It would be poetic justice for the Vikings to play host to the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card round and win after being embarrassed in Green Bay by a score of 41-17. In order for that to occur, the following things have to occur on Sunday:
- ARI beats SF
- MIN beats CHI
- GB beats DET
Ultimately, if the Packers win on Sunday night, they are the No. 7 seed regardless of what happens earlier in the day. Going back to Minnesota would create a rubber match between the two teams as the Vikings opened the regular season with a 23-7 win over the Packers.
Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks are the only team on this list that the Vikings haven’t gone up against so far this season, but after a scorching 6-3 start to the season, Seattle has come back down to earth since then. The Seahawks sit at 8-8 heading into Week 18, losers of five of their last seven games. However, they got back on track in Week 17 with a 23-6 win over the New York Jets. Here’s the Seahawks and Vikings can meet in the Wild Card:
- SEA beats LAR
- MIN beats CHI
- ARI beats SF
- DET beats GB
If the two teams were to meet up, it’d be the first time that Geno Smith plays a game against the Vikings since 2014 when he was still with the New York Jets. Smith threw for 254 yards, a touchdown, and an interception as the Vikings won 30-24.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. He also earned minors in History, Human Biology, and Journalism. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys marathon training, playing video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. For more of his opinions, check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.