Thursday’s Game Is Worth Watching for Vikings Fans
The Minnesota Vikings entered the season without any expectations; at least, the fans didn’t expect much. Kevin O’Connell’s team is in year one after Kirk Cousins and signed a veteran journeyman to replace him. Who would’ve thought the ex-bust could handily outplay the four-time Pro Bowler and lead his group to the playoffs?
Thursday’s Game Is Worth Watching for Vikings Fans
The Vikes aren’t quite there yet, but it would require a historical breakdown to prevent the purple team from extending the season.
In fact, they only need one of three things in Week 15:
- Vikings beat Bears
- 49ers beat Rams
- Packers beat Seahawks
If one of those games results in a tie, the Vikings would also clinch a playoff berth.
The division rival Bears will travel to the Twin Cities for the second annual meeting between the two franchises. That game will take place on Monday.
Seattle will host the Packers for a Sunday Night bout. The earliest game with playoff implications for the Vikings will be on Thursday when the 49ers host the Rams.
The Rams managed to stay alive in Minnesota’s playoff scenarios by pulling off an upset over the Buffalo Bills despite Josh Allen’s heroics with six touchdowns. Matthew Stafford played a flawless game, and the wideout duo of Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp shined once again.
Minnesota did its job by beating the Falcons, and the Seahawks helped the Vikings by beating the Cardinals, but the Bills couldn’t get it done, delaying the playoff-clinching by at least four days.
Putting faith in the 49ers is another strange thing. Injuries have hampered Kyle Shanahan’s crew, and they will surely be without their top two running backs, Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason. Productive backup Isaac Guerendo seems to be on the wrong side of questionable as well after suffering a foot sprain on Sunday.
Deebo Samuel hasn’t been effective this year, and Brandon Aiyuk tore his ACL earlier in the season. In addition to that, San Francisco’s defense hasn’t been as scary as they were in the past.
Los Angeles, meanwhile, has shown the ability to beat anyone in any given week. They also managed to come out victorious against the Vikings, handing the purple team the second (and, to this day, last) loss of the season.
For what it’s worth, the 49ers are favored by 2.5 points, and if they take care of business, the Vikings can celebrate their postseason qualification way ahead of their rematch with the Bears.
If the Vikings ultimately clinch the fifth or sixth seed, they will ‒ in all likelihood ‒ play either the winner of the NFC South or the NFC West. Currently, the division leaders in those groups are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Seattle Seahawks.
The good news for the Vikings is that Shanahan has had McVay’s number in the past, and the 49ers win this divisional battle more often than not.
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Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt