The Vikings Now Know Their Playoff Route
The Minnesota Vikings earned their playoff bid in the 2024 season with an excellent but surprising 14-3 record in the regular season. Despite losing twice against the pesky Detroit Lions, the win-loss record is a major reason for optimism. Minnesota’s contest is the last of the wildcard round, with a kickoff time on Monday, 7:00 pm CST.
The Vikings Now Know Their Playoff Route
Kevin O’Connell, Minnesota’s head coach, will manage his second postseason game as the head coach after having a successful career as the offensive coordinator with the Rams under this week’s opponent, Sean McVay. The duo won the Super Bowl with the Rams in February of 2022.
The Vikings had won nine consecutive games before Week 18’s defeat in Detroit, leaning on a strong defense coordinated by head coaching candidate Brian Flores and an offense operated by revived quarterback Sam Darnold and an exciting group of offensive weapons.
Los Angeles, meanwhile, finished the season strong after a shaky start, winning nine of the last 12 games, going 9-2 if we ignore the final match of the season in which the Rams rested their starters. Matthew Stafford is still playing at a high level despite his age and Puka Nacua has developed into one of the premier wideouts in the league. Kyren Williams in the backfield is another guy to look out for.
While the defense can’t match Minnesota’s, there are some playmakers on the field. Jared Verse is among the league leaders in QB pressures and the secondary is aggressive.
The Vikings are the road team, but the Los Angeles wildfires and the subsequent relocation to Arizona have nullified the home-field advantage. Minnesota is favored to win the game by roughly one field goal.
If the Vikings prevail, how does the remaining NFC playoff picture shape up?
Well, it’s already clear where the Vikings will go next week if they succeed. Because the Philadelphia Eagles kicked out the Green Bay Packers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came up short against the Washington Commanders, the winner of Vikings vs. Rams will head to Philadelphia.
Playing in Philadelphia is always tough against one of the most raucous crowds in the NFL. The Vikings usually struggle at Lincoln Financial Field, losing all three postseason matchups there, including the heartbreaking NFC title game after the 2017 season.
The Eagles also finished the season with a 14-3 record. New defensive coordinator Vic Fangio fixed the defense that bothered Eagles fans last season, and the acquisition of Saquon Barkley has made the offense close to unstoppable with an outstanding offensive line, rushing threat Jalen Hurts at quarterback, and A.J. Brown alongside wingman DeVonta Smith on the outside.
If the Vikings also win that matchup, they would face the winner of Detroit and Washington. A Vikings/Lions Championship Game would take place in Detroit, and a Vikings/Commanders meeting would be held at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Dan Campbell’s Lions swept the division rivals in the regular season and a hat-trick is possible. A home game against the Commanders would surely be the best-case scenario for the Vikings.
Regardless, none of that matters if the Vikings can’t take revenge for the Week 8 defeat when the Rams conquered the purple team.
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