The Minnesota Vikings can pretty much secure a playoff spot against the Cardinals

It’s Week 13 of the 2024 NFL season. This Sunday, December 1st, the Minnesota Vikings play the Arizona Cardinals with a chance to increase their record to 10-2 with five games remaining. But as most Vikings fans know, they are still one game behind in the NFC North.

The best team in the conference also happens to be the best team in Minnesota’s division, the 11-1 Detroit Lions. With the Lions winning again on Thanksgiving, the Vikings can’t take control of the North no matter what happens between Minnesota and Arizona or any other remaining Week 13 game.

But that doesn’t mean that a win for this team doesn’t have any impact on the playoffs. Of course, the Vikings and Lions will play one more time this season, in a Week 18 finale that could decide not only who wins the division, but who gets the number one seed in the playoffs, and a Bye in the first round.

The Minnesota Vikings can “essentially” secure the playoff spot against the Cardinals

However, the main goal is to get to the postseason, which includes seven teams from each conference. Four division winners and three wild cards. According to prediction models from The Athletic and PlayoffStatus.com, the Minnesota Vikings currently have a 98% chance of making the playoffs. Pretty good odds, right?

Well, if they beat the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, the Vikings would almost 100% secure their spot. Mathematically, this wouldn’t be a draft, but it would increase their chances of making the 2024 NFL playoffs to >99%.

The Vikings can essentially secure a spot in the playoffs with a win on Sunday. No, mathematically it’s not 100%, but the amount of things that would have to come together for them to miss the playoffs is astronomical. On the other hand, the Vikings still have a chance to overtake the Lions in the fight for the NFC North crown and have a real chance of securing a first-round bye.

Austin Mock – The Athlete

As long as the Lions continue to win, the Vikings must win. As mentioned, they beat the Chicago Bears on Thursday, so Minnesota needs to win on Sunday to keep their realistic hopes of winning the NFC North alive.

The Vikings’ upcoming schedule should produce more wins

When the dust settles, finishing behind Detroit in the 2024 NFL regular season would mean nothing better than the 5th seed in the NFC playoff round in January. According to The Athletic’s prediction model, the Vikings have a 65 percent chance of beating the Cardinals this week, a 66 percent chance of beating the Falcons next week and a 76 percent chance of beating the Bears in Week 15.

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All of these games take place at home. Then they close out the regular season with @ Seahawks (51%), home vs. Packers (51%) and @ Lions (35%). But first things first, and the Minnesota Vikings can all but secure their spot in the NFL playoff round with a win on Sunday.

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