(Yes, I realize the title has nothing to do with the
Vikings, I just wanted to make that joke.)
It is a not-so-dark time for the Vikings. Although injuries threaten the playing time
of superstar Adrian Peterson, Vikings fans have noticed the potential return of
Harrison Smith, Anthony Barr and Linval Joseph in time for Sunday Night
Football.
Led by Teddy Bridgewater, whose late-season emergence has
delighted everyone except the most jaded of hearts, the Vikings welcome the New
York Giants, whose playoff hopes depend on winning the NFC East. (Update: they now have nothing to play for,
as Washington beat Philadelphia 38-24.)
Odell Beckham Jr’s game-long war with Josh Norman did not go
unnoticed. The league suspended New
York’s best player when it hurt the most; another chance to show off under the
lights and potentially save the season with a win (now null and void). That goal for the Giants gets tougher without
Beckham.
Packer fans lie in wait for week 17. Unless the Vikings lose and the Packers win, the
regular season finale decides the fate of the North division.
I think we are all aware of the stakes by now. If certain things happen, the Vikings can
clinch a playoff spot before taking the field on Sunday night (hello again,
2009 parallel!). The most important part,
of course, is taking care of business that night if Green Bay wins. We all want week 17 to turn into week 17 of
2012, except with the division on the line this time.
This game has gradually lost most of its luster since NBC
flexed it. Unless the Packers and
Falcons both win, this Sunday night game will essentially become an exhibition
for the Vikings. A Packer win would keep
the sense of urgency for the Vikings to win in order to have a chance to
achieve Mike Zimmer’s goal of stealing the division title in week 17. A Falcon win would keep the pressure on the
Vikings to win because of a stupid tiebreaker I still can’t figure out. Seriously, we whipped that collective butt;
exactly how do they get into the
playoffs over us if they tie us for the second wild card seed?
Of course, the Seahawks would have to lose for that scenario
to possibly play out next week as well, and I don’t think they will. The Rams beating the Seahawks came as a shock
to everyone in week one. Seattle laying
a beating on the Rams in week 16 would shock no one.
So let’s review; a Vikings win (necessary only if everything
goes the exact opposite as we want) gets us in.
A Seahawks win gets us in no matter what Atlanta does. If all else fails, a Falcons loss will do the
trick. Or, in the unlikely event that
any of the three teams tie their opponent; that would work, too.
Back to our game; it’s hard to predict anything because we
won’t know the situation until at least the Falcons and Panthers get done
around roughly 3-3:15 or later. The Rams
and Seahawks follow at 3:25, so Minnesota’s pair of chances to clinch by doing
absolutely nothing air back-to-back.
About the only thing I can say is that I hope the Vikings
finally end the prime time curse, regardless of this game meaning anything or
not. Packers-Cardinals will play
alongside Seahawks-Rams, so we will have
an answer before kickoff.
One thing is for sure, with Nodell, things just swung in
Minnesota’s favor if it comes down to win-and-in. Hopefully Teddy continues his December surge
as well.
