Week 17: Eyes in front edition

Personally, I would have liked to see a blowout over the Packers, but 16-0 works just fine as a Christmas present.  It got us a win, and unless Philadelphia gets its mojo back in the playoffs, the Vikes possibly won't play outdoors again this season. 

But that of course means the Vikings need to win today.  I'm putting down today as a must-win, even though there's a chance Atlanta beats Carolina to accomplish the same thing.  Today's Cavalcade is going to be a short one, because there are not 86 different scenarios to visit.  Instead, we have just one: win and claim a bye.

There might be some scoreboard-watching today, but if the Vikings win, none of it will matter because they would get an extra week of rest and be prepared for the divisional round of the playoffs. 

I will share my thoughts on why this team has me believing again next week, whether they end up slipping to Wild Card Weekend, or they come through and get the bye.  Either way, as division champs, they'll play at home.  You just need to beat the Bears, and this defense has given up 7 points since losing to Carolina.  I've got to think we'll be fine.

It's a nice feeling to be going to the playoffs no matter what happens this week.  Beats the crap out of the alternative (2016, anyone?).  Skol!

Week 16: The prime time curse is over (for now)!

Boy did Sunday night feel good.  Yes, the Giants had nothing for which to play.  Yes, Odell Beckham sat out the game due to his own stupidity the previous week. 

When they eventually got started offensively, the Vikings outclassed the Giants and looked like the far better team.  Aside from a couple of touchdowns given up when the game was out of hand, the Vikings defense played brilliantly and for once, they buried a bad team like all of the other good teams do, instead of struggling to win like earlier in the season.  Well, to be fair, they beat the Bears by 21 last week, too.

Sure, this barely counted as a “big win” for the Vikings (according to some people) due to the quality of the opponent, but try telling that to most Vikings fans.  Personally, I will gladly take any game where my team can hang 49 on the other team.  Teddy didn’t exactly light the Giants up like many thought he might, but you don’t have to throw for 350 and 3 when you can run the ball like the Vikings can at their best.

Perhaps the biggest reason for jubilation after Sunday night is this; the Vikings finally won in prime time.  The Arizona game was the first time in a while that the Vikings did not embarrass their fans under the lights, and, though playing a much inferior opponent this time around, I think it’s safe to say fans are more than happy with Sunday’s victory over the Giants. 

But…there is another.

The Packers still loom large in that week 17 matchup which has (not surprisingly) become the feature game of the week.  That’s right, the Vikings become one of the few teams to play in back-to-back SNF games since its arrival on NBC in 2006 (I’m guessing there weren’t many situations like this in the ESPN days since they didn’t have flex scheduling in those years).

But, that is another story for another day.  For now, let’s just enjoy the fact that we’ve made the playoffs for the first time since 2012.