With their win today over the New York Giants, the Los Angeles Rams are one win away from clinching a berth in the playoffs. Quarterback Matthew Stafford had over 300 yards and a touchdown, and rookie sensation Puka Nacua caught five passes for 118 yards as the Rams got a hard-fought 26-25 win over the New York Giants.
Here’s what that result means for the Minnesota Vikings and their chances at securing their own spot in the playoffs.
Now the #Vikings need to win out and get a win from any of:
Steelers today
Cards next week
49ers next week with nothing to play for— Luke Braun (@LukeBraunNFL) December 31, 2023
First thing’s first, the Vikings have to win out. If they lose the Sunday night game against the Packers, or next week to the Detroit Lions, everything else is a moot point. There are technically scenarios where the Vikings can lose against the Packers and still make it, but they are far-fetched and not worth mentioning. Just win.
But winning alone isn’t enough, the Vikings are going to need some help either in today’s afternoon games or next week. In addition to wins in their final two games, the Vikings also need at least one of the following:
- A Steelers win today over the Seattle Seahawks
- A Cardinals win next week over the Seattle Seahawks
- A San Francisco win next week over the Los Angeles Rams
Despite a surprising result today against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Cardinals are still one of the worst teams in the league this season, so relying on them to get a win is not a great spot to be in. San Francisco has already wrapped up the top spot in the NFC and could be resting their players next week — also not a great spot to be in.
It seems like the Vikings best chance is to be Steelers fans today and root hard for them to take down the Seahawks.
