Could the Minnesota Vikings actually turn things around?
The Minnesota Vikings have struggled but could things turn around now?
There’s no questioning the fact that the Minnesota Vikings have been one of the more disappointing teams in the NFL to begin the 2020 NFL season.
A year after reaching the NFC Divisional Round where they fell to the San Francisco 49ers, who went on to appear in the Super Bowl, the Vikings were hoping to make another run to the playoffs with a bulk of the offense returning this year although the defense was going to look much different.
At the midway point in the 2020 campaign, Minnesota hasn’t gotten off to a great start while beginning the new year losing five of its first six games and entering the Week 9 contest against the Detroit Lions at the bottom of the NFC North standings with a record of 2-5.
Although there has been plenty of disappointment, the Vikings could — emphasis on could — potentially make a run to the postseason with a somewhat favorable record ahead and coming off of a surprising win on the road in Week 8.
How likely is it that the Minnesota Vikings flip the script?
Now, this isn’t likely to happen, since Minnesota has dug itself into a big hole to begin the regular season schedule. But could the Vikings actually make a run to make the NFC playoff picture interesting? It’s not out of the question.
Going into Week 8 on the road against the Green Bay Packers, many counted Minnesota out of that game while taking on the talented Packers at Lambeau Field. But the Vikings pulled off a 28-22 upset victory over Aaron Rodgers and company to grab the second win of the season.
Minnesota still remains at the bottom of the NFC North and near the bottom of the NFC standings going into Week 9. The Vikings trail the Lions (3-4), Chicago Bears (5-3) and Packers (5-2) atop the NFC North standings.
Looking ahead at the next handful of weeks for Minnesota, its schedule eases up a bit and could favor the purple and gold to climb back near the .500 mark. The Vikings have struggled to this point at home so far this year, but four of their next five games will come at home at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
Zimmer on importance of a home win vs. Detroit. Vikings have not won at USB this season: "...last time we played in the stadium, it was completely dead. So we need to bring our own energy, we need to bring our own excitement, we need to play like the fans are there."
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) November 4, 2020
Minnesota will host the Lions in Week 9, the Dallas Cowboys in Week 11, the Carolina Panthers in Week 12 and the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 13. The lone road game during that span will be a Week 10 contest against Chicago. Looking at those five games, they are very winnable games for the Vikings and after holding steady at the trade deadline and not selling off key players, they appear to be committed to trying to make a run.
Hypothetically, let’s say Minnesota wins four of those five games. That would push the Vikings to a record of 6-6 overall through Week 13. If that were to happen, Minnesota could move back into the playoff picture in the NFC.
It helps that the Vikings play both Chicago and Detroit twice each for a remainder of the regular season, so that could potentially play into Minnesota’s favor in trying to climb both the NFC North and NFC standings.
A potential path to the postseason is hard to realistically think of, and FiveThirtyEight gives the Vikings just a 13 percent chance to reach the playoffs in 2020.
NFL picks, score predictions for Week 9. dark. Next
Minnesota has struggled to start the year for a reason, so it’s hard to imagine it making a run to the playoffs the rest of the way this year. But there’s still a chance, and the upcoming five or so weeks will be very interesting to keep an eye on when it comes to how the Vikings produce.