Minnesota Vikings would join exclusive company if they reach playoffs

If the Minnesota Vikings make a run to the playoffs, they’d join exclusive company.

Just a few weeks ago, it was hard to imagine the Minnesota Vikings would have a chance at returning to the playoffs in 2020.

A year after reaching as far as the NFC Divisional Round against the San Francisco 49ers, the Vikings opened the 2020 NFL season just about as bad as anyone could have imagined. Entering the teams bye week in Week 7, Minnesota held a record of 1-5 overall and came off of a brutal loss to the previously winless Atlanta Falcons in Week 6 at home going into that bye week.

Entering that Week 7 bye, many were wondering if the Vikings would end up turning into sellers at the trade deadline while looking ahead to the 2021 season at the midway point of this year. Even the writer of this very story thought it was time to start selling players at the deadline to regroup for next season.

Since that Week 7 of the regular season, Minnesota has impressively turned things around to climb back near the .500 mark on the season going into Week 11 while also putting itself back into the conversation of a possible playoff appearance in the NFC this year.

Following that 1-5 start, the Vikings have since won three in a row, all of which have come against NFC North opponents. Minnesota’s three-game winning streak going into Week 11 against the Dallas Cowboys has it sitting at 4-5 on the year while sitting tied with the Detroit Lions (4-5) for third place in the division and right on the heels of the Chicago Bears (5-5) in second place.

The Minnesota Vikings are making a clear run at the playoffs.

Minnesota is also inching its way back into the mix of the postseason picture, with FiveThirtyEight now giving the Vikings a 36 percent chance — a jump from 21 percent the week prior — of reaching the playoffs in 2020 after their victory over the Bears in Week 10 on Monday Night Football. The Vikings are just two games back of a spot in the playoffs, which will feature seven teams in each conference this season.

If Minnesota were to surprisingly get back into the mix of an NFC playoff spot, it would join some unique company as teams to reach the postseason after starting the year 1-5. The Vikings would become just the fourth team in NFL history to do just that, joining the 1970 Cincinnati Bengals, 2015 Kansas City Chiefs and 2018 Indianapolis Colts.

The good news for Minnesota is its schedule looks somewhat favorable in the coming weeks, having to face the Cowboys in Week 11, the Carolina Panthers in Week 12 and the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 13. They will also play the Lions and Bears once each to round out the year, although the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are also two other teams included on the list of teams before the regular season concludes.

Just a few weeks ago, many were talking about major changes potentially being made in the organization and it was hard to imagine that the Vikings would push themselves back into the playoff picture. But following Week 10 with Minnesota back near the .500 mark, it is doing just that and putting itself back into the mix of things in the second half of the year.