Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Packer Plus
Surging Vikings closing in on spot in playoffs
— When the Minnesota Vikings lost at Chicago in Week 4, there were plenty of questions about a team expected to be a playoff contender and an offense led by quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Minnesota was 2-2, after losing on the road at Green Bay and Chicago. The offense scored six points and totaled just 222 yards against the Bears. Receiver Stefon Diggs created further disruption when he skipped a practice the following week.
Since then, the Vikings have won eight of 10 games with the only losses on the road against teams that have already clinched a playoff berth; Kansas City and Seattle. Minnesota further solidified its playoff positioning with a convincing 39-10 win at the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday in which the defense forced seven turnovers.
Any early season uncertainty has been replaced by understated confidence.
“I like this team. I like how they’re playing,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said Monday. “I think the quarterback is playing really well. I think we’re doing a good job scheming offensively. Defensively we’ve played a little bit better the last couple of weeks. If we can ever get it to the point where I really feel good about it, we could do some damage.”
Minnesota (10-4) is one win – or one Los Angeles Rams loss – away from clinching a playoff berth as it sits comfortably as the sixth seed in the NFC after Los Angeles (8-6) lost at Dallas on Sunday. The Vikings could climb to No. 5 in the conference if they win both of their final two games, at home against Green Bay and Chicago, and San Francisco (11-3) loses at home to the Rams and on the road at Seattle (11-3).
The early road loss to the Packers leaves winning the NFC North as a distant possibility because of tiebreakers. Minnesota would need to win both games and have Green Bay (11-3) lose its season finale at Detroit.
“It’s still all up for grabs,” Cousins said after Sunday’s win.
What needs help: It feels like nitpicking, but Minnesota could have put Sunday’s game away much earlier by capitalizing on turnovers. Aside from Ifeadi Odenigbo’s fumble recovery for a touchdown, the Vikings totaled six points off three other turnovers through three quarters.
Stock down: Dalvin Cook is still having the best season of his career with 1,135 rushing yards to go with 53 catches for 519 yards, but injuries have crept up. He left Sunday’s game with a shoulder injury and did not return. Zimmer said Monday that it’s an injury Cook might be able to play through and said Cook “feels good today.”