Last week’s loss against the Cincinnati Bengals was a crusher for the Minnesota Vikings. The defense finally had a bad game, the offense waited until the second half to stop shooting itself in the foot and they wasted opportunities to salt the game away on both sides.
Star receiver Justin Jefferson commented on this at the end of his time speaking with the media after the loss.
“We always feel confident about [our playoff chances], especially with three more divisional games. We’re still in it, we’re still right there. Even this game, we were one or two plays away from winning the game. That’s the difficult part about it. You got to move on and get ready for the next one.”
With this loss, they join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks and New Orleans Saints at 7-7. They still hold on to the second wild-card spot, even if the grip is much looser than in recent weeks.
So how much are the Vikings in it? How do their chances match up against their NFC counterparts fighting for those final two playoff spots? Thanks to ESPN’s Football Power Index, we can take a league-wide look at all 32 teams and how they rank in their respective push for the playoffs.