Daily Norseman
Going into the early slate of Week 15 action, the Minnesota Vikings had a very, very narrow road to the 2025 postseason. That road is now, officially, closed.
With the Chicago Bears’ 31-3 demolition of the Cleveland Browns in the early slate this afternoon, the Vikings have officially been eliminated from playoff contention.
The only road the Vikings had to the playoffs this season would have involved the Bears losing their final four games and the Detroit Lions losing all of their games except their Week 18 matchup against the Bears, along with the Vikings running the table in their final four games and getting additional help. Like I said, it was a really narrow road for the Vikings to make it to the playoffs. . .a less than 1% chance, according to most playoff simulators. . .but now that road doesn’t exist anymore regardless of what the Vikings do the rest of the way.
It’s also looking extremely likely that the Vikings will finish in last place in the NFC North for the first time since 2013, their final season at the Metrodome and their last season under Leslie Frazier. That means the Vikings will be playing a “fourth place schedule” in 2026, which I have been assured by fans of the other three teams in the division is an incredible advantage, even though there are only three games on each team’s schedule that are any different with the way the schedules are formatted now in the NFL
We pretty much came to this conclusion several weeks ago, but now it’s official. The Vikings are playing for pride. . .or draft position, depending on your perspective. . .the rest of the way, as they are now no longer a part of the playoff picture for 2025.
