Sports
Minnesota Vikings Wild Card, Playoff Odds: Updated
The Minnesota Vikings could clinch a 2018 wild card spot as early as next week.

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Vikings got back on track Sunday with an important win at home against the Miami Dolphins. The team (7-6-1 ) still has control over their own destiny, and could clinch a wild card playoff spot as early as next week.
Minnesota recorded nine sacks in the team’s 41-17 victory over Miami. The Vikings, which recorded 10 sacks in the team’s Week 9 victory over the Detroit Lions, are the second team since 1990 to register at least nine sacks in multiple games in a single season.
"Good team win today," head coach Mike Zimmer said at the postgame press conference.
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"I thought offensively we did a nice job mixing things but taking our shots and being aggressive and being physical and running the football. Rushed for 200 yards, scored touchdowns the first three possessions of the game."
Vikings quarterback coach Kevin Stefanski stepped in as offensive coordinator for the first time Sunday following the firing of John DeFilippo.
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"I thought he did well," Zimmer said when asked about Stefanski's performance as play caller.
"He was very calm, never got panicked at all during the day. I think there were times when he said something like, ‘I need to get back on schedule,’ or something like that, but it wasn’t really anything chaotic. I thought the other coaches helped him a lot today. I thought he did a good job."
The Vikings now have a 56 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to data analysis website FiveThirtyEight.
Those odds would have been much higher if other NFC teams chasing a wild card spot — including the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins — has lost on Sunday.
Mission accomplished.#Skol pic.twitter.com/SNX3Xcwgmy
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) December 16, 2018
Here's what the NFC playoff picture currently looks like:
- New Orleans Saints (11-2)
- Los Angeles Rams (11-2)
- Chicago Bears (10-4)
- Dallas Cowboys (8-6)
- Seattle Seahawks (8-5)
- Minnesota Vikings (7-6-1)
The Chicago Bears clinched the division title Sunday, and eliminated the Green Bay Packers from playoff contention in the process. So Minnesota's only route to the playoffs is through a wild card spot.
Here are the teams Vikings fans should cheer against for the rest of the regular season:
- Washington Redskins
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Carolina Panthers
- Seattle Seahawks
The Vikings will play the Detroit Lions on the road Sunday.
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Photo: Kirk Cousins #8 of the Minnesota Vikings and Ryan Tannehill #17 of the Miami Dolphins speak after the game at U.S. Bank Stadium on December 16, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings defeated the Dolphins 41-17. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
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