Just Get In and Go From There

Mike Florio of NBC’s Pro Football Talk made an interesting observation while on with Paul Allen on KFAN 100.3 FM.

The defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers were the lowest-seeded team to make the NFC playoffs last season, winning all three road games through the conference playoffs and ultimately beating the Pittsburgh Steelers in Dallas for the franchise’s fourth Lombardi Trophy.

Florio pointed out a key game in Week 15 between the Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Tampa Bay was in a battle for a playoff spot for most of the season with NFC South foe New Orleans, which ended up finishing with an 11-5 record, one better than the Buccaneers.

With the 10-6 record, Tampa Bay was just one win shy of making the postseason, meaning the Packers squeaked in and made the most of it.

The reason why that Week 15 matchup was so big was Detroit upset Tampa Bay on the road in overtime by a score of 23-20.

A win would have given the Buccaneers a four-game winning streak heading into the playoffs and perhaps even more important for Vikings fans, knocking Green Bay out of the playoffs.

Instead, Green Bay took the momentum of winning the final two regular season games and took it all four weeks later.

Florio stressed the importance of just getting to the playoffs will at the very least, give you a chance that most of the league doesn’t, including a 10-6 team like Tampa Bay.

If the Buccaneers would have made the playoffs, the NFC South would have had three of the four teams in the postseason.

Atlanta and New Orleans were the other two.

Another example of this was back in 2007 when the New York Giants made the playoffs, beat Tampa Bay, rival Dallas and Green Bay all on the road in the NFC playoffs.

As most of us know, the Giants would upset the 18-0 New England Patriots in Glendale, Ariz.

Reason why I bring this up is because winning the NFC North for the Vikings will be a daunting task as every team in the division has either improved, will get injured veterans back that missed most of last season or have established starters that can make a difference.

Minnesota is in a stage where it is rebuilding and trying to compete at the same time.

If it doesn’t win the division, which is Leslie Frazier’s goal at the start of the season, all is not lost.

Just get in and you never know what will happen. Teams in recent years have proven that numerous road playoff games are not impossible to win.