“Minnesota Vikings” by Runner1928 (CC BY-SA 1.0)
The NFL regular season is coming to a close, and the race for the top seed in the NFC is coming to a close. The Philadelphia Eagles looked in control just a few weeks ago but an injury to Carson Wentz has given the Minnesota Vikings a great chance to take the top spot.
Both teams have two games to play, and while the Vikings have to head out on the road to play one of their games, they do appear to have two easier games. The Eagles play twice at home, but with the Raiders and Cowboys being the two visitors, things are not going to be easy in Philadelphia.
When Wentz tore his ACL, the Eagles were flying, they have continued to win, but it is not an ideal situation to go into the final few regular season games and the playoffs with your backup quarterback in charge. That situation will give the Vikings hope, despite them being second seed right now.
A week 14 loss to the Carolina Panthers held up the progress being made by the Vikings, but they put themselves back on track with an impressive display against the Bengals last weekend. They won that game 34-7, showing dominance on both sides of the football and that play is what will take them into the playoffs with a genuine chance of lifting the Lombardi Trophy in February.
“Minnesota Vikings fans” by Joe Bielawa (CC BY-SA 2.0)
While having the first seed would seriously help the chances of the Vikings in the playoffs, it is not a necessity for them to have that spot. Should they go in as second seeds they would fancy their chances of beating whoever they faced, and beating the Eagles on the road if they needed to do that.
Being second favorites to win the Super Bowl right now also shows that the bookmakers think they have a great chance of challenging for the trophy. Just about every betting market around the NFL is looking like being extremely close this season, and a number of teams will fancy their chances of winning the playoffs. The New England Patriots are favorites, but with the Vikings in behind them at around +600, there are many who think it could be their year.
Behind the Patriots, things look to be wide open, with many teams having a chance and that will make home field advantage even more important. By taking the number one seed, the Vikings would guarantee themselves home field advantage during both games before the Super Bowl. Should they not get that, they would either play one home and one on the road or worse still, they could find themselves playing an extra game in the wild-card round. After their great season so far, the Vikings will not want to go through that, but it is a possibility with how close the current standings are.
As the regular season draws to a close, many questions are still to be answered, one of the most important ones is who will take the top seed in the NFC.