The Vikings are still somehow in playoff contention. For much of its Week 14 game against Pittsburgh, Minnesota actually looked like it.
The Vikings (6-7) stifled their opponent towards the end of a half — not a given this year by any means. Minnesota also took a commanding lead into the locker room — 23-0 to be exact.
Then, this Vikings team did something that they had done so often in 2021: the team made the game close.
Like all of Minnesota’s 2021 games before it, Thursday night football wasn’t pretty. The Steelers (6-6-1), once down by as much as 29 points, pulled within eight points in the fourth quarter, but the Vikings ultimately outshot their opponent at U.S. Bank Stadium.