In baseball, they use the magic number to determine how many wins by first place and losses by second place it would take for the first-place team to win the division. That number for the Minnesota Vikings currently sits at 5 after they beat the Commanders 20-17 and the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears both suffered losses.
With the Vikings' win over the Commanders, the magic number to win the NFC North is now at 5. They could in theory win the division on Thanksgiving night against the New England Patriots
— Tyler Forness (@TheRealForno) November 6, 2022
The Vikings do have a path to win the NFC North on Thanksgiving night against the New England Patriots, but both the Packers and Bears would have to lose their next two games while the Vikings win their next three including over the Patriots.
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That will prove difficult for the Vikings, as they head to Buffalo next Sunday and host the Dallas Cowboys the week after. Two consensus top-five teams back-to-back will prove to be their toughest stretch of the season.
The magic number being this low is a good thing for the Vikings. The earliest a team has ever clinched is in week nine when the Vikings did so in 1973. That season, however, only had 14 games.
In the modern days of the game (16+ games), the 2007 New England Patriots clinched the AFC East in week 11.
The Vikings are in great shape to host their first playoff game since 2017.
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