The Minnesota Vikings return from their bye this week very much part of the NFC playoff picture but facing what is shaping up to be a chaotic finish.
Coming off back-to-back losses to Denver and Chicago, the Vikings (6-6) didn’t get any help Sunday as the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams both won to pull even with Minnesota’s record.
The Vikings will face the Raiders on Sunday in Las Vegas, entering the day holding the sixth seed in the conference, winning the head-to-head tiebreaker against the seventh-seeded Packers. The Rams and Seattle Seahawks, also 6-6, are the eighth and ninth seeds, respectively.
One thing is clear: The Vikings don’t have much, if any, room left for missteps in a season that has been filled with them.
Here are some of the key issues the Vikings face with five games left.