Ranking the 4 teams competing with Washington for playoff berth
By Jerry Trotta
2. Minnesota Vikings
NFL Twitter has endless loads of sympathy for Minnesota Vikings fans, and rightly so. It feels like every time you look at the scoreboard on Sundays they’re involved in another one-score game that goes right down to the final seconds.
In a vacuum, it’s criminal to think they only have six wins. We won’t go as far as to say old friend Kirk Cousins is posting empty stats, but it speaks volumes that he’s enjoying the most efficient season of his career (he leads the NFL with a 27:5 touchdown to interception ratio) and his team as a losing record.
With all that said, the Vikings’ offense can compete with the best of them. Dalvin Cook is a top-shelf running back, and Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen form the most underrated WR duo in the league.
Their only problem, however, is their defense, which ranks near the bottom of the league in rushing, passing and points allowed.
Though Minnesota has wins over the Packers and Chargers, they have equally-ugly losses against the one-win Lions, whom they could’ve lost to twice, and a Cowboys team that was without Dak Prescott.
Their resume might not be playoff-caliber, but Minnesota is a team no division winner should want to lock horns with in the first round.