The math is too confusing at this point, so we won't bother with it yet. Suffice to say this: the Vikings still have a chance to win the NFC North, but by virtue of trailing Detroit by two games with four to play (and the Lions holding the tiebreaker), Minnesota's best chance of making the postseason might be via a wild card berth.
Can this year be a success for the Vikings?
If the Vikings manage to turn a 5-0 start that had us talking about first-round byes into a 6-6 present that had the sky falling into a 9-7 finish that squeaks them into the playoffs, is there a way we could consider that accomplishment a success?
December 5, 2016 at 4:00AM
![Brian Robison (96) and Danielle Hunter (99) celebrated a sack by Hunter in the fourth quarter. ] CARLOS GONZALEZ cgonzalez@startribune.com - December 1, 2016, Minneapolis, MN, US Bank Stadium, NFL, Minnesota Vikings vs. Dallas Cowboys](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/2VTJW2LOH7OTUDRFB5ZEJEOFHU.jpg?&w=712)
That will involve some scoreboard watching (some of which was good news Sunday) and most likely victories in at least three of these final four games.
The question then becomes: If the Vikings manage to turn a 5-0 start that had us talking about first-round byes into a 6-6 present that had the sky falling into a 9-7 finish that squeaks them into the playoffs, is there a way we could consider that accomplishment a success?
You'd have to squint awfully hard through a lens of injuries and other misfortune, but I imagine there is a way to do it.
Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.
