Vikings To Play For NFC North Crown On Sunday Night Football

For the Minnesota Vikings and their fans, the regular season comes down to Sunday night in Detroit. The Vikings control their own destiny, as they are not only just 60 minutes from an NFC North Division title but possibly the number one overall seed in the NFC Playoffs. All the Vikings have to do is defeat the Detroit Lions in Detroit. Here's what you need to know about the final regular season game for the Minnesota Vikings.

(Before we get too carried away with next week's game the Lions still have to play this week. They are in San Fransisco facing the 49ers tonight, the Lions have to win tonight to make next week's game that much bigger.)

(Assuming the Lions win tonight) The Vikings will be playing for all the 'marbles' Sunday night at 7:20 on Sunday Night Football on NBC. Due to no Monday Night Football, this is the latest game of the final week of the regular season. It's a timeslot often reserved this time of year for the biggest games of the week, and once again, we see the Vikings in the primetime spotlight.

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If the Lions and the Vikings come into the game with the same record, 14-2, the winner will be the number 1 overall seed in the NFC and get a first-round bye, and the loser of the game will be a 5-seed and go on the road to play the No. 4 seed.

With the way the Vikings have been playing both at home and on the road, the team seems confident no matter what, and from last night's game the team might prefer the 'disrespect' of a 5-seed to keep the chip on their shoulder as the playoffs start in two weeks.

Remember the 'experts' in Vegas who picked the Vikings to finish with just 6.5 wins?

As for the Lions, they are hurting in the personnel department as injuries have ravaged their defense since the last time these two teams met. That's an advantage for the purple and gold.