As most of you know by now, the Vikings will have a better Strength of Schedule than the Colts. Therefore, their only chance of winning the top 2012 draft pick is for the Colts to win at Jacksonville, and for the Vikings to lose their remaining two games.
Hence, I wanted to know if the Rams can surpass the Vikings and get the second pick, assuming both teams lose their last two games.To make the explanation easier I will use each teams' opponent win-loss record, instead of percentage, since I believe it is easier to understand.
Right now the Vikings have an opponent winning record of 127-97, and the Rams 132-92. So the Vikings lead the Rams by 5 games, which doesn't seem much. However, as listed below, I found that even in the worst case scenario ( for the Vikings ), the Rams can only pick up 4 games. Their record will be 147-109, while the Vikings' will be 146-110.
Before reading the details below, a few explanations are in order. "Irrelevant" result means none of the teams in the game are opponents of the Rams or the Vikings. "Push" result means the outcome of the game effects the Vikings and the Rams in the same manner. Lastly, each teams opponent record includes ALL the teams they will be playing this season, including future opponents in weeks 16 & 17.
Week 16
| Game | Result | Vikings Opponents | Rams Opponents |
| Houston Texans @ Indianapolis Colts | Irrelevant | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Minnesota Vikings @ Washington Redskins | Vikings Lose | 1-0 | 1-0 |
| St. Louis Rams @ Pittsburgh Steelers | Rams Lose | 0-0 | 1-0 |
| Denver Broncos @ Buffalo Bills | Denver Wins | 1-0 | 0-0 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Carolina Panthers | Push | 1-1 | 0-0 |
| Arizona Cardinals @ Cincinnati Bengals | Push* | 0-1 | 1-2 |
| Oakland Raiders @ Kansas City Chiefs | Push | 1-1 | 0-0 |
| Miami Dolphins @ New England Patriots | Irrelevant | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| New York Giants @ New York Jets | Jets Win | 0-0 | 0-1 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars @ Tennessee Titans | Irrelevant | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Cleveland Browns @ Baltimore Ravens | Push | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| San Diego Chargers @ Detroit Lions | Detroit Wins | 2-1 | 0-0 |
| Philadelphia Eagles @ Dallas Cowboys | Push | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| San Francisco 49ers @ Seattle Seahawks | Push | 0-0 | 2-2 |
| Chicago Bears @ Green Bay Packers | Chicago Wins | 2-2 | 0-1 |
| Atlanta Falcons @ New Orleans Saints | Atlanta Wins | 1-1 | 0-1 |
| Week 16 TOTAL | 9-7 | 7-9 | |
Overall Record |
|
136-104 |
139-101 |
Week 17
| Game | Result | Vikings Opponents | Rams Opponents |
| Chicago Bears @ Minnesota Vikings | Vikings Lose | 2-0 | 0-0 |
| San Francisco 49ers @ St. Louis Rams | Rams Lose | 0-0 | 2-0 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Atlanta Falcons | Push | 1-1 | 0-0 |
| Baltimore Ravens @ Cincinnati Bengals | Push | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cleveland Browns | Push | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| Detroit Lions @ Green Bay Packers | Detroit Wins | 2-2 | 0-1 |
| Tennessee Titans @ Houston Texans | Irrelevant | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Indianapolis Colts @ Jacksonville Jaguars | Irrelevant | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| New York Jets @ Miami Dolphins | Irrelevant | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Carolina Panthers @ New Orleans Saints | Carolina Wins | 1-1 | 0-1 |
| Buffalo Bills @ New England Patriots | Irrelevant | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Dallas Cowboys @ New York Giants | Push | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| Washington Redskins @ Philadelphia Eagles | Washington Wins | 1-0 | 1-1 |
| Seattle Seahawks @ Arizona Cardinals | Arizona Wins | 1-0 | 2-2 |
| Kansas City Chiefs @ Denver Broncos | Push | 1-1 | 0-0 |
| San Diego Chargers @ Oakland Raiders | Push | 1-1 | 0-0 |
| Week 17 TOTAL | 10-6 | 8-8 | |
Overall Record |
|
146-110 |
147-109 |
So, as you can see if the Vikings lose out, they are assured of a top 2 pick!
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