Okay, to review. . .here's how the current race for the #6 spot in the NFC is shaping up:
| Team | W-L | Conf W-L | Div W-L | H2H Tiebreakers | NFC Games Left | AFC Games Left |
| MIN (6) | 7-6 | 5-5 | 2-3 | None | CHI, WAS | @ DEN |
| NO | 6-7 | 5-4 | 3-3 | None | ARZ, PHI, @ CHI | None |
| WAS | 6-7 | 4-5 | 1-3 | DET, ARZ | @ NYG, @ MIN, DAL | None |
| ARZ | 6-7 | 3-6 | 2-3 | None | @NO, ATL, STL | None |
| DET | 6-7 | 4-7 | 3-2 | None | @ GB | @ SD, KC |
Now, if you'll recall. . .and if you don't, just scroll down a little ways. . .I stated that we Viking fans need to be pulling for the Arizona Cardinals as they travel to New Orleans this weekend to take on the Saints. Here's the explanation as to why.
If you look at the tiebreaker scenarios for the NFL playoffs, you'll see that for breaking ties between teams from two different divisions, the first tiebreaker is head-to-head record. As we play neither the Saints nor the Cardinals head-to-head this season, this doesn't apply.
The next tiebreaker, however, is where things get interesting, because after head-to-head, we move on to conference record. As you can see from the table above, if the Saints were to win out, they would finish with a 9-7 record overall and a record of 8-4 against the NFC (as all 3 of their remaining games are against NFC opponents). However, if the Cardinals were to win out, they would finish with a 9-7 overall record as well, but with only a 6-6 mark against the conference.
So, if New Orleans should beat Arizona on Sunday afternoon, we'll be looking at this:
| Team | W-L | Conf W-L | Div W-L | H2H Tiebreakers | NFC Games Left | AFC Games Left |
| MIN (6) | 8-6 | 6-5 | 3-3 | None | WAS | @ DEN |
| NO | 7-7 | 6-4 | 3-3 | None | PHI, @ CHI | None |
Whereas if Arizona wins, we'll be looking at this:
| Team | W-L | Conf W-L | Div W-L | H2H Tiebreakers | NFC Games Left | AFC Games Left |
| MIN (6) | 8-6 | 6-5 | 3-3 | None | WAS | @ DEN |
| ARZ | 7-7 | 4-6 | 2-3 | None | ATL, STL | None |
See where this would be better? I'm sure you do. (-:
Both of the above scenario assume a Minnesota victory over Chicago, a Washington loss to the Giants, and a Detroit loss to San Diego. Losses by Washington and/or Detroit would put them in the 8-loss (aka "Dead to Me") category.
Of course, if the Vikings win out, they finish with 10 wins, and nobody below the little black line on the chart is going to be able to pass them anyway. However, an Arizona victory this Sunday coupled with victories by the Beloved Purple over Chicago and Washington would allow us to lock up a post-season spot BEFORE having to travel to Denver for the season finale. And hey, all things being equal, I would rather not absolutely, positively HAVE to win at Invesco Field to get into the post-season. I'd rather take that last week to get the starters a few reps, get them out around halftime, and let them rest up before the trip to Seattle for the wild-card round of the playoffs.
So THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is why we're pulling for a Cardinals victory this weekend. The rest of the things we want to have happen are relatively obvious, but I thought this one merited a little deeper explanation.