The Minnesota Vikings did not show up against the Detroit Lions on “Sunday Night Football,” but they may well get another crack at the division champs very soon.
That reality is not lost on Lions head coach Dan Campbell, who turned some heads with his message to Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell at midfield during their postgame handshake.
“Great job,” Campbell said to O’Connell. “I’ll see ya in two weeks.”
Good Chance Vikings Get Third Try to Beat Lions in Playoffs
GettyQuarterback Sam Darnold of the Minnesota Vikings.
Minnesota has a much tougher road to the Super Bowl now that they are a 14-win wildcard team, but they are still one of the two most likely opponents to challenge Detroit for the NFC crown.
The Lions will rest and lick their many wounds, particularly on defense, after earning the conference’s only bye week by besting the Vikings 31-9 at Ford Field in the final game of the NFL’s regular season slate.
Meanwhile, Minnesota will travel to play the Los Angeles Rams — the winners of the NFC West Division and the only team other than Detroit to hand the Vikings a loss during the year. Those defeats came in back-to-back games following Minnesota’s bye in Week 6.
The Lions bested the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium by two points, then L.A. got the best of Minnesota in Southern California on “Thursday Night Football” by a score of 30-20, as both teams played on a short week. The Vikings also lost starting left tackle Christian Darrisaw, their best offensive lineman, to an ACL/MCL tear just before halftime of that contest.
Vikings Road Favorites Over Rams on Super Wildcard Weekend
GettyHead coach Sean McVay of the Los Angeles Rams.
However, Minnesota bounced back and won nine consecutive contests following that two-game losing streak before dropping the outing against Detroit Sunday night. Even despite lackluster performances from both quarterback Sam Darnold and wide receiver Justin Jefferson, the Vikings opened as 2.5-point road favorites against the Rams, per ESPN Bet.
The Rams have struggled offensively over the last month, despite winning five games in a row before dropping their final contest of the year to the Seattle Seahawks. That defeat moved L.A. down from the No. 3 seed to the No. 4 seed, which spares Minnesota from traveling to Florida to take on QB Baker Mayfield and the surging Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Should the Vikings defeat the Rams, as oddsmakers predict them to do, and Tampa takes care of the Washington Commanders, then Minnesota will travel back to Detroit for the Divisional Round as the lowest remaining NFC playoff seed — albeit also the team with the second-best win/loss record.
Should the Commanders and Vikings both win, Minnesota would likely head to Pennsylvania to square off against the No. 2-seeded Philadelphia Eagles, who host the Green Bay Packers over Super Wildcard Weekend.
Of course, there is the chance the Vikings could continue to win and never face the Lions on the way to a Super Bowl appearance and/or title. However, it appears likely that if Minnesota can straighten out its woes from Sunday night then the team will get a third chance to knock off Detroit either two or three weeks from now — just as Campbell predicted in his message to O’Connell at midfield.
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Dan Campbell Turns Heads With Postgame Message to Kevin O’Connell