The Vikings are just two wins away from winning the NFC North and securing the conference’s coveted No. 1 seed, which comes with a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the next two rounds. Minnesota’s thrilling win over the Seahawks on Sunday – combined with the Eagles’ dramatic loss to the Commanders earlier in the day – was huge for their chances of finishing the regular season atop the NFC, but there is still a lot of difficult work to do.

It’s now a duel between two teams for the best record in the conference. The Lions and Vikings are both 13-2, while the Eagles are a game behind at 12-3. Here’s what the playoff picture looks like in the NFC with two weeks (and Week 16 primetime games involving the Buccaneers and Packers) left to play.

The easiest path for the Vikings is to win their next two games, which are at home against the Packers next week and in Detroit against the Lions in Week 18. If they can do that, it would mean the regular season ends at 10 games. With this winning streak, they will be the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. It is by no means an easy task, but it is straightforward.

If the Vikings lose to the Packers next week, the Lions could clinch the division with a win over the 6-9 49ers. Even if the Vikings won the following week and both teams finished 14-3, the Lions would win the tiebreaker with a 5-1 record in the division (the Vikings would be 4-2).

As for the No. 1 seed, the Eagles would be out of that race if the Vikings or Lions win next week. Philadelphia needs to win (at home against the Cowboys and Giants), the Lions need to go 0-2 and the Vikings need to go 1-1 (which requires them to beat Detroit in Week 18). In this scenario, the Eagles would win the tiebreaker 14-3 against the Vikings based on combined games because they beat the Packers and the Vikings lost to the Packers next week.

To sum it up: The Vikings can win the NFC North and secure the No. 1 seed if they win. They can lose to the Packers next week and still stay alive in the division if the Lions also lose to the 49ers, but if the Eagles win they would be the No. 2 seed.

Another Packers loss or another Vikings win would secure the Vikings at least fifth place.

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