Vikings knocked out of playoffs due to loss against Bears plus Eagles’ victory

The NFC North will have only one team in the postseason in 2018. The Minnesota Vikings have officially been knocked out of the playoffs in week 17, thanks to a loss at home to the Chicago Bears. Chicago earned a 24-10 victory at U.S. Bank Stadium, sending the Vikings to 8-7-1 on the season.

That result, combined with the Philadelphia Eagles’ victory over Washington, drops the Vikings below Philly, who will earn the final Wild Card slot in the NFC. The Eagles finish the year 9-7 with the win, which came with Nick Foles starting at quarterback once again.

The Vikings were always hanging around in playoff position this season, but could never get more than two games above .500. Back-to-back wins in weeks 15 and 16 gave them the opportunity to clinch a playoff berth with a victory today, but the Bears erased that possibility with their suffocating defense. Minnesota finished the game with just 164 yards of offense and were 1-for-9 on third downs and 1-for-4 on fourth downs in the game.

Meanwhile, the Eagles stomped Washington at FedEx Field behind a similar formula to the Bears’. Washington managed just 89 yards of total offense as Philadelphia cruised to a comfortable 24-0 win, earning the final spot.

If the current results hold, the Seattle Seahawks will be the fifth seed in the NFC this year, with Philadelphia holding the sixth spot. Seattle will play at the fourth-seeded Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card round next week, while Philly travels to play at the Chicago Bears, who will hold the #3 seed as long as the Los Angeles Rams hold on for a victory over the San Francisco 49ers.