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#9 Minnesota Vikings
The Packers’ NFC North brethren roll in next, as the Minnesota Vikings have been coming into their own in head coach Mike Zimmer’s second season with the team. They have been riding a very old school approach, ride the workhorse in Adrian Peterson, letting their quarterback make some plays but never really be able to put the team in a bad situation and have an improving defense slowly constrict the other team’s offense as the game goes along
Adrian Peterson is back to his normal dominant self, and as it stands now, he is the only non quarterback offensive player who can drag his team into the playoffs. The Vikings aren’t as Peterson-dependent as three years ago when they rode a 2,000-yard season from the back to the playoffs, as Teddy Bridgewater is capable of making some plays.
Alex Smith and the defense led by defensive tackle Linval Joseph and linebacker Anthony Barr is playing better and better as the season progresses. The next five weeks will show us if the Vikings are real or just a psuedo-playoff team that rode a hot streak into playoff position. First up, home against Seattle on Sunday.
