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Minnesota has played in 10 consecutive one-score games, which is reflected in its defensive FPI rating. The Vikings have been beaten four times on their opponent's final drive, and they nearly allowed the largest comeback in NFL regular-season history by almost squandering a 29-point lead against Pittsburgh. The offense has been a top-10 unit in large part due to Kirk Cousins' league-best TD-interception ratio (27-5) and the production it has seen from Justin Jefferson after Week 10. The Vikings' struggles to put together a complete game on offense and defense (along with some ups and downs in the kicking game) have them on the outside looking in at the playoffs entering their final four games. -- Courtney Cronin

Why can't the Vikings just be normal? It's a simple question with a complicated, perhaps unknowable, answer. The Vikings jumped out to a 29-0 third-quarter lead at home against the Steelers on Thursday Night Football, and somehow still ended up playing another game that came down to the final snap. Credit the Vikings' defense for getting that last stop, but it's become obvious that Mike Zimmer's team is affected by the knowledge that it always lets opponents back into games. It's become the Vikings' DNA, a self-fulfilling prophecy, and it's aging the entire state of Minnesota in dog years. Said Zimmer: "That team that played in the first half could probably beat anybody. That team that played in the second half could probably get beat by anybody."

They always seem to make it interesting in the end. But they found a way against the Steelers last Thursday, which keeps them in the playoff mix.

WR Justin Jefferson's 2,688 receiving yards since the start of 2020 ... are second to no one. The Jefferson-Chase debate might just rage for a few years.

Worst-case scenario: It's Week 18, the Vikings are 6-10, having lost their last three games by a combined seven points. Trailing the Bears by one point in the final minute of a lost season, Kirk Cousins drives the Vikings into field-goal range. The kick is up! DOINK! DOINK! DOINK! The rare triple doink! Mike Zimmer rips off his headset and slams it to the ground, and as his team trudges to the locker room, Zimmer storms off the field and exits through a side door, choosing a life alone in the wilderness rather than facing the prospect of coaching this heartbreaking team again.