Minnesota Vikings Need the 49ers to Win This Week and Next Week… and the Next Week

The 11-2 Minnesota Vikings are a >99% lock to make the NFL Playoffs this season, so there isn’t a lot that could happen in week 15 that would really hurt their chances at playing postseason games in January 2025. On the contrary, there are a few ways for the Vikings to officially lock in and mathematically secure their NFC playoff spot.

Of course, they could win. That’s the noble way to get in. Sam Darnold & Co are trying to catch the NFC North leading Detroit Lions, a 12-1 team that most fans and pundits consider the best in the league, when healthy.

If the Vikings beat the 4-9 Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football this week, not only would they clinch their playoff spot, but they’d also remain, at worst, one game behind the Lions, with one head-to-head matchup still left on the schedule.

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But there are other clinching scenarios for the Minnesota Vikings this week, where a win would not be required. And because Vikings vs Bears is the final game of week 15, it’s very possible they will be a playoff team before they take the U.S. Bank Stadium field at 7 PM on Monday.

In fact, the Vikings’ first clinching opportunity of week 15 comes tonight, on Thursday Night Football. Two West Coast NFC teams, the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers will kick off NFL’s week 15 slate of games and Vikings fans should tune-in.

Why is Thursday must-watch TV? Because if the Niners win (or tie) vs the Rams, the Minnesota Vikings are officially a 2024-25 playoff team (per NFL.com). The next chance for Minnesota to skate in will come on Sunday Night Football, when the Seattle Seahawks play the Green Bay Packers.

Minnesota Vikings clinch a playoff spot in week 15 if…

1. Vikings win or tie vs Bears — Monday, 7 PM
2. 49ers win or tie vs Rams — Thursday, 7:15 PM
3. Packers win or tie vs Seahawks — Sunday, 7:20 PM

Would you cheer for a Packers win if it gets the Vikings into the playoffs? If you don’t want to worry about that possibility, then you’d better hope for a 49ers victory tonight. But this week’s edition of Thursday Night Football is about more than Minnesota’s clinching scenarios.

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The San Francisco 49ers need a victory vs their new West Coast rival if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive. For the last half-decade, under head coach Kyle Shanahan, we’ve seen the Niners find their way into the playoffs, catch fire, and make deep runs that include two Super Bowl and two NFC Championship appearances.

But if they lose tonight, at home, the San Francisco 49ers will fall to 6-8, mostly killing their chances of making the playoffs. Outside of the NFC South, .500 won’t be good enough to make this year’s NFL playoff bracket. Lucky you, Kirk Cousins.

Vikings need 49ers to win and contend for playoffs

And guess who the Niners play in week 17? The Detroit Lions, who the Minnesota Vikings NEED to lose one more game, before the two division rivals play week 18, in a regular season finale that could decide the fate of the North.

Should that dream scenario occur, it’s very possible the No. 1 playoff seed in the NFC and a first round bye would also be on the line. If Minnesota cannot surpass Detroit in the next four weeks, and win the division, they’ll settle for an NFC Wildcard, which would limit them to the No. 5 seed, at best.

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That would mean an opening round Wildcard Weekend road game (probably) against whoever wins the NFC South. Going into a hostile Atlanta or Tampa Bay doesn’t feel like a requisite way to reward one of the best teams in the league, but that’s life in the NFL if you can’t win your division.

So Minnesota Vikings fans need to be cheering for a San Francisco 49ers win tonight. Not just so the purple can clinch a playoff spot, but also so the Niners remain in the playoff race and, hopefully, put up the type of fight we know they are capable of in week 17, when they play the Lions just one week before the Vikings do.

Not just this week, but for the next few, we are big Niners fans here in Minnesota.