Vikings at Seattle Monday: 'It's a four game season'

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - It’s a common theme throughout the Minnesota Vikings’ locker room this week: “It’s a four-game season.”

The Vikings (6-5-1) didn’t do themselves any favors in the NFC Playoff race after losing at New England 24-10 last Sunday. That’s especially after the Bears and Packers both lost. And other NFC teams in the Wild Card playoff mix also lost.

One of those teams in the thick of that playoff race is the Vikings’ opponent Monday night in the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks can’t catch the L.A. Rams in the NFC West, so their only playoff hope is clinging to one of the two Wild Card spots.

That’s what makes Monday night’s game so huge. If the Vikings can come out with a win, it sets up favorably for the rest of their schedule as they host Miami, travel to Detroit and host the Bears to end the regular season.

They expect it to be a playoff-like atmosphere Monday night. It essentially serves as a pseudo playoff game for both teams. It will be a huge challenge for the Vikings, who seem to struggle in primetime games. Seattle, meanwhile, is 15-2 in primetime games since 2010.

“I think going on the road, with that crowd and the type of football team we are, yeah a little bit. These next four games determine what we do and where we go and how we perform in the clutch,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. “Yeah it’ll have a little bit of a playoff feel.”

In those situations, on the national spotlight and with the season potentially at stake, the Vikings largely haven’t performed to expectations. Like at Chicago on Nov. 18 with the NFC North lead on the line, they were thoroughly out-played and scored late touchdowns to make a 25-20 loss seem closer than the actual game would indicate.

And then there was the tie against Green Bay at Lambeau Field. The Vikings played well enough to win, rallying on offense late to force overtime, where gave their kicker multiple chances to win the game. But we all know how that ended, ultimately with a rookie kicker getting released.

And we can’t forget about what happened after the “Minneapolis Miracle.” The Vikings were trying to become the first NFL team to play in the Super Bowl in their home stadium, and got dominated by Nick Foles and the Philadelphia Eagles. After scoring a touchdown on the opening drive, 38-0 the rest of the way.

The beauty of reliving all the past devastating losses is just that. It’s in the past.

Now it’s another challenging road test Monday at Seattle in an environment that’s always loud and tough to play in for opponents. Zimmer said it comes down to fundamentals and limiting mistakes, and that’s what makes playing the Seahawks in their home stadium so difficult.

To make matters even more complicated, the Seahawks have won three straight games since losing a hard-fought battle against the L.A. Rams, 36-31. They've beaten Green Bay 27-24, Carolina 30-27 and dismantled San Francisco 43-16.

“It’s loud, but it’s really about who plays the best football and they play good football in December since (Russell) Wilson has been there,” Zimmer said.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins said it’s about making sure the Vikings do their job over the final four games and get victories. Then, they don’t have to worry about the math of the playoff picture and focus instead on who they’re playing, and where they’re headed.

If they go 3-1 in their final four games or even win them all, the NFC North Division title isn't out of the question depending on what the Bears do.

“We’re in if it ended today, which means all the work we did through OTAs, training camp, preseason, regular season, it comes down to four games,” Cousins said. “It comes down to the other teams in the hunt fighting for their division title, whoever has the best four-game stretch. It doesn’t really matter what happened before. It’s a four game season. I think the math would suggest 4-0 gets you in the playoffs, gives you a chance to win the division. That 3-1 is probably still good enough to get you in. What’s important is that we are the team among the teams in the hunt that sits back at the end of December and says of that four game stretch and those teams, we had the best run.”

Until they don’t have to, the Vikings will be doing some scoreboard watching between the Seahawks, Panthers, Eagles and the Redskins. After this week, Seattle's remaining games are at the 49ers (2-10), hosting the Chiefs (10-2) and the Cardinals (3-9). The Panthers remaining schedule is at Cleveland (4-7-1), two games against the Saints (10-2) and hosting the Falcons (4-8). The Redskins final four games include hosting the Giants (4-8), at Jacksonville (4-8), at Tennessee (6-6) and hosting the Eagles (6-6).

The reality is this: It’s a four-game season, starting Monday at Seattle. And it’s essentially a one-game season spread into four weeks. If they don’t beat the Seahawks, playoff scenarios get all kinds of complicated for the Vikings. So their motive and approach is do whatever it takes to win, and keep it simple.