NFL Power Rankings, Week 14: Eagles look to keep NFC East race interesting

12. Minnesota Vikings

Thanks to the Chicago Bears suffering a surprise loss on the road to the New York Giants, the Minnesota Vikings were in the perfect situation to take advantage in the NFC North race, only to end up completely disappointing. Playing on the road in Foxborough is never an easy task, but the Vikings had the talent on both sides of the football to pull of a much-needed win, which makes Sunday’s results even more tough to accept.

Back at the beginning of the season, Minnesota was expected to be a top contender in the NFC after falling just shy of reaching the Super Bowl last winter. And while that could very well still end up being the case, it hasn’t looked good for the Vikings in recent weeks since they’re battling just to get into the playoffs at this point.

Minnesota didn’t agree to pay Cousins all of that money just to see him come up short with leading the team to the playoffs, meaning there will be plenty of pressure over these next couple of weeks. Plus, that regular-season finale against the Bears seems like it’s going to have all sorts of meaning when it comes to how the division plays out since it’s come down to these two teams (sorry Green Bay Packers fans).