The wounds are still fresh for the Minnesota Vikings after their embarrassing loss to the Green Bay Packers on Monday night. The Vikings came into the game with an undefeated record at home and the chance to move up in the NFC playoff picture, but the combination of a conservative gameplan, pressure from the Packer defense and a lack of energy locked Minnesota into the six seed.
While the loss stings, there is a silver lining for the Vikings heading into their final regular-season game against the Chicago Bears. With nothing to play for and nothing to lose, the Vikings can use Week 17 as a mini-bye to get ready for their playoff opponent next week, meaning the names that will be on the field might not be the ones we’ve gotten used to this season.