The Vikings watched over the weekend as Arizona edged NFC North rival Green Bay, and Carolina jetted to a lead big enough to prevent an improbable comeback by Seattle for the second week in a row. In the AFC, New England advanced past Kansas City, and Denver rallied past Pittsburgh.
Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer has talked about his admiration of Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick for the run that New England has had, but Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune writes that Carolina might be Minnesota’s “logical role model” because they “mirror” each other in many ways.