With Arizona limping into Seattle with its 3-12 record, the Seahawks are very, very likely to capture the NFC’s fifth seed. That leaves the Vikings stuck in the sixth seed if they beat the Bears at home or the Eagles lose or tie at Washington.
History suggests that might not be such a bad thing.
Since the NFL went to a 12-team playoff format in 1990, the NFC’s sixth seed is 14-14 in wild card games. The NFC’s fifth seed is 9-19 in wild card games.
The Vikings, of course, have contributed to the strong record by the NFC’s sixth seeds.