Minnesota Vikings week 17 preview

Vikings Host Giants

The Vikings enter the final week of the regular season with a chance to control their own fate. A win at home this weekend over the New York Giants and they will win the NFC North and will be the #3 seed in the NFC playoffs.

Of course the Vikings had the same circumstance last week, in another home game, but lost 24-17 to the Atlanta Falcons. Minnesota had four lost fumbles, which was the biggest factor in the loss and they easily outgained the Falcons. Perhaps the most troubling thing for the Purple is RB Adrian Peterson’s fumbling issues last week, as he accounted for two of the turnovers.

If the Vikings lose to the Giants, they can still win the division if the Houston Texans beat the Chicago Bears. The Giants have already sewn up the #1 seed in the NFC, and may rest some of their notable players that are nursing injuries, like RB Brandon Jacobs and WR Domenik Hixon. Giants’ head coach Tom Coughlin has said that the team will not be resting guys, but we’ll see what happens.

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Vikings’ QB Tarvaris Jackson has played fairly well in the two starts he has had since taking over for an injured Gus Frerotte. Frerotte is now apparently healthy enough to return to action, but Jackson reportedly will remain the starter this week. Frerotte’s veteran presence could be an asset this week, but Jackson offers more athletic ability. But should Jackson struggle early, it will be interesting to see if head coach Brad Childress goes to Frerotte.

The playoff picture in the NFC seems pretty wide, with a few teams with a chance to win a division, or miss the playoffs entirely. The Vikings will try to put themselves into the playoff-bound category with a home win over a quality team in Week 17.

Brad Berreman
ProFootball-fans.com Vikings corespondent