While there was an outside chance the Vikings could have jumped back to the #2 seed in the playoffs (if the 49ers had lost to the Cardinals), it is now official. The Vikings enter this year's playoffs as the 3 seed, guaranteeing them at least one home playoff game at US Bank Stadium.

That guaranteed home game comes this weekend against a team the Vikings recently played at US Bank Stadium. The 13-4 Vikings will open their postseason against the 9-7-1 6-seed New York Giants in Minneapolis, in a rematch of a Christmas Eve game in which the Vikings won on a 61-yard Greg Joseph field goal in a 27-24 victory.

This game will also mark the first home playoff game for the Vikings since the "Minneapolis Miracle" of 2018, in which Stefon Diggs caught a walk-off touchdown from Case Keenum to advance past the Saints.

The Vikings game is the fourth of six games happening Wild Card Weekend. San Francisco will host Seattle to open Wild Card Weekend at 3:30 pm Saturday on FOX and then Jacksonville will host the Chargers at 7:15 Saturday on NBC and Peacock.

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Sunday's matchups start with Miami at Buffalo at noon on CBS and Paramount +, followed by the Vikings/Giants game, then wraps up with Baltimore at Cincinnati at 7:15 on NBC and Peacock.

Wild Card Weekend wraps up on Monday night at 7:15, with Dallas at Tampa Bay on ABC/ESPN and ESPN +

All playoff games can be heard on the radio on the Northland FAN 106.5 FM/560 AM, on the Northland FAN mobile app, or northlandfan.com.

New York Giants v Minnesota Vikings
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Vikings Wild Card Weekend Game Info

Who: The 3-seed Vikings will host the 6-seed New York Giants

Where: US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, MN

When: Sunday, January 15 at 3:30 pm

How to listen to the game: You can catch the game on the Northland FAN 106.5 FM/560 AM, on the Northland FAN mobile app, or northlandfan.com.

How to watch the game: FOX

What's Next?

The divisional round game matchups, dates, and times will all be set contingent on who wins, reseeding the highest remaining seeds in each conference to play against the lowest remaining seeds.

Those games will be set after the conclusion of Wild Card weekend and will be played on Saturday, January 21, and Sunday, January 22. The only things we know for certain about this weekend right now is that the Eagles and Chiefs will both host a game, and the winner of the Cowboys-Buccaneers game will play on Sunday the 22nd. All other details will be decided after the weekend's games.

If the Vikings win against the Giants, there is a possibility the Vikings could host a second playoff game. It would require the Seahawks to defeat the 49ers, which would give the Vikings a home game against the winner of the Dallas/Tampa Bay game - to be played on Sunday the 22nd (due to the note above).

Could the Vikings host throughout the playoffs?

In short, yes - but it would require some help. As a 3-seed, they are only guaranteed a home game to start the playoffs. Here's how they could get there:

Obviously, they would need to win each playoff game. This would mean beating the Giants Wild Card Weekend. As noted above, the Seahawks would also need to beat the 49ers, creating a Vikings matchup against the Cowboys or Bucs in the Divisional round.

In order to host in the next round (NFC Championship), they'd need to defeat Dallas/Tampa, and have Seattle beat the Eagles. This would create a situation where the Vikings would host the 7-seed Seahawks for the NFC Championship, which is scheduled for January 29 at 2:05 pm on FOX.

11 Minnesota Vikings Kickers Since 1998

With Greg Joseph currently leading NFL in missed extra points, the Minnesota Vikings are once again dealing with kicker challenges.

The Vikings certainly have had their fair share of kickers in recent years. Let's take a look back at who has kicked for the team since 1998. Some of these guys may be better than you remember, but there are likely a few you'd like to forget.

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