NFC standings update: Vikings move up to 6th seed with Seahawks’ loss to….

The Vikings moved up to the sixth seed in the current NFC playoff picture as a result of the Seahawks’ loss to the Cowboys on Thursday night. Both Minnesota and Seattle are 6-6, but the Vikings have a one-game lead on the top tiebreaker: Record against teams in the conference.

The Seahawks came to play on Thursday night and had a 35-27 lead early in the fourth quarter after DK Metcalf’s third touchdown reception of the evening, but the red-hot Cowboys responded with the final 14 points of the game to win by a 41-35 score. Dallas has won four in a row and six of its last seven, with only a one-score loss in Philadelphia mixed in there. They’ve scored 30-plus points an NFL-high eight times in 12 games and are undefeated at home. The Vikings almost certainly aren’t going to catch the Cowboys for the fifth seed, which comes with a matchup against whoever wins the NFC South. They would love to hunt down the Lions in the NFC North, but that was a big missed opportunity against the Bears on Monday night. The Vikings will most likely need to sweep Detroit to make that happen. Realistically, the Vikings will try to win enough games in their final five to hold off the Packers, Rams, and Saints and enter the postseason as the sixth or seventh seed. That would mean a road matchup against the 49ers or Lions (it’s possible the Vikings and Lions will play each other three times in a four-week span).

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