The Minnesota Vikings are the first-ever 14-3 team to play on the road in the wild card round. That might not seem fair, but it's what happens when you don't win the NFC North.

The Vikings had a chance on Sunday night to beat the Lions, but they failed on multiple occasions to get the win in a 31-9 loss. Now that the playoffs are here, it's winner take all from here on out. 

When it comes to the Vikings, they have winning streaks of five games and nine games. Do they have a four-game winning streak left in them? Analysts are torn in the latest power rankings.

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Minnesota Vikings Week 17 NFL Power Rankings

Yahoo! Sports' Frank Schwab

Last week: 5
This week: 6

One game doesn't change the fact that Sam Darnold had a great season. But Darnold was not good on Sunday. If he has a rough game against the Rams in a loss next Monday night, it will bring up a lot of questions — fair or not — about whether he's a viable franchise QB as he heads to free agency.

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CBS Sports' Pete Prisco

Last week: 4
This week: 6

Sam Darnold wasn't good in the loss to the Lions, which is concerning heading into this week's playoff game. They offense has to be better against the Rams.

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USA Today's Nate Davis

Last week: 5
This week: 8

It’s been a great season. Great. Unexpected. Perhaps a major building block toward the Lombardi Trophy that has forever eluded this franchise.

But is a letdown already setting in? To win 14 games but have to start the playoffs on the road as a wild card is literally unheard of – and the Vikes must return to Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium, where they’ve already lost to the Rams once this year. Also, Minnesota’s protagonists have much to prove. HC Kevin O’Connell is a brilliant, rising star who previously coaxed 13 wins out of his 2022 edition … which summarily lost to an average New York Giants team in the wild-card round. QB Sam Darnold has been a revelation in 2024, but he’s also never started in the playoffs and had one of his worst games of the season Sunday night, when the NFC’s No. 1 seed was within grasp.

The Vikings are explosive, opportunistic – particularly an unrelenting defense tied for the league lead with 33 turnovers generated – and have one of the NFL’s truly unique and lethal weapons in WR Justin Jefferson. Yet it’s hard to drum up too much confidence that those elements can underpin an extended playoff run, particularly coming off a deflating performance at Detroit when so much was at stake.

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The Sporting News' Vinnie Iyer

Last week: 4
This week: 6

The Vikings are once again in a tough situation despite a stellar regular season. Instead of jumping up to the prime No. 1 spot ahead of the Lions, they are stuck playing at the Rams, where they were rocked 30-20 on a Thursday night in Week 8. That was their only loss other than the two games vs. Detroit. The Vikings have the offensive and defensive chops to turn it on for the playoffs, so watch out if they can consistently put it together.

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Bleacher Report's NFL Staff

Last week: 4
This week: 6

My confidence in Minnesota's ability to make a deep playoff run all but evaporated Sunday night. The Lions forced Darnold out of the pocket, and he looked a lot like the quarterback who struggled throughout most of his career. Jahmyr Gibbs shredded Minnesota's defense. And wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison were MIA most of the game.

Now the Vikings have to head west to take on a Rams team that beat the Vikings by 10 back in October. If the Vikings we saw in Week 18 show up at SoFi Stadium, Minnesota isn't getting out of the Wild Card Round. — Gary Davenport

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Sports Illustrated's Conor Orr

Last week: 4
This week: 4

I didn’t see a blowout like many others did Sunday. I saw a Lions team that got the proper bounces and, just maybe, a less critical eye from the officiating crew when it came to a feisty secondary. There’s nothing wrong with a little hand-to-hand combat, but the Lions knew they were at the mercy of the referees. I agree with Dan Campbell that we’ll see these teams again in a few weeks. 

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The Ringer's Diante Lee

Last week: 4
This week: 5

Head coach Kevin O’Connell has a slam-dunk case for Coach of the Year, not just for getting the most out of quarterback Sam Darnold but for effectively changing Darnold into a player he’s never been before. Receiver Justin Jefferson maintained his status as a transformative player, and WR2 Jordan Addison took a major step forward. Equally impressive was the coaching job from defensive coordinator Brian Flores, who made Andrew Van Ginkel look like an All-Pro linebacker and got Byron Murphy Jr. to play like an above-average outside corner.

The term “competitive rebuild” was beaten into our collective heads when general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was hired a few years ago. By every account, this team played like one of the five best in the NFL for the majority of the 2024 season despite lacking top-end talent outside of Jefferson, and it has become a true Super Bowl contender—all this before J.J. McCarthy, its first-round pick at quarterback, ever took a snap.

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Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio

Last week: 3
This week: 5

Was it a car hitting a pothole or a chariot becoming a pumpkin moment for Sam Darnold?

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The Athletic's Josh Kendall

Last week: 2
This week: 5

One lesson learned: Don’t give up on quarterbacks

Sunday night wasn’t the best argument for this lesson, but Sam Darnold is sixth in passer rating (102.5) and fifth in touchdown passes (35) this season. This is after being picked third overall in 2018 and then given up on by three teams and basically every NFL fan. Now we’ll see if he can bounce back from an 18-for-41 effort against the Lions that registered a 55.5 passer rating.

Kevin O’Connell’s comments on Sam Darnold’s performance chronicle the confidence level in his starting QB

Kevin O’Connell made it very clear how he feels about Sam Darnold