After falling to the top-seeded Detroit Lions in the final game of the regular season, the Minnesota Vikings are the first 14-win team to be a wild card in the NFL playoffs, which has led to some scrutiny over the league’s playoff format that prioritizes division championships instead of overall record.
Tied for the second-best record in the NFC Conference, the No. 5-seeded Vikings (14-3) had the type of season that would lend them to a home playoff game in the first round.
Instead, they’ll travel to Los Angeles to play the No. 4 Rams (10-7), who clinched the NFC West in Week 17. It’s a yearly conversation for fans of teams at all levels who are slighted by this procedure of determining the postseason seeding.
Matthew Stafford‘s wife, Kelly, called out Vikings fans for taking issue with the procedure ahead of their “Monday Night Football” matchup, asking “why are you complaining?”
“It’s interesting that people are complaining about the seeding,” she said on a January 7 episode of “The Morning After” podcast. “Here’s my take. I know we benefited because we got a home game, because we’re NFC West and we’re going to be hosting… But if you’re a 14-3 team coming to us, you shouldn’t have a problem beating us. So why are you complaining?”
Kelly Stafford Says Vikings-Rams Disadvantaged Due to MNF Matchup
Later on the show, Kelly added that the Vikings and Rams game being played on Monday puts the winner at a disadvantage with one less day of rest and preparation for the next round.
“The fact that it’s on Monday really pisses me off,” she said. “I mean, also, that gives us less time for the next game, which I don’t think that’s fair. I hate waiting, and now we have to wait for the last game, yeah, which is annoying.”
Kelly, who said she is sick with the flu, said she offered to leave the house with their two kids also sick, but Matt argued against it as he hopes to approach his preparation for Wild Card Weekend like any other week.
“Considering what we’re all going through, um, we might just have to leave, which he was not happy with that suggestion when I said it today,” she said. “He was like, ‘Let’s just wait and see, you know. I’ll probably sleep in a different bedroom,’ but normally it is a pretty normal work week.”
Vikings Open as Slight Favorites Over the Rams
GettyHead coach Kevin O’Connell of the Minnesota Vikings looks on against the Chicago Bears.
The Vikings opened the week as 2.5-point favorites over Los Angeles, but there has been significant line movement that has cut that edge to just 1.5 points, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.
The Rams defeated Minnesota 30-20 in Week 8 on “Thursday Night Football,” just four days after the Vikings’ Week 7 loss to the Lions.
Both teams have plenty of ties to each other with Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell winning a Super Bowl with Los Angeles as their offensive coordinator during the 2021 season.
Minnesota’s defensive coordinator Brian Flores also called plays against Rams head coach Sean McVay in the 2019 Super Bowl, holding Los Angeles to just a field goal in the New England Patriots‘ 13-3 championship victory.
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