Sports Illustrated
NFC North: Vikings 11-5, Green Bay 10-6, Detroit 9-7, Chicago 7-9
Playoffs: Wild-card round, No. 3 Vikings over No. 6 Packers; divisional round, No. 2 Saints over Vikings; Super Bowl, Patriots over Saints 27-23
Vikings' position ranks (among 32 teams): Quarterbacks 16th, receivers fifth, offensive line 12th, running backs 26th, defensive line 23rd, defensive backs fourth.
Comments: The offense thrives; Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs combine for more than 2,500 yards; Zimmer's defense recaptures its dominance; cornerback depth pays off. With a defense that's still in its prime and two top receivers, the Vikings look more like the team that played for the NFC title in 2017 than the one that missed the playoffs last year.
ESPN Power Football Index
11-5: New England
10-6: Kansas City, New Orleans, L.A. Rams, Philadelphia
9-7: L.A. Chargers, Vikings, Chicago, Houston, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Green Bay, Dallas
8-8: Cleveland, Baltimore, Seattle, Jacksonville, Carolina, Tennessee, San Francisco, N.Y. Jets
7-9: Indianapolis, Denver, Detroit, Buffalo
6-10: Tampa Bay, Oakland, Cincinnati, Washington, N.Y. Giants
5-11: Arizona, Miami
ESPN's NFL Nation
NFC division champs: Eagles, Bears, Saints, Rams
NFC wild cards: Falcons, Packers
NFC title game: Saints over Eagles
AFC division champs: Patriots, Steelers, Colts, Chiefs
AFC wild cards: Chargers, Texans
AFC title game: Chiefs over Chargers
Super Bowl winner: Chiefs (MVP: Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs)
Offensive player of the year: Mahomes
Defensive player of the year: Aaron Donald, Rams
Rookie of the year: Kyler Murray, Cardinals
Will Brinson, CBS sports
NFC North: Vikings 13-3, Chicago 9-7, Green Bay 9-7, Detroit 7-9
Comment: Dalvin Cook leads the NFL in rushing.
NFL Coach of the Year: Mike Zimmer
NFC wild-card round: No. 4 Seattle over No. 5 New Orleans, No. 6 Dallas over No. 3 Philadelphia.
NFC divisional round: No. 1 Vikings over Dallas, No. 2 Carolina over Seattle
NFC title game: Vikings 31, Carolina 28
AFC wild-card round: No. 3 Denver over No. 6 Baltimore, No. 5 Kansas City over No. 4 Indianapolis
AFC divisional round: Kansas City over No. 1 New England, No. 2 Pittsburgh over Denver
AFC title game: Pittsburgh 31, Kansas City 24
Super Bowl: Vikings 30, Pittsburgh 28
Peter King, NBC Sports
NFC playoff seeds: 1. New Orleans; 2. Philadelphia; 3. L.A. Rams; 4. Green Bay; 5. Chicago; 6. San Francisco
AFC playoff seeds: 1. Kansas City; 2. Pittsburgh; 3. New England; 4. Indianapolis; 5. L.A. Chargers; 6. Houston
NFC title game: Saints 30, Eagles 23
AFC title game: Chiefs 27, Patriots 25
Super Bowl: Kansas City 37, New Orleans 27
Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com
NFC playoff seeds: 1. Eagles; 2. Seahawks; 3. Bears; 4. Panthers; 5. Vikings; 6. Cowboys
NFC wild-card round: Bears over Cowboys, Panthers over Vikings
NFC divisional round: Eagles over Panthers, Seahawks over Bears
NFC title game: Eagles over Seahawks
AFC playoff seeds: 1. Patriots; 2. Chiefs; 3. Jaguars; 4. Steelers; 5. Browns; 6. Jets
AFC wild-card round: Jaguars over Jets, Steelers over Browns
AFC divisional round: Patriots over Steelers, Jaguars over Chiefs.
AFC title game: Patriots over Jaguars
Super Bowl: Patriots over Eagles
NFL.com
NFC North: 1. Vikings, 13 votes; 2. Chicago, 10 votes; 3. Green Bay, 6 votes; 4. Detroit, 0 votes
The Sporting News
NFC North: Green Bay 12-4, Chicago 11-5, Vikings 9-7, Detroit 5-11
