Every Tuesday, we'll analyze the Vikings' playoff odds – and draft chances – through the second half of the season.

At 4-5, the Vikings are in playoff contention. And they're a few losses away from jockeying for a top 10 draft pick.

So, we'll look at both scenarios for the time being as the playoff race takes shape over the next few weeks. This will serve as a guide to help you wisely choose between the red pill and the blue pill during the second half of the Vikings season, so here goes nothing:

Playoffs?!

Yes, playoffs. Possibly. The Vikings currently have the ninth best record in the NFC and sit two games out of the final Wild Card spot. Here are the standings through 10 weeks (Week 11 opponent in parentheses):

  1. Arizona (8-1; leads NFC West) (vs. Detroit on Sunday)
  2. Detroit (7-2; leads NFC North) (at Arizona on Sunday)
  3. Philadelphia (7-2; leads NFC East but loses tiebreaker to Lions based on conference win percentage) (at Green Bay on Sunday)
  4. New Orleans (4-5; leads the [pathetic] NFC South) (vs. Cincinnati on Sunday)
  5. Dallas (7-3; top Wild Card seed) (BYE WEEK)
  6. Seattle (6-3; second Wild Card seed) (at Kansas City on Sunday)
  7. Green Bay (6-3) (vs. Philadelphia on Sunday)
  8. San Francisco (5-4) (at New York Giants on Sunday)
  9. Minnesota (4-5) (at Chicago on Sunday)

The Vikings currently have a six percent chance of snagging the final Wild Card spot, according to PlayoffStatus.com. There's some good teams ahead of the Vikings, except for the Saints (get used to the weekly NFC South jabs), but they could gain some ground this week. Division games are always tough, especially on the road, but if the Vikings can somehow escape Solider Field with a win, they'd be 5-5 with three straight home games on tap (Packers, Panthers and Jets).

The schedule bodes well where the Vikings will make it interesting during the final seven games if they can beat the Bears. We could be looking at a 7-6 team with three games left in the season and the possibility of receiving running back Adrian Peterson back down the stretch. They should get tight end Kyle Rudolph back this week as well, which should help rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater substantially.

NFL Draft Order

And there's an 89 percent chance the Vikings don't make the playoffs, per PlayoffStatus.com. At this point, the Vikings have a top 15 pick in next year's draft. Here's how the order looks (strength of schedule percentage tiebreaker in parentheses):

  1. Oakland (0-9)
  2. Jacksonville (1-9)
  3. Tampa Bay (1-8)
  4. New York Jets (2-8)
  5. Tennessee (2-7)
  6. Atlanta (3-6) (.421)
  7. Washington (3-6) (.506)
  8. Chicago (3-6) (.512)
  9. Carolina (3-6) (.536)
  10. St. Louis (3-6) (.598)
  11. New York Giants (3-6) (.622)
  12. Houston (4-5) (.470)
  13. Minnesota (4-5) (.481)

They'd hold the 13th overall pick at this point. If the Saints, who also are 4-5, weren't in first place of the NFC South, they'd hold the 14th overall pick. They're not listed, however, because non-playoff teams are seeded before playoff teams in the draft order.

Just like the playoff picture, there will be more clarity from the No. 6 through the No. 13 pick over the next few weeks. A loss against the Bears on Sunday, and the draft order might supersede any playoff talk in Minnesota.