Asked to assess the significance of a victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday — which would secure a first-round bye for the Vikings — tight end Kyle Rudolph paused, took a breath and proceeded to topple one of the NFL's most banal clichés.
"I think this is the first time in my career where you can officially say a game counts as more than one," Rudolph said. "Every week, we stand up here and say, 'It's one week. It's one win. It's one loss.' This week counts as two wins, essentially. If we can go out and get a win, it guarantees us that we get next week off."
There were enough Vikings players repeating some variation of the this-one-counts-double line Wednesday that it's safe to assume they received it as a mantra from coach Mike Zimmer. And as the Vikings head into their regular-season finale against a 5-10 Bears team, it's clear they will leave nothing to chance.
The Vikings (12-3) already have secured the NFC North title, and have a strong chance of clinching the conference's No. 2 seed even if they lose to the Bears on Sunday. They'd secure a first-round bye with a Panthers loss, a Saints victory or Rams win in Week 17.
All three games that could provide help to the Vikings, though, are scheduled for late-afternoon starts Sunday, meaning Minnesota cannot watch the scoreboard to see if help is on the way during its game.
For the Vikings, it's simple: Beat the Bears and get the bye.
"When you get in the playoffs, you have a chance," Zimmer said. "Whatever it is, whether it's sixth seed or second seed, you have a chance. I think our guys feel good about that. This game is important and we need to win this game. If you go back through the history of the league, there's been some [No.] 6 seeds that made it. But most of the time, these teams that only have to play a couple games to get to the big one, there's a lot more of those."
Since 2012, teams with first-round byes are 16-4 in the division round of the playoffs, and only one team in that time (the 2012 Ravens) has reached the Super Bowl without a first-round bye.