Get ready for a chaotic final three weeks of the Vikings season

In that photo you see above, Vikings QB Kirk Cousins is seen earlier this year describing ideas for keeping him from being a close contact for COVID — including, perhaps, surrounding him in Plexiglas in the quarterback room.

The movement of his hands toward each other, though, takes on a new meaning now: The Vikings moving toward an intersection over the course of the final three games — some sort of dramatic conclusion as two opposing forces come together.

A team that has seen more than its share of turbulence in the context of its season and individual games now has three more tries to chart a path forward. That future could be anything from making the playoffs and potentially ensuring a relatively quiet offseason to missing the playoffs and igniting a franchise makeover at head coach, general manager and quarterback.

So, like we talked about on Friday's Daily Delivery podcast: No pressure.

Let's quickly run through what I see as the three plausible scenarios:

*The Vikings run the table or win two out of the next three, get into the playoffs and score a first-round upset win. In that scenario, it's hard to imagine a housecleaning. Mike Zimmer, Rick Spielman and Kirk Cousins are almost certainly back in 2022, with Cousins perhaps signing another short extension to alleviate the pressure of his $45 million cap number.

Likelihood: 15%. Just getting into the playoffs is a big ask given the next two games are against the Rams and Packers — plus Dalvin Cook is on the COVID list and Cousins is on the injury report.

*The Vikings fall flat, lose their next two games and are out of it before a meaningless finale vs. the Bears. In that scenario, it's plausible to imagine wholesale leadership changes and the exploration of a Cousins trade like the one written about here.

Likelihood: 30%. The caveat is the Vikings continue to play hard. This season has been frustrating but not for lack of effort.

*The Vikings land somewhere in the squishy middle, either barely making the playoffs and getting blown out right away or barely missing the playoffs despite a decent effort. At that point, the offseason would be even more intriguing and less clear-cut.

Likelihood: 55%. In other words: Get ready for more chaos.