Vikings are out of it ... right?

A quick Four Downs while wondering if perhaps we should have checked for a pulse before throwing all that dirt on the Vikings ...

FIRST DOWN:

Yeah, I know. The Vikings are done. Finished. Kaput. I'm totally convinced of that.

However ...

I started wondering. It was about the time an angry emailer accused me of having never liked the Bears. I told him/her that's not true. I like the Bears to lose to Detroit this week. It's my upset special. Just have a funny feeling that the Lions have a surge left in them. I also want to see what comes the week after Jay Cutler had his best game as a pro.

So if the Bears lose and the Vikings beat Buffalo, suddenly you'll see the Vikings start to appear on those "in the hunt" categories. They'd be 5-7 and still three games out (technically four if the Packers beat the 49ers, since the Packers own the tiebreaker).

For what it's worth, since 1990, 14 teams have made the playoffs after having a losing record through the first 11 games. That includes a streak of six consecutive years in which at least one team has done that.

SECOND DOWN:

Now, after all that, watch the Bills win.

Hey, it could happen. In the past six weeks, the Bills have two wins and four three-point losses to division leaders with a combined 31-13 record. And three of those losses were in overtime at Baltimore (8-3), at Kansas City (7-4) and at Pittsburgh (8-3). You think the Bills will wilt in the Metrodome after standing up to three of the league's best teams in three of the toughest places to play in the league?

THIRD DOWN:

In the two best games of the week, I like the Ravens to beat the visiting Steelers, and the Jets to pull an upset at New England. The latter will be especially tough since the game is on Monday night.

The Jets are a similar team that's capable of being too physical for the Patriots. (There I go again. Doubting the Patriots. Generally, that's meant the Patriots will win.)

As for the Ravens-Steelers, it's one of my favorite games to watch. I like the Ravens to pull off the season sweep by winning for the seventh time in the past eight meetings at Baltimore.

Elsewhere, it's not really an interesting game, but the Chargers are always intriguing this time of year. If they beat Oakland, the Chargers will set a record for most consecutive wins in a calendar month. They've won 18 consecutive games in December. That's a feat matched only by the Dolphins' streak of wins in November from 1970-74.

FOURTH DOWN:

It sure looks like Steve Hutchinson's streak of 131 consecutive starts will come to an end. He didn't practice at all this week. I figured he'd practice today at least. But the fact he didn't tells me they can't come up with a cast that allows him to be effective.