so that makes the magic number 3? it would be 2 if the Vikings had lost both of those games to an AFC opponent, being the Saints have all NFC teams left on the schedule. Am i off on this or is this correct?
The magic number is definitely three. It could have potentially been two if both of Minnesota's losses had been to NFC teams and we held the tiebreaker (not sure what the next tiebreaker is). Basically change your statement to say "....if the Vikings had lost both of those games to an NFC opponent and we came out ahead on the next tiebreaker...."