FBO: The Vikings' playoff issue

Each Tuesday, Vince Verhei of Football Outsiders analyzes a key upset from the previous week in the NFL, specifically in regard to what it means to each team's future. This week's edition focuses on the Arizona Cardinals' defeat of the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night.

Despite their 10-2 record, the Vikings have their flaws, and those flaws were on full display in their 30-17 beatdown at the hands of the Cardinals. The bad news for the Vikings is that Arizona's strengths match up perfectly with their weaknesses. Even worse, a playoff rematch between the two seems inevitable -- and the Cardinals seem like a team designed in a laboratory with the specific goal of ending Minnesota's Super Bowl run.

Is it time to panic in the Twin Cities? It could be. For an explanation via Football Outsiders, you must be an ESPN Insider.

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