In the standings, the 9-2 Minnesota Vikings have a two-game advantage over the 7-4 New York Jets, but these teams are closer than their records indicate. As a matter of fact, the Jets (+34) have a better point differential than the Vikings (+5) despite having a more difficult strength-of-schedule (.524 to .490).
Minnesota has some advantages over New York and New York has some advantages over Minnesota. Whichever team does a better job of maximizing its respective mismatches will be the winner.
While both teams have their share of tasty mismatches to exploit, it can be argued that the biggest mismatch of this game lies in the Jets’ favor: defensive tackle Quinnen Williams against the Vikings’ interior offensive line.