The Minnesota Vikings take on the Atlanta Falcons in Week 12 of the 2015 regular season, hoping to string together another victory and hold the NFC North lead.

Any Sunday can yield interesting results in the NFL and as the Minnesota Vikings focus on capturing the NFC North division title, they will need to make sure they do everything right against the Atlanta Falcons.

The Falcons are in the midst of a slump. After starting an impressive 6-1 and winning five straight to open the season, Atlanta has now lost three straight against teams that are less impressive than the Vikings. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers came away with an overtime victory in Week 8, the San Francisco 49ers stole a one-point victory in Week 9, and the Indianapolis Colts won by three in Week 11.

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Close wins and losses count as much as blowouts in the NFL and while the Falcons are clearly not doing as well as the 5-0 start initially indicated, they are not far away from being 9-1 instead of 6-4.

The Vikings will have to ensure they beat a team they are expected to beat and get a strong road win against a reeling playoff contender. It’s time to kick the Atlanta Falcons while they are down.

In order to do that, the Vikings will have to find a way to win. The Falcons are not a pushover team and Minnesota is trying to lick their wounds after a defeat at the hands of the Green Bay Packers. The Packers lost on Thanksgiving day, ceding the top of the NFC North to the Vikings. They can solidify their position with a win here.

Here are four steps to beating the Atlanta Falcons.