With 31 games remaining in the season, there are two billion ways the season could end. Which of those outcomes are best for the Vikings? It’s questions like these that led us to build our N.F.L. simulator, to let you explore which games matter the most for your team’s playoff chances.

Our goal here is to give you the short version: The Vikings have all but clinched a playoff spot and are now hoping to win their division, which would let them play their first playoff game at home. If they don’t win the division, they also have a slim chance of earning the top wild-card spot — rather than the second spot — which would let them face the relatively weak N.F.C. East champion in the first round, rather than the Packers or the Cardinals.

At the bottom of this article, you’ll find a tree that exhaustively lists all of the ways the Vikings’ season could end. We have listed the games from left to right in order of their importance in determining whether the Vikings make the playoffs. The two most important games, not surprisingly, are the two games that the Vikings still have to play, followed by the Rams-Seahawks game this Sunday.

The Vikings’ best outcome is to win the division. Winning out guarantees it, giving the Vikings the No. 3 seed and a home playoff game during the wild-card round. The Vikings could also win their division if both they and Packers lose this week, and the Vikings beat the Packers in Week 17.