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Vikings coach Mike Zimmer was looking on the bright side after Monday night’s loss to the Seahawks.

“Everybody acts like this is the end of the world,” Zimmer said. “We lost one game tonight. We are 8-4, we have four games left, three division games. This is not the end of the world. We have a lot of good football left to play.”

Zimmer is certainly right that it’s not the end of the world or the end of the Vikings’ season. In fact, the Vikings are still heavy favorites to earn the final wild card berth in the NFC.

But it’s awfully hard to reach the Super Bowl as a wild card, and the Vikings no longer control their own path to the NFC North title: Even if the Vikings beat the Packers in Week 16, the Packers would win the NFC North if they win their other three remaining games — and the Packers will be favored in all three of those other games.

So while it’s not the end of the world, it is a big loss. The Vikings now have to win out and hope someone else beats the Packers to win the NFC North. That’s a tall order.