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 have stumbled down the stretch of this most unpredictable — even by 

Their recent defeats have mirrored the bigger picture, with multiple failures in favorable situations to close the deal.

After all those clutch late-game plays last season, some narrow losses seemed inevitable for these Vikings. That hasn't made it any easier for them to stomach, or to excuse.

“We feel like every time we lose it’s self-inflicted,” wide receiver Justin Jefferson said after the 

 in Cincinnati. “It’s not something we’re getting physically out-beat on, so we just need to fix the few things we need to fix on offense, defense and special teams.”

Most clubs in the league could earnestly and accurately draw the same conclusion in defeat, considering how close the standings have been in the salary cap era. Sure enough, despite losing three of their past four games, the Vikings (7-7) remain in control of the second wild-card spot in the NFC.

They can realistically defend their division title, too, by winning each of their last three games — two against NFC North leader Detroit — and the Lions losing Dec. 30 at Dallas. They could have made this process much less stressful, though.

The Vikings were ahead after the two-minute warning Nov. 19 at Denver, Nov. 27 against Chicago and Saturday at Cincinnati and lost all three times by a total of six points.

“Putting ourselves in position to win the football game, but just unable to finish,” coach Kevin O'Connell said Monday, still sounding downcast two days after the loss to the Bengals.

The season-long trend of turnovers is the simplest explanation, whether squandering scoring chances early or ruining rallies late. Despite two costly interceptions in Cincinnati, Nick Mullens will start again at quarterback this week against the Lions.

He’s the most experienced in Minnesota's offense and the 

 on the roster with Kirk Cousins on the mend. He went 26 for 33 for 303 yards and two touchdowns against the Bengals, turnovers notwithstanding.

The fact that O'Connell made the announcement Monday speaks to the true one-week-at-a-time mode the Vikings have been since the October injuries to Jefferson and Cousins.

“With another good week of preparation and building upon the positive things he did last Saturday, my expectation is Nick is going to go out and play really well for us this weekend,” O'Connell said.

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The Minnesota Vikings have stumbled down the stretch of this most unpredictable — even by NFL standards — season.

The Vikings are on a slippery track with a series of late-game slides

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