The Minnesota Vikings‘ playoff future is in their collective hands with two monster games remaining against elite NFC North Division rivals.

Minnesota hosts the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday, December 29, in the team’s final home game of the season. Should the Vikings win that contest, they will move to 14-2 and head to Ford Field to take on the Detroit Lions in Week 18 for the right to call themselves champions of both the division and the conference.

Minnesota announced some news on Tuesday that bodes well for the franchise’s chances to accomplish both of those goals.

“The Vikings announced linebacker Ivan Pace, Jr., has been designated for return and is returning to practice,” Craig Peters, senior editor of Vikings.com, wrote. “This move opens a 21-day evaluation period for the second-year linebacker who suffered a hamstring injury at Chicago in Week 12.”

While Minnesota has three weeks to get Pace back into the lineup, the team’s hope is to have him ready to go against Green Bay four days from now, per Chris Gates of SB Nation’s Daily Norseman.

Ivan Pace Jr. Will Be Crucial Cog in Run Game Against Tough Packers Offense

The Vikings have missed Pace’s presence in the middle of the field, particularly in the run game.

“While Pace has been out, the Vikings’ run defense that had been the best in the league has struggled a bit, though it still retains its standing among the top run defenses in the NFL,” Gates wrote on Christmas Day. “Pace’s return should help significantly against a Green Bay team that has shown a pretty solid commitment to running the ball in recent weeks.”

The Packers have been excellent on the ground behind running back Josh Jacobs, who came over from the Las Vegas Raiders ahead of the 2024 campaign and has put together what should be a Pro Bowl campaign. Jacobs has rushed the football 278 times for 1,216 yards and 13 TDs. He has also caught 35 passes for 340 receiving yards and 1 score.

Ivan Pace Jr. Among Best Values on Vikings Defense

Pace — who has started 20 of 26 games to this point in his NFL career, including all nine games in which he’s played this season — struggles in pass coverage from the middle linebacker spot but is borderline elite as a run defender and pass rusher with player grades in the mid-80s in both of those categories, per Pro Football Focus.

His traditional counting statistics are excellent as well. Pace has tallied 32 solo tackles and 17 assists this year as well as 26 stops, 15 quarterback pressures, 3 sacks and a fumble return for a touchdown, according to PFF.

During his rookie season in 2023, the undrafted free agent out of Cincinnati also produced 2.5 sacks, 2 pass breakups, an interception and a forced fumble during his rookie campaign, along with 102 combined tackles. Beyond that, Pace is an incredible value in Minnesota, playing in the second season of a three-year deal worth just $2.7 million total.

And while quarterback Sam Darnold and the Vikings offense are getting much of the publicity for the team’s success this season, most analysts have credited the defense as the driving force behind Minnesota’s unexpected run — one that could reasonably carry the franchise all the way to the Super Bowl in New Orleans next February.