I'm a bit late on commenting on the Vikings' last-second win over the New York Giants to catapult them into the playoffs on Sunday, but I do want to put in my two cents worth on the Vikings' effort.
At first glance, the Vikings-Giants Week 17 matchup looked like another one of "those games" for the Vikings, where they play well but almost let things slip away in the end. While I will admit that the time-management towards the end of the game was atrocious (Longwell should have lined up for a much easier field goal than 50 yards) and really can only be blamed on Brad Childress (as he ultimately decides when time-outs should be called in those situations). However, besides that lousy ending that was (again) saved by some Longwell heroics, the Vikes played a much better game than the score indicated.
Tarvaris Jackson was 16/26 with 239 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT. Adrian Peterson rushed for 103 yards on 21 carries. Both Bobby Wade (98 yds) and Bernard Berrian (81 yards) turned in impressive performances. Jackson's INT was also the only Vikings turnover lost in the contest.
So, why the nail-biting 20-19 final outcome? Well, plain and simple, the Giants have a world-class defense in which most starters were NOT resting for the playoffs. I would be very surprised if any team scores 30+ points on that solid D all the way through the playoffs (as far as the G-men go).
Thus, despite two glaring errors (another Peterson fumble and the curious clock management blunder), the Vikings played a pretty solid game against a team that could very well be representing the NFC in the Super Bowl come February.
Most importantly, though, the Vikes didn't collapse when the game was on the line. For all the late-season failures of recent seasons, this team was able to do just enough to get into the "second season", where the slates are wiped clean and anything can happen.
Coming soon...a preview of Vikings/Eagles and all other Wild Card round playoff matchups.
