The Minnesota Vikings are set to host the New York Giants on Sunday afternoon and it should be a tremendous atmosphere for a fanbase that hasn’t hosted a playoff game since the Minneapolis Miracle.
In order for the Vikings to advance to their first divisional round since 2019, they will need to beat a Giants team that they narrowly beat on Christmas Eve with a 27-24 victory.
For the Vikings to get that done, the will need some great performances from their key players. Here are six players that need to have a great performance for the Vikings to win on Sunday.
Kirk Cousins
The Vikings have only made the playoffs in one prior season during Kirk Cousins’ five year tenure. That year, they beat the New Orleans Saints in the wild card round before losing to the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round.
In that win over the Saints, Cousins played extremely well and he will need to do so against a Giants defense that will send a lot of pressure his way. He played well in the first matchup, completing 34-38 for 299 yards and three touchdowns. That kind of efficiency and ball security will be needed against a very aggressive Giants defense.
Justin Jefferson
When you have big games, you need your big players to perform accordingly. Jefferson has stepped up multiple times in big moments, especially against the Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts this season.
In the first matchup, the Giants tried numerous ways to stop Jefferson, including using bracket coverage that he just out leveraged for a touchdown.
Justin Jefferson scores a much needed touchdown and fans started chanting "MVP"pic.twitter.com/hxb2NutD2z
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) December 24, 2022
Jefferson finished the game with 12 receptions for 133 yards and a touchdown, numbers that could easily mean a win in the playoffs for the Vikings.
Oli Udoh
When the Vikings lost Brian O’Neill to a partially torn Achilles tendon, it was one that hurt quite a bit. One of the benefits of the Vikings offense was having the two tackles that could handle anything thrown at them on the outside. Now, they have to restructure their blocking strategy with Udoh taking over.
Against the Bears this past Sunday, Udoh played the entire game and held up well. He had a pass-blocking grade of 79.8 and only allowed one pressure. He will be facing an improved edge rusher duo of Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari and holding up will be key to victory.
Za'Darius Smith
Smith started off the season like a bat out of hell. Through nine games, Smith led the league in pressures and was the NFC defensive player of the month for Octorber. Once November hit, he started to downcycle.
In the last seven games Smith played in the regular season, he put up some paltry number. Smith accumulated 15 tackles, 12 pressures, and 0.5 sacks. Teams had started to focus more on Smith which paved the way for Danielle Hunter to put up bigger numbers. For the Vikings to succeed in the playoffs, they will need a better output from Smith.
Duke Shelley
The Vikings really hit a goldmine when they signed Shelley to the practice squad back in September. A castoff from the Chicago Bears of all teams, Shelley was added to the active roster relatively quickly due to injuries to Cameron Dantzler.
What he gave to the Vikings was a tremendous performance above what anyone could have expected. He graded out as PFF’s 3rd-best coverage corner and snagged his first interception on Sunday against his former team the Bears. Even though he is only 5’8″ tall, Shelley plays bigger and has had success against bigger receivers. The likes of Richie James and Isaiah Hodgins shouldn’t give him much issue.
Patrick Peterson
The Vikings don’t just have one cornerback that is ranked in the top-five of PFF’s coverage grades, they have two as Peterson finished the regular season ranked fourth. He has been the most consistent player on the team for the Vikings this season, but they will need him for more than just the on field play.
Peterson is one of the few players on this team that has made a deep playoff run and that experience will make a big difference as they move forward. He already helped spur the Vikings comeback against the Colts by telling the offense they just needed five touchdowns and that kind of leadership is much-needed during the month of January.
