The Minnesota Vikings have been arguably the most exciting team in the NFL, for better or worse. On one hand, they are a perfect 11-0 in one-score games, and have won some of the most thrilling games of the season. On the other hand, they lose big when they do fall, so much so that they finished the season with a negative point differential despite having a 13-4 record.
That said, Minnesota is still the NFC North champion and the third seed in the NFC. All that matters in the playoffs is winning, and the Vikings don't care how they do it.
Minnesota begins the quest for its first Lombardi on Sunday with a home game against the New York Giants. These two teams met in the same building just a few weeks ago, in an instant classic. The game came down to the wire, and Greg Joseph nailed a 61-yard field goal as time expired to give Minnesota the win.
If the previous game is anything to go by, this could easily be the best game of Wild Card Weekend. Both teams will have to bring their A-game to advance, especially their key players. In other words, there's a lot of X-factor players in this game.
The one player Vikings fans will point out as the biggest X-factor is superstar wideout Justin Jefferson. As the best wide receiver in the league this season, Jefferson will obviously be an X-factor and have a huge impact on the game. Other big X-factors include Kirk Cousins, Danielle Hunter and the entire offensive line.
However, none of these players take the cake as Minnesota's biggest X-factor. Instead, that honor goes to a key player in the secondary, one who is having an All-Pro worthy season.
Vikings X-Factor vs. Giants: Patrick Peterson
The Vikings' biggest X-factor in the Wild Card Round is none other than cornerback Patrick Peterson. At age 32, the longtime Arizona Cardinal is having a stellar second season in Minnesota. In fact, Peterson has been one of the best cornerbacks in the entire league this year.
Highest-graded CBs this season 🔒 pic.twitter.com/lpFcwWu0Xw
— PFF (@PFF) January 10, 2023
Peterson has set a career-high this season with 66 tackles. More importantly, he has five interceptions and 15 passes defended, the most since his second season back in 2012. Despite his impressive performance, Peterson somehow didn't even get a Pro Bowl nod in one of the biggest snubs this year.
Peterson has been the bright spot on an otherwise awful Vikings pass defense. Minnesota has the second-worst pass defense in the entire league, allowing 265.6 yards per game. It's hard to fault Peterson for that since he's been rock-solid on his side of the field.
Can you tell which side of the field Patrick Peterson played almost 90% of his snaps https://t.co/rVN44TOVGp
— Nick Olson (@NickOlsonNFL) January 13, 2023
In the first game against the Giants, much of the same story played out. Daniel Jones threw for a season-high 334 yards, and Richie James and Isaiah Hodgins both had eight catches for around 90 yards. Peterson wasn't perfect that day, but he still had a key interception to shut down a promising drive.
Peterson will have to shut down the New York offense once again for Minnesota to win this game. That is doubly true this time, as the Vikings listed Harrison Smith as questionable with a knee injury. If the star safety can't go, the Vikings secondary will be even shakier than usual behind Peterson.
Peterson has the unenviable task of holding up Minnesota's poor secondary in a playoff game. If he keeps playing like he has all year though, he and the Vikings should be just fine.
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