01-13-2023, 02:55 PM
Vikings focus on not making playoff opener "bigger than it is
The Vikings haven’t appeared in a playoff game in three years. They haven’t had one at home in five years. So it sounds as if it will be a big game Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium, right?Well, the Vikings are actually trying to downplay their playoff opener against the New York Giants.
“That’s the biggest thing, we don’t want to make this game bigger than what it is,” veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson said Thursday. “It’s another football game, just in a bigger moment. … Coach (Kevin O’Connell) for the most part has just been going about it just like another week.”
That seems to be a theme for the Vikings (13-4), who are the No. 3 seed in the NFC playoffs and three-point favorites over the No. 6 Giants (9-7-1). Just listen to wide receiver Adam Thielen, who will be appearing in his sixth playoff game for Minnesota.
“The feeling is different, but as far as the process, the process is the exact same,” he said of being in the playoffs. “I think the coaches have done a great job, the players in this locker room have done a great job of not making it bigger than it is. We know it’s win or go home. We have that in the back of our head, but again the process is what’s important.”
But what about Vikings players making their first playoff appearance?
Wide receiver Justin Jefferson, in his third season, said after last Sunday’s 29-13 win at Chicago in the regular-season finale that his playoff debut was “something to be excited about,” But he was much more restrained Thursday.
“It’s really not that much to me,” Jefferson said when asked if he felt any extra oomph heading into Sunday’s game. “I feel like I’ll feel it once I get to the Super Bowl. I feel like that’s when I’ll realize everything that’s going on, but at this moment I’m just trying to get there. At this moment, it’s just people standing in the way of that goal, and I’m just trying to get there any way possible.”
Asked if he considered these playoffs to be Super Bowl or bust, Jefferson said, “Correct.”
Left tackle Christian Darrisaw, in his second season, also will be making his playoff debut. And he, too, brought up the Super Bowl.
“We know our record, and we know what we’re capable of doing,” he said. “We know we can get to that big game if we go out there and execute and play our best ball.”
This will be the Vikings’ first playoff game since losing 27-10 at San Francisco on Jan. 11, 2020. It will be their first postseason home appearance since they defeated New Orleans 29-24 in the Minneapolis Miracle game on Jan. 14, 2018, when Stefon Diggs caught a stunning 61-yard touchdown pass from Case Keenum on the final play.
As for his playoff debut, Darrisaw said he is “excited.” But he stressed he can’t get too amped up.
“I just got to do my normal routine during the week, and just go out there and treat it like a regular game,” he said.
Another high-profile Minnesota player making his postseason debut is tight end T.J. Hockenson. And, yep, he, too, is trying to treat Sunday’s affair like a normal game.
“It’s not like we can change what we’ve done and try to make it more of something than it is because it’s another game, and we’ve had success this year,” said Hockenson, in his fourth season. “So you don’t want to put any more pressure on it. … I’m just taking it like I normally would in any other week. Yeah, there’s a little sense of excitement, but it’s an excitement to play another game, not necessarily because of what it is.”
At least the Vikings might not get rattled if the game goes down to the wire. They went an astounding 11-0 in one-score games during the regular season, setting an NFL record for most such victories.
So, can all those close wins during the regular season help the Vikings during the playoffs?
“I think it just prepares us for if we find ourselves in that position. But we don’t want to find ourselves in that position,” said Peterson, who will take the field for his first postseason game since he played for Arizona in the 2015 NFC Championship Game at Carolina. “So, I just think winning those 11 games is just going to be a tool that we rely on or fall back on if we find ourselves down or need a play.”
After all, in those 11 one-score wins, the Vikings did come from behind eight times in the fourth quarter. One was on Dec. 24, when Greg Joseph kicked a 61-yard field goal on the final play to give Minnesota a 27-24 win over the Giants at U.S. Bank Stadium.
vikings-focus-on-not-making-playoff-opener-vs-giants-bigger-than-it-is
The Vikings haven’t appeared in a playoff game in three years. They haven’t had one at home in five years. So it sounds as if it will be a big game Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium, right?Well, the Vikings are actually trying to downplay their playoff opener against the New York Giants.
“That’s the biggest thing, we don’t want to make this game bigger than what it is,” veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson said Thursday. “It’s another football game, just in a bigger moment. … Coach (Kevin O’Connell) for the most part has just been going about it just like another week.”
That seems to be a theme for the Vikings (13-4), who are the No. 3 seed in the NFC playoffs and three-point favorites over the No. 6 Giants (9-7-1). Just listen to wide receiver Adam Thielen, who will be appearing in his sixth playoff game for Minnesota.
“The feeling is different, but as far as the process, the process is the exact same,” he said of being in the playoffs. “I think the coaches have done a great job, the players in this locker room have done a great job of not making it bigger than it is. We know it’s win or go home. We have that in the back of our head, but again the process is what’s important.”
But what about Vikings players making their first playoff appearance?
Wide receiver Justin Jefferson, in his third season, said after last Sunday’s 29-13 win at Chicago in the regular-season finale that his playoff debut was “something to be excited about,” But he was much more restrained Thursday.
“It’s really not that much to me,” Jefferson said when asked if he felt any extra oomph heading into Sunday’s game. “I feel like I’ll feel it once I get to the Super Bowl. I feel like that’s when I’ll realize everything that’s going on, but at this moment I’m just trying to get there. At this moment, it’s just people standing in the way of that goal, and I’m just trying to get there any way possible.”
Asked if he considered these playoffs to be Super Bowl or bust, Jefferson said, “Correct.”
Left tackle Christian Darrisaw, in his second season, also will be making his playoff debut. And he, too, brought up the Super Bowl.
“We know our record, and we know what we’re capable of doing,” he said. “We know we can get to that big game if we go out there and execute and play our best ball.”
This will be the Vikings’ first playoff game since losing 27-10 at San Francisco on Jan. 11, 2020. It will be their first postseason home appearance since they defeated New Orleans 29-24 in the Minneapolis Miracle game on Jan. 14, 2018, when Stefon Diggs caught a stunning 61-yard touchdown pass from Case Keenum on the final play.
As for his playoff debut, Darrisaw said he is “excited.” But he stressed he can’t get too amped up.
“I just got to do my normal routine during the week, and just go out there and treat it like a regular game,” he said.
Another high-profile Minnesota player making his postseason debut is tight end T.J. Hockenson. And, yep, he, too, is trying to treat Sunday’s affair like a normal game.
“It’s not like we can change what we’ve done and try to make it more of something than it is because it’s another game, and we’ve had success this year,” said Hockenson, in his fourth season. “So you don’t want to put any more pressure on it. … I’m just taking it like I normally would in any other week. Yeah, there’s a little sense of excitement, but it’s an excitement to play another game, not necessarily because of what it is.”
At least the Vikings might not get rattled if the game goes down to the wire. They went an astounding 11-0 in one-score games during the regular season, setting an NFL record for most such victories.
So, can all those close wins during the regular season help the Vikings during the playoffs?
“I think it just prepares us for if we find ourselves in that position. But we don’t want to find ourselves in that position,” said Peterson, who will take the field for his first postseason game since he played for Arizona in the 2015 NFC Championship Game at Carolina. “So, I just think winning those 11 games is just going to be a tool that we rely on or fall back on if we find ourselves down or need a play.”
After all, in those 11 one-score wins, the Vikings did come from behind eight times in the fourth quarter. One was on Dec. 24, when Greg Joseph kicked a 61-yard field goal on the final play to give Minnesota a 27-24 win over the Giants at U.S. Bank Stadium.
vikings-focus-on-not-making-playoff-opener-vs-giants-bigger-than-it-is
