The Minnesota Vikings have to travel to the Superdome to take on the New Orleans Saints in tomorrow’s NFC Championship game.  The Superdome is one of the hardest places to play and the crowd will be rowdy since the Saints are trying to make it to their first Super Bowl.  Good thing for the Vikings that they have one of the best quarterbacks ever in Brett Favre, who has plenty of experience in hostile playoff environments.  Favre had a great game with 4 touchdowns in last weeks in the divisional round, but I think they will try and run the ball more this week for two reasons.  First off the Saints do not have a good run-defense and are gave up 122 rushing yards per game this season.  The second reason is the Vikings will want to keep Drew Brees and the high-scoring Saints’ offense off the field as much as possible.  If they can get Adrian Peterson going and control the time of possession, it will make a world of difference for the Vikings defense.

Speaking of the Vikings’ defense, if they can get some hits on Drew Brees and pressure him, it will limit the Saints’ opportunities for big plays.  They are great at making some game-changing big plays down the field, so if Jared Allen and the defensive line can get some sacks it will keep that from happening.  They need to worry about Reggie Bush too, who played some of the best football of his career last week.  He can hurt you in many ways, as he runs the ball well out of the backfield, is great at making things happen out of screen plays, and is an explosive punt-returner.  The Saints are loaded on offense, so the Vikings are going to need one of their best defensive efforts of the year.  I think this will be a close game, but with the Saints having the home-field and such an explosive offense I am going with them.

PREDICTION:  Minnesota Vikings 28, New Orleans Saints 31

Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings proved they are one of the top teams in the NFC with the beat down they gave to the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Divisional Round over the weekend.  Favre looked like vintage Favre, dodging pass rushers and firing bullets down field for touchdowns.  He and Sidney Rice have found some great chemistry together and they hooked up for some huge plays against the Cowboys.  Favre had 4 touchdown passes, and 3 of them went to Rice.  Favre went 15/24 for 234 yards, while Rice caught 6 balls for 141 yards.  Adrian Peterson worked hard for 63 yards on 26 carries, helping the Vikings control the clock.  The Vikings offense is clicking at a great time.

The defense was perhaps even more responsible for the win than the offense.  They were all over Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, who was leading one of the hottest teams in the NFL with a lot of confidence.  Well, Jared Allen (1 sack, FF) and the Vikings defense harassed Romo all game, sacking him 6 times.  Ray Edwards had 3 of those sacks, which tied a Vikings record.  The Vikings defense forced 3 turnovers, with 2 fumbles and 1 interception.  They also kept a Cowboys running game that rushed for 198 yards a week earlier, to 92 yards.  This was a great all-around effort by the Vikings and its looking like they have a great shot at the Super Bowl.

Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings have had plenty of rest heading into their Divisional Round game against the Dallas Cowboys.  Hopefully for the Vikings’ sake their is no rust from the rest and their fresh legs help them.  They are going up against a Cowboys team that is very hot, winning four straight, including a convincing 34-14 win over the Eagles in the Wild Card round last week.  Jared Allen and company will need to get some hits on Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo, because when he has time he can be as good as any quarterback in the league.  Romo is pretty athletic and uses his legs well, so the Vikings can’t let him roll out and make some big plays down the field.  Marion Barber and Felix Jones can be a dangerous duo in the running game, but the Vikings were one of the best teams in the league at stopping the run so I think they should be able to handle them.  Romo has been playing some of the best football of his career and the Cowboys are clicking at the right time, so this will be a big challenge for the Vikings defense.

Brett Favre looked like he was really starting to break down a few weeks ago, but he finished the season with two solid games.  Add the fact that the 40-year-old Favre has had two weeks to rest up and heal all of the ailments that come with a long 16-game NFL season.  The Cowboys defense is playing some great football, and they will be coming at Favre hard, so the gunslinger has to be careful with the ball.  Favre is known for making some risky passes, and if he does that in this game I think the Cowboys defense will make him pay for it.  Although the Cowboys run-defense is very strong, I think the Vikings should give the ball to Adrian Peterson as much as possible.  Peterson is still the best back in the league to me, despite not having a 100+ rushing yard game since week 10 of the regular season.  If they can get Peterson back to the AP everyone was used to seeing in Minnesota, busting through the hole and breaking tackles for big runs, then the Vikings will win.  However, the Cowboys have been playing such good football and are the hottest team in the league right now, so I think they may be too much for the Vikings to handle.

PREDICTION:  Minnesota Vikings 24, Dallas Cowboys 28

Heading into the playoffs the Vikings have outstanding depth with only maybe the Eagles being able to rival it in the playoffs.  But, 40-year old Brett Favre had the best year of his NFL career and he deserves to be the MVP.  Favre played in all 16 games for the Vikings this season and he completed 363 of 531 passes (68.4%) for 4,202 yards with 33 TD passes and 7 INTs (107.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 9 times for 7 yards (0.8 ypc) this season.  Favre has now played in 289 games in his NFL career and he has completed 6,083 of 9,811 passes (62%) for 69,329 yards with 497 TD passes and 317 INTs (86.6 QB Rating).  Favre has also carried the ball 585 times for 1,836 yards (3.1 ypc) with 14 TD runs.  The Vikings hope the Favre keeps rolling in the playoffs as the Vikings will have their best chance of ever winning a Super Bowl this season.

26-year old Tarvaris Jackson is a solid back-up for the Vikings.  He played in 8 games for the Vikings this season and he completed 14 of 21 passes (66.7%) for 201 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs (113.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 17 times for -10 yards (-0.6 ypc) this year.  Jackson has now played in 33 games in his career with the Vikings and he has completed 320 of 545 passes (58.7%) for 3,643 yards with 21 TD passes and 18 INTs (77.9 QB Rating.  He has also carried the ball 112 times for 472 yards (4.2 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  If Favre decides to play again next season I see the Vikings trying to trade Jackson during the NFL Draft this April.

31-year old Sage Rosenfels is #3 in line.  He did not play in any games this season for the Vikings.  He has played in 32 games in his NFL career and he has completed 351 of 562 passes (62.5%) for 4,156 yards with 30 TD passes and 29 INTs (81.2 QB Rating).  Rosenfels also carried the ball 45 times for 98 yards (2.2 ypc) with a TD run in his career.  One way or another I see Rosenfels being the #2 QB for the Vikings next season.

21-year old WR/KR Percy Harvin has won the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.  He played in 15 games this season for the Vikings and he caught 60 passes for 790 yards (13.2 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  Harvin also carried the ball 15 times for 135 yards (9.0 ypc) this year.  Harvin probably also got bonus points for his special teams work although that shouldn’t have mattered with the voters.  He returned 42 kickoffs for 1,156 yards (27.5 avg) with 2 TD returns for the Vikings this year.  This is just the beginning for Harvin who will likely be a key player for the Vikings for a long, long time.