EAGAN, Minn. — Fourteen teams are on the dance floor. By next week, eight will remain in the NFL Playoffs.
The Vikings (13-4) will be hosting a home playoff game at U.S. Bank Stadium for the second time in the history of the venue that opened in 2016.
It will be the fourth playoff game in franchise history against the Giants (9-7-1), the third time in a Wild Card Round and first time in Minnesota.
The NFL announced the game time at 3:30 p.m. (CT) Sunday, but kickoff will be 3:40 p.m. for the FOX national broadcast.
Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell and New York's Brian Daboll have each led their teams to the postseason in their rookie years as head coaches, but both have deep playoff experience as assistants.
O'Connell, Vikings Offensive Coordinator Wes Phillips and quarterbacks coach Chris O'Hara all helped the Rams win Super Bowl LVI before heading to Minnesota.
Phillips was asked Thursday about his takeaways from the experience. Instead of February 2022 in Los Angeles, he revisited months that followed in Minnesota when the Vikings began installing their offense.
"You're going through tape from last year, it's just one play here or there, that if we didn't make this play, we never get to the Super Bowl or never win the Super Bowl," Phillips said. "It's really about trying to give them the best plan you can and then the players making plays in those moments. We had a lot of those come up, and some of it, I feel like, whether you like the word 'luck' or not, the stars kind of have to align a little bit for you to win the Super Bowl. I felt that way in the Denver one (Super Bowl 50) when my dad was there, just kind of, 'Man, they can't keep making plays right at the right time when they need it,' and they did. That's kind of how it felt last year. It takes a little bit of that, but it's preparation one week at a time, and 'Don't get ahead of ourselves. Let's focus on the Giants and pore into that.' "
Every play can mean so much more in the playoffs. It's why they are so compelling. So memorable.
Here are all the ways to catch the action, a synopsis of the series history and a key topic addressed this week by Phillips, Defensive Coordinator Ed Donatell and Special Teams Coordinator Matt Daniels.
NATIONAL BROADCAST TELEVISION
FOX (KMSP in the Twin Cities)
Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. (CT) Sunday
Play-by-Play: Kevin Burkhardt
Analyst: Greg Olsen
Field reporters: Erin Andrews & Tom Rinaldi
LOCAL RADIO
Radio: KFAN (100.3-FM), KTLK (1130-AM) and the five-state Vikings Radio Network
Radio Pregame Show: Hosted by Mike Mussman (1 p.m.)
Play-by-Play: Paul Allen
Analyst: Pete Bercich
Field reporter: Ben Leber
New this year: People in Minnesota are able to listen to the Vikings Radio Network broadcast through the iHeartRadio app on their smart devices.
SPANISH RADIO BROADCAST
New for the 2022 season, the Vikings will air a Spanish broadcast of all games.
You can hear the Vikings on Tico Sports at WREY "El Rey" 94.9-FM and 630-AM in the Twin Cities and on Tico-Sports.com, elrey949fm.com and vikings.com. Additionally, the stream will be available as part of NFL+.
Play-by-Play: Gabriel Rios
Analyst: Isaias Nunez Zendejas
NATIONAL RADIO
Westwood One | Station Finder
Play-by-Play: Kevin Harlan
Analyst: Mike Mayock
Field reporter: Scott Kaplan
SATELLITE RADIO
New York: SiriusXM 82 or 225 and the SXM App
Minnesota: SiriusXM 83 or 227 and the SXM App
National: SiriusXM 88 and the SXM App
VIKINGS MOBILE APP
Keep the Vikings nearby wherever you go with the Minnesota Vikings mobile app. A source for news and exclusive features, the app also will stream video broadcasts of games for people in the market/broadcast area of each game.
ADDITIONAL OPTIONS
Click here for the full bevy of options that include over-the-air, cable, satellite, over-the-top and streaming methods.
NFL+ AND NFL+ PREMIUM
Start your free trial of NFL+ today to watch Vikings preseason games live or on-demand.
NFL+ and NFL+ Premium provide all the action when you are on the go. It is available in the NFL app and at NFL.com/plus.
NFL+ is available for $4.99/month or $39.99/year and offers the following:
· Live out-of-market preseason games across devices
· Live local and prime-time regular-season and postseason games on your phone or tablet
· Live game audio (home, away & national calls) for every game of the season
· NFL library programming on-demand, ad-free
NFL+ Premium is available for $9.99/month or $79.99/year and offers all of the NFL+ features and the following:
· Full-game replays across devices (ad-free)
· Condensed game replays across devices (ad-free)
· Coaches film (ad-free)
SERIES HISTORY
Minnesota is 18-12 all-time in 30 games (includes 1-2 in NFC Playoff games) against the New York Giants.
The Vikings have won the past four meetings, a run that began Dec. 27, 2015, at the University of Minnesota.
Phillips on facing a blitz-happy Giants defense led by Wink Martindale, who described himself as 'Blue Collar' and O'Connell as Harry Styles:
"It's going to be a challenge against this defense, just like it was before. I think they pressured us 50 percent of the time, bringing five or more. This guy was the leader, Blue Collar Wink, he was the leader in the league in bringing pressures [in 2022], so that's what we expect. It's definitely a challenge protection wise and really on all downs, whereas some teams are just playing a lot of coverage and you are not necessarily worried about a lot of protection stuff, particularly on early downs, but they have their third-down packages. This guy presents a lot of challenges, and we have to have a real clear plan as to how we want to protect a lot of this stuff."
Donatell on 'what he likes' about facing Giants a second time:
"What do I like? I like that we won that game by a couple points, whatever it was. But you know, I just have so much respect for their coaching staff – [Offensive Coordinator] Mike Kafka and Brian Daboll as it relates specifically to me. I know how they come up with good plans and how they have the ability to adjust, so that's a great challenge there. But when I go in our locker room and when I go out to practice yesterday, these guys built the confidence in me. Eric Kendricks, Pat[rick] Peterson, Za'Darius [Smith] and Danielle [Hunter]. [Jordan] Hicks. I could just about name anybody. But they're kind of taking over our team, and I think you'll like the way we play."
Daniels on Josh Metellus being named a team captain:
"Last week, last Saturday night, we experienced a very special moment for our team, for a very special individual for our team. Josh Metellus was named the ninth captain. You know, the NFL kind of changed the rules up; with Brian O'Neill going down as one of the captains, we were allowed to elect another captain. And so Saturday night, quite frankly, it was almost a unanimous decision to name Josh Metellus captain of the team. I can't say enough about that individual. … You see it from the outside looking in, but now that I've been with this guy, we've dated on a consistent basis, you see how he works, you see how intentional he is about his work – what his process is like, what type of leader he is, how he reacts and is a true teacher in the classroom and how that translates over onto the football field. I just couldn't think of a better individual to earn that honor on our football team. I was really glad his teammates confirmed that. A special moment for Josh Metellus. I can't say how proud I am of that guy."
