The Minnesota Vikings will host the New York Giants in the Wild Card round of the NFL Playoffs at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium. The game will be broadcast by Fox with Kevin Burkhardt on play-by-play, Greg Olsen as analyst and Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi on the sidelines.
Minnesota is the No. 3 seed in the NFC with a 13-4 record, while New York (9-7-1) is seeded sixth.
It will be the Vikings’ first home playoff game since January 2018 and will be a rematch of the Dec. 24 thriller that the Vikings claimed with a franchise-record 61-yard field goal by Greg Joseph as time expired.
Also, it’s a head-to-head meeting between two first-year head coaches who have led teams that were not in the playoffs last season. Minnesota's Kevin O'Connell and New York's Brian Daboll are two of the five first-year head coaches to make the postseason (out of 10 who were in their first season with their clubs).
It will be the fourth time the teams have met in the playoffs. The Giants have won two of the three previous postseason meetings.
The Vikings’ win over New York came in the wild card round of the 1997 playoffs at the Meadowlands when they came back from a 22–13 deficit with 90 seconds to play to win 23–22.
Brad Johnson's season-ending surgery allowed an unretired Randall Cunningham to return to a starting quarterback role, and he directed a two-score rally inside of the two-minute warning.
There was some shaky officiating that went both ways in the game, wrongfully giving the Giants and Vikings each a TD.
Replays showed a Jake Reed foot out of bounds on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Cunningham, but after the score, Minnesota recovered an onside kick and turned it into a game-winning 24-yard Eddie Murray field goal.
Postseason history
The Vikings, who joined the NFL in 1961, have played more postseason games than the Giants, who joined the league in 1925.
Minnesota is 21-30 all time, while New York is 24-25. You can find the complete breakdown by season and by team later.
That postseason record for the Vikings doesn’t include something called the Playoff Bowl in the 1968 season.
Minnesota made the playoffs for the first time that season and lost 24-14 on the road to the Baltimore Colts in the divisional round.
But, instead of their season being over the loss, the Vikings went on to play the Dallas Cowboys, who had lost their Divisional round playoff game to the Cleveland Browns 31-20.
The extra game actually started in 1959 when the new AFL was gearing-up to play a full fall season, to compete against the NFL.
Television coverage was still pretty sparse for the NFL, with few games being shown on television during the season. Meanwhile, the AFL got a full network contract to show their games on ABC during the season, and often, these were doubleheader games. NBC would contract the AFL later.
To help get more exposure for their teams, the NFL devised the Bert Bell Benefit Bowl, named after retiring NFL Commissioner Bert Bell, who served in the role from 1946-1959.
The game matched the two losers of the divisional round, to establish the third-best team in the NFL, while giving the viewers one more game to view the product.
Not all were thrilled with the idea of playing an exhibition game after they lost in a Divisional playoff. The players were game to play, as it was another paycheck to earn ($1,200 for each winning player, and $500 for each player on the losing squad), back when players had to get offseason jobs to make ends meet.
However, legendary Hall of Fame Coach Vince Lombardi, whose Packer teams played in two of these games (winning one and losing the other), told the players that the game wasn’t the “Loser’s Bowl” it was the “S**t Bowl.”
The games were played in front of crowds in the 17,000-20,000 range. The AFL and NFL eventually agreed to play in Super Bowl games (known as the AFL-NFL World Championship until Super Bowl III), and interest in the game waned even further for players and fans.
The game was played in the off-week between the Conference Championship and the Title/Super Bowl Games. The AFL never held a similar game.
The Vikings and Cowboys played in the Orange Bowl in Miami in front of tens of thousands of empty seats.
No footage exists of this game, either broadcast or NFL Films. And there are almost no photos of the game available and almost no news services reported in their paper the next day.
This is one of the few known photos:
Despite all of that, it was important enough to the NFL, that the number one CBS broadcast team of Ray Scott and Paul Christman would call the action live.
The game was played on Sunday, Jan. 5, 1969 on a sloppy, muddy mess of a field at the Orange Bowl in Miami before an announced crowd of 22,961.
Minnesota jumped to a 13-0 lead in the first period as Bobby Bryant returned a punt 81 yards for a touchdown and Fred Cox kicked two field goals.
Quarterback Don Meredith rallied the Cowboys to within 13-10 at halftime. Meredith completed 15 of 24 passes for 243 yards and one touchdown and was voted the outstanding player of the game.
Dallas Coach Tom Landry sent Craig Morton in at quarterback for the second half and he threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Craig Baynham for the only score of the second half and Dallas would win 17-13.
Midwest connection
The Giants have a historical connection to the Upper Midwest from hosting training camps in the region.
The club trained at Wisconsin-Superior in 1939, 1941, 1942, 1946, 1947 and 1948. It was at those camps that a young Bud Grant was first exposed to pro football by taking in the practices as a spectator.
In 1952 and 1953, the Giants held their training camp at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter.
Details of the Giants tenure in St. Peter are covered in the book Gustavus Athletics: A Century of Building the Gustie Tradition, 1880-1980 by Lloyd Hollingsworth.
New York also played a pair of preseason games at Parade Stadium in Minneapolis against Green Bay in 1953 (the preseason opener) and in 1955 against the Baltimore Colts, the fourth of six preseason games the club played that season.
The Giants played intra-squad games at St. Peter, promoted as the Green Giant Bowl and at Austin as the Spam Bowl.
Hollingsworth acted as coordinator between the Giants and the college, providing space for their equipment, arranging transportation, scheduling meals, providing field equipment, supervising locker room and laundry facilities, and setting up an auxiliary training room in Rundstrom Hall where they were housed. Fortunately, the number in camp was less than what is prevalent in practice, but 50-60 large pro athletes taxed the small fieldhouse locker rooms, especially on warm, humid August days.
Two Gustie football players, Jim Knight and Roger Carlson, were employed to do the laundry and the custodial work in the fieldhouse. Their daily association with the Giants prompted a criticism by some MIAC coaches, implying that they were practicing with the pros.
Among those living and practicing on campus were some well-known names in the sports world: Tom Landry (famed coach of the Dallas Cowboys), Frank Gifford (popular TV sports announcer), Kyle Rote (legendary all-pro), Dick Nolan (coach of several NFL teams), Bill Austin (later to coach the Giants), Al DeRogotis (later to become a well-known sports commentator). Among others well known in their day: Charlie Conerly (QB), Eddie Price (FB), All-Pro tackle Arnie Weinmeister, All-Pro center Ray Wietecha, Tex Coulter, a tackle who doubled as a cartoonist and artist, some of whose Gustavus campus sketches appeared in the New York papers.
After the two years at Gustavus the Giants moved their training camp to Connecticut in order to be closer to their home office.
Notes
OLB Danielle Hunter sacked Giants QB Daniel Jones twice when the team played on Christmas Eve, his third multi-sack game of the season.
TE T.J. Hockenson caught 13 passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns in Week 16 for the second multi-touchdown game of his career. His 13 receptions set a Vikings single-game record for catches by a tight end.
S Josh Metellus recorded his first career blocked punt in the Dec. 24 game, the first by a Viking since 2009.
WR Justin Jefferson set NFL records for most receptions (324) and most receiving yards (4,825) in a player’s first three seasons after leading the league in receptions (128) and receiving yards (1,809) in 2022.
LB Erik Kendricks led the Vikings in total tackles (137) during the regular season, the seventh time he’s done so. That’s the second-most in franchise history, trailing only Scott Studwell (8).
The Vikings set an NFL record for the most one-score victories in a season, beating the 10-victory record previously held by the 2019 Seattle Seahawks and 1978 Houston Oilers. In 2021, the Vikings played in 14 games that were decided by one score, but won only six of those games.
Vikings playoff results
1968
Division: Baltimore Colts 24, Minnesota Vikings 14
1969
Division: Minnesota Vikings 23, Los Angeles Rams 20
NFL Championship: Minnesota Vikings 27, Cleveland Browns 7
Super Bowl: Kansas City Chiefs 23, Minnesota Vikings 7
1970
Division: San Francisco 49ers 17, Minnesota Vikings 14
1971
Division: Dallas Cowboys 20, Minnesota Vikings 12
1973
Division: Minnesota Vikings 27, Washington Redskins 20
Conference Championship: Minnesota Vikings 27, Dallas Cowboys 10
Super Bowl: Miami Dolphins 24, Minnesota Vikings 7
1974
Division: Minnesota Vikings 30, St. Louis Cardinals 14
Conference Championship: Minnesota Vikings 14, Los Angeles Rams 10
Super Bowl: Pittsburgh Steelers 16, Minnesota Vikings 6
1975
Division: Dallas Cowboys 17, Minnesota Vikings 14
1976
Division: Minnesota Vikings 35, Washington Redskins 20
Conference Championship: Minnesota Vikings 24, Los Angeles Rams 13
Super Bowl: Oakland Raiders 32, Minnesota Vikings 14
1977
Division: Minnesota Vikings 14, Los Angeles Rams 7
Conference Championship: Dallas Cowboys 23, Minnesota Vikings 6
1978
Division: Los Angeles Rams 34, Minnesota Vikings 10
1980
Division: Philadelphia Eagles 31, Minnesota Vikings 16
1982
Wild Card: Minnesota Vikings 30, Atlanta Falcons 24
Division: Washington Redskins 21, Minnesota Vikings 7
1987
Wild Card: Minnesota Vikings 44, New Orleans Saints 10
Division: Minnesota Vikings 36, San Francisco 49ers 24
Conference Championship: Washington Redskins 17, Minnesota Vikings 10
1988
Wild Card: Minnesota Vikings 28, Los Angeles Rams 17
Division: San Francisco 49ers 34, Minnesota Vikings 9
1989
Division: San Francisco 49ers 41, Minnesota Vikings 13
1992
Wild Card: Washington Redskins 24, Minnesota Vikings 7
1993
Wild Card: New York Giants 17, Minnesota Vikings 10
1994
Wild Card: Chicago Bears 35, Minnesota Vikings 18
1996
Wild Card: Dallas Cowboys 40, Minnesota Vikings 15
1997
Wild Card: Minnesota Vikings 23, New York Giants 22
Division: San Francisco 49ers 38, Minnesota Vikings 22
1998
Division: Minnesota Vikings 41, Arizona Cardinals 21
Conference Championship: Atlanta Falcons 30, Minnesota Vikings 27 (OT)
1999
Wild Card: Minnesota Vikings 27, Dallas Cowboys 10
Division: St. Louis Rams 49, Minnesota Vikings 37
2000
Division: Minnesota Vikings 34, New Orleans Saints 16
Conference Championship: New York Giants 41, Minnesota Vikings 0
2004
Wild Card: Minnesota Vikings 31, Green Bay Packers 17
Division: Philadelphia Eagles 27, Minnesota Vikings 14
2008
Wild Card: Philadelphia Eagles 26, Minnesota Vikings 14
2009
Division: Minnesota Vikings 34, Dallas Cowboys 3
Conference Championship: New Orleans Saints 31, Minnesota Vikings 28 (OT)
2012
Wild Card: Green Bay Packers 24, Minnesota Vikings 10
2015
Wild Card: Seattle Seahawks 10, Minnesota Vikings 9
2017
Division: Minnesota Vikings 29, New Orleans Saints 24
Conference Championship: Philadelphia Eagles 38, Minnesota Vikings 7
2019
Wild Card: Minnesota Vikings 26, New Orleans Saints 20 (OT)
Division: San Francisco 49ers 27, Minnesota Vikings 10
Records vs. playoff opponents
The Minnesota Vikings have a record of 21-30 in postseason games, a .412 percentage. Here is the record by team.
Arizona Cardinals 2-0 1.000
Cleveland Browns 1-0 1.000
New Orleans Saints 4-1 .800
Los Angeles Rams 5-2 .714
Atlanta Falcons 1-1 .500
Green Bay Packers 1-1 .500
Washington Commanders 2-3 .400
Dallas Cowboys 3-5 .375
New York Giants 1-2 .333
San Francisco 49ers 1-5 .167
Chicago Bears 0-1 .000
Indianapolis Colts 0-1 .000
Kansas City Chiefs 0-1 .000
Las Vegas Raiders 0-1 .000
Miami Dolphins 0-1 .000
Pittsburgh Steelers 0-1 .000
Seattle Seahawks 0-1 .000
Philadelphia Eagles 0-4 .000
Giants postseason results
1933
NFL Championship: Chicago Bears 23, New York Giants 21
1934
NFL Championship: New York Giants 30, Chicago Bears 13
1935
NFL Championship: Detroit Lions 26, New York Giants 7
1938
NFL Championship: New York Giants 23, Green Bay Packers 17
1939
NFL Championship: Green Bay Packers 27, New York Giants 0
1941
NFL Championship: Chicago Bears 37, New York Giants 9
1944
NFL Championship: Green Bay Packers 14, New York Giants 7
1946
NFL Championship: Chicago Bears 24, New York Giants 14
1950
Division: Cleveland Browns 8, New York Giants 3
1956
NFL Championship: New York Giants 47, Chicago Bears 7
1958
Division: New York Giants 10, Cleveland Browns 0
NFL Championship: Baltimore Colts 23, New York Giants 17 (OT)
1959
NFL Championship: Baltimore Colts 31, New York Giants 16
1961
NFL Championship: Green Bay Packers 37, New York Giants 0
1962
NFL Championship: Green Bay Packers 16, New York Giants 7
1963
NFL Championship: Chicago Bears 14, New York Giants 10
1981
Wild Card: New York Giants 27, Philadelphia Eagles 21
Division: San Francisco 49ers 38, New York Giants 24
1984
Wild Card: New York Giants 16, Los Angeles Rams 13
Division: San Francisco 49ers 21, New York Giants 10
1985
Wild Card: New York Giants 17, San Francisco 49ers 3
Division: Chicago Bears 21, New York Giants 0
1986
Division: New York Giants 49, San Francisco 49ers 3
Conference Championship: New York Giants 17, Washington Redskins 0
Super Bowl: New York Giants 39, Denver Broncos 20
1989
Division: Los Angeles Rams 19, New York Giants 13
1990
Division: New York Giants 31, Chicago Bears 3
Conference Championship: New York Giants 15, San Francisco 49ers 13
Super Bowl: New York Giants 20, Buffalo Bills 19
1993
Wild Card: New York Giants 17, Minnesota Vikings 10
Division: San Francisco 49ers 44, New York Giants 3
1997
Wild Card: Minnesota Vikings 23, New York Giants 22
2000
Division: New York Giants 20, Philadelphia Eagles 10
Conference Championship: New York Giants 41, Minnesota Vikings 0
Super Bowl: Baltimore Ravens 34, New York Giants 7
2002
Wild Card: San Francisco 49ers 39, New York Giants 38
2005
Wild Card: Carolina Panthers 23, New York Giants 0
2006
Wild Card: Philadelphia Eagles 23, New York Giants 20
2007
Wild Card: New York Giants 24, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 14
Division: New York Giants 21, Dallas Cowboys 17
Conference Championship: New York Giants 23, Green Bay Packers 20
Super Bowl: New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14
2008
Division: Philadelphia Eagles 23, New York Giants 11
2011
Wild Card: New York Giants 24, Atlanta Falcons 2
Division: New York Giants 37, Green Bay Packers 20
Conference Championship: New York Giants 20, San Francisco 49ers 17 (OT)
Super Bowl: New York Giants 21, New England Patriots 17
2016
Wild Card: Green Bay Packers 38, New York Giants 13
Records vs. playoff opponents
The New York Giants have a record of 24-25 in postseason games, a .490 percentage. Here is the record by team.
New England Patriots 2-0 1.000
Atlanta Falcons 1-0 1.000
Denver Broncos 1-0 1.000
Buffalo Bills 1-0 1.000
Dallas Cowboys 1-0 1.000
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1-0 1.000
Washington Commanders 1-0 1.000
Minnesota Vikings 2-1 .667
San Francisco 49ers 4-4 .500
Philadelphia Eagles 2-2 .500
Cleveland Browns 1-1 .500
Los Angeles Rams 1-1 .500
Chicago Bears 3-5 .375
Green Bay Packers 3-5 .375
Baltimore Ravens 0-1 .000
Carolina Panthers 0-1 .000
Detroit Lions 0-1 .000
Indianapolis Colts 0-2 .000