How Dangerous Are the Playoff-Bound Minnesota Vikings?

With a 49-17 Week 16 victory over the New York Giants, the Minnesota Vikings are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2012. But can the young Vikes win the NFC North and a playoff game for the first time since 2009? Can they make a Super Bowl run for the first time since 1976? Can they win it all for the first time ever?

The Vikes have rebounded from a tough stretch and should now be viewed as a prime Super Bowl sleeper, but here's a breakdown of what the team has on its plate entering Week 17.

First things first

Of course, it would be easier for the Vikings to make a run if they were to win the NFC North. Only three of the last 28 teams to make the Super Bowl were wild-card entries, proving just how hard it is to win three road playoff games in order to get to the big one.

The Vikings finished the season 6-2 at home, scoring a combined 87 points in two blowout victories to wrap up their home schedule. But they're only 4-3 on the road, and they'll have to beat the rival Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field next Sunday night in order to avoid a treacherous road schedule in January. Minnesota lost to the Packers 30-13 last month and hasn't won in Green Bay since '09. 

Category	Minnesota	Opponents
Points/game	43.5	17.0
Yards/game	359.0	328.0
Turnovers	0	5

But don't be surprised if the Vikings put up a hell of a fight in Week 17, because this team is rediscovering its stride after losing three of four games in late November and early December. Minnesota has put together back-to-back blowout victories over half-decent opponents, and quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is on fire.

It doesn't hurt that the Packers continue to lack consistency in what has been an odd year for Aaron Rodgers and Co. And as the Atlanta Falcons proved Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, the loser of the first game typically fares better in the second game of a single-season home-and-home. 

"We've played good on the road this year, but we haven't beaten Green Bay," Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said after the game, per ESPN.com. "So that's something we've got to get done."

The Packers will still be viewed as the favorite entering Sunday's finale, but Green Bay has lost a pair of home games to division rivals Detroit and Chicago this season, so perhaps it's Minnesota's turn.

Is Teddy peaking late again?

There are folks ready to tell us that a team can't win a Super Bowl with a young quarterback like Bridgewater. And those folks will have a good point. At 23 years and two months, Bridgewater is trying to become the youngest starting quarterback in NFL history to win a Super Bowl.

Thus far, this has been the most pass-happy season within the most pass-happy era in NFL history. You simply don't win without consistently excellent performances from your quarterback, and 23-year-old sophomores aren't typically consistently excellent.

As good as future Hall of Famer Adrian Peterson has been, running backs don't carry teams to championships these days. Ten of the last 12 Super Bowls have been won by guys named Brady, Manning, Roethlisberger, Brees or Rodgers. The other two were won by Joe Flacco and Russell Wilson, who had 14 touchdowns and zero interceptions on their respective championship runs.

But Wilson won as a 25-year-old sophomore in 2013. And like Bridgewater, he was buoyed by a great defense and a superstar running back. So Bridgewater has that precedent going for him, and it helps that he seems to be heating up at the ideal time.

After completing 15 of 25 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown in a turnover-free performance Sunday night, Bridgewater now has six touchdowns, no picks, a completion percentage of 70.4 and a passer rating of 123.2 in his last three games. 

Bridgewater started slow as a rookie but was the league's second-highest-rated passer during the final five weeks of the season. The Vikes were a solid 3-2 during that stretch, but it was too little, too late. 

He again started slow this season, but Peterson's presence and improved play on defense saved him. Now, he's hot again, and it's not too late. 

Time frame	Comp.%	TD-INT	YPA	Rating
First 12 games	64.8	8-8	6.9	83.0
Last 3 games	70.4	6-0	9.1	123.2

That should scare any potential January opponent, including the Packers.

The X-factor

And that supporting cast can't be overlooked. The Minnesota defense sacked Eli Manning four times and allowed the Giants to convert only one of 11 third-down attempts Sunday night. It entered Week 16 tied for eighth in terms of points allowed, and it has now surrendered 20 or fewer points in 11 of its 15 games this season, tied for a league high.

The key, though, has been Peterson. Yes, it's been more than a decade since a star running back carried a team on a championship run, but the 30-year-old league-leading rusher has been an exception to a multitude of rules, so don't count him out.

Peterson ran for 104 yards Sunday night, giving him a sizable lead over Doug Martin entering Week 17. He's now gone over the 100-yard mark a league-high seven times this season, with Sunday's performance indicating that the old man isn't losing steam entering January. 

Player	Games
1. Adrian Peterson	7
2. Todd Gurley	5
2. Darren McFadden	5
4. Devonta Freeman	4
4. Chris Johnson	4
4. Doug Martin	4
4. Thomas Rawls	4
4. DeAngelo Williams	4

Peterson's boom-or-bust season has also featured some quiet stretches, but you'd have to think the smell of playoff football will inspire him to raise his level of play in the weeks to come. And if, indeed, Bridgewater has found a groove with his speedy receivers, the team's highest-paid and most famous player should have a chance to rock out.

Health issues are a concern

It's the last week of December. Nobody is healthy. But the Vikings have been hit particularly hard down the stretch.

In fact, Minnesota has spent much of the second half of the season without its best players at all three levels of the defense.

Defensive tackle Linval Joseph, who despite the voting results is having a Pro Bowl-caliber campaign, returned Sunday night after missing three games with a foot injury but left again briefly after injuring his toe. Meanwhile, the Vikings are easing linebacker Anthony Barr (groin) and safety Harrison Smith (knee, hamstring) back, but it's important all three of those key cogs are available entering the new year. 

Left tackle Matt Kalil also left Sunday night's game, but Matt Vensel of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported afterward that X-rays on Kalil's right leg came back negative. That's a big break, because an offensive line that entered Sunday ranked 31st by Pro Football Focus in terms of pass-blocking efficiency can't afford another loss.

Any given Sunday

The Panthers revealed Sunday that nobody is immune to losses in the NFL, and anybody can be beaten. It won't be easy for Minnesota to knock off Carolina or the Arizona Cardinals, who are a combined 27-3. But Bridgewater isn't all that different from a 2013 Russell Wilson, and the Vikes aren't all that different from recent wild-card Super Bowl winners such as the Packers, Giants, Steelers and Ravens.

They certainly aren't a favorite, but when you look at the tasks that lie ahead, it's not impossible to fathom the Vikings winding up in the NFL's winner's circle for the first time in the franchise's 55 seasons.

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFL for Bleacher Report since 2012.

Follow @Brad_Gagnon.