Brian Murphy: The 2022 Vikings and the temple of playoffs
When the archeologists excavate the relics from the 2022 Vikings, their eyes will widen and jaws drop as they dust off memories of an NFL season like no other.
Enough shiny baubles and wondrous gems buried among the snakes and Fireball bottles to make Indiana Jones blush.
Thirteen hair-raising victories, including a record 11 by one score or less.
Fantastic finishes and plot twists that would be laughed out of Hollywood.
Heroic performances by a potential hall of fame receiver and huckleberry quarterback who is redefining his career by the week.
An unflappable first-year head coach with a Super Bowl ring who has galvanized a locker room of alpha males while still being carded at bars.
Will the prehistorians in Minnesota finally unearth the lost Ark of the Covenant, that silver ornament known as the Lombardi Trophy, which has eluded the Vikings for 61 years and untold lifetimes?
Moreover, can the tallest of tall tales in the land of Paul Bunyon be told without it?
This is not the greatest Vikings team of all time. Four Super Bowl appearances in the 1970s, a 15-1 romp in 1998 and the lightning they caught in a bottle in 2009 and ’17 – those clubs would like a word.
But no team in purple has turned more water into wine than this merry band of playmakers. We have no idea how this story will end, no matter how many cynics assure you it will end badly, either at the foot of a cursed kicker, the blind eyes of an official or the greased hands of a star running back.
The Giants will have a say this Sunday when they return to U.S. Bank Stadium for a Wild Card rematch just three weeks after Minnesota’s storybook win, when Greg Joseph staggered New York with a 61-yard field goal as time expired.
A favorable matchup for the Vikings to be sure. But hardly a sure thing in this season of the absurd, not only in Minnesota but across the entire league.
The NFL’s entertainment value is off the charts. The betting slips and television ratings drip with gold.
No lead is safe. Momentum shifts every minute because anything can happen at any moment.
I have no doubt we will witness something incredible among the six playoff games this weekend that are a prelude to more January madness. Something magical. And most likely involving the Vikings.
They are not a team of destiny, not with so many obvious flaws and statistical deficiencies that defy logic. But they are destined for something monumental, which will keep the diggers digging for centuries.
Through fanned fingers is the only way to watch this team, which usually means hoping for the best but bracing for the worst. A reflexive defense mechanism oiled by decades of disappointment, not only by the Vikings but every other team in this wasteland of shattered sports dreams.
Justifiable in many ways, misguided in others.
Look around. The memories made and the moments shared this season will be talked about at holiday meals, on the lakes and around the pull tab basket forever.
How would you like to be a Browns fan? Or Jets? Or even Packers?
Watching the Lions dagger Aaron Rodgers at Lambeau while readying for the first Vikings home playoff game in five years has to go down easier than the $12, watered-down cocktails you’ll be swilling in the concourse logjam.
Take a mental snapshot of the last 18 weeks. Hit the playback button on everything you’ve witnessed.
Pounding Green Bay in Week 1.
The fourth-quarter rally to vanquish Detroit in Week 3.
Escaping Washington with another 11th-hour comeback.
Justin Jefferson climbing a stairway to heaven to snatch a fourth-down pass at Buffalo and pulling out an improbable road win in overtime against an elite Bills team.
Falling into the abyss of a 33-0 halftime deficit against the Colts only to mount the greatest comeback in NFL history.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph’s Christmas Eve miracle against the Giants.
Four ugly losses by an average score of 35-13.
Process all that anxiety and exhilaration. Burn it into your brain cells. Appreciate those moments and retrieve them forever.
This may all turn to ash Sunday evening. Or next week in San Francisco. Or later in Philadelphia. Maybe even in the desert of Glendale, Ariz.
Any loss will be scrutinized, and the Vikings rightfully savaged, for failing to complete their decades-long crusade for a championship.
But it should never ruin the 2022 journey when it has provided so many wonderful ruins to discover.
Related: Packers' Jaire Alexander is hearing it from Vikings fans
