It's must-win time for a Vikings team that ran from the front all season

The nicest thing you can say about the Vikings is that they aren't that good.

If you take the approach that this is a dominant, 13-victory team that ran away with its division, expectations rise to the point of absurdity, given this team's flaws.

If you take the approach that Kevin O'Connell, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, Kirk Cousins, Justin Jefferson and their supporting cast had to perform brilliantly to drag an average team to unexpected heights, you can justify a series of medal ceremonies.

The 2022 regular season tested the resolve and creativity of those people. The playoffs of January 2023 will test their mettle in a new way.

In the regular season, this team proved its mental toughness and cohesiveness by going 11-0 in one-score games, winning in almost every way a team can win.

The one thing the Vikings haven't done is prevail in a must-win game. Because this group hasn't played one until now.

Blowing out Green Bay on opening day ranks as the Vikings' most important victory. Winning at Buffalo on the strength of Jefferson's catch for the ages ranks as their most spectacular. Winning with a record comeback against the Colts ranks as their most historic.

But winning 11 one-score games is not the first line you'd want to put on your resume, because winning close games against bad teams, or constantly falling behind in the third quarter, is hardly an ideal habit.

What we may find out on Sunday, when the Vikings play the Giants in a first-round playoff at U.S. Bank Stadium, is whether performing in the clutch late in a game translates to winning in the clutch late in a season.

"I think so,'' said O'Connell, the Vikings coach. "Just because once the ball gets kicked off, you know the feeling of being in the moment of the game, and not looking ahead beyond the next snap, is how our team has approached the entire season. I don't think you could have some of the wins we've had, from a comeback standpoint or in the fourth quarter, without being able to bank some of those feelings.''

Veteran receiver Adam Thielen also used a version of the word "feelings.''

"I don't know why, but I feel like in this league, they all feel like must-win games,'' said Thielen, who has played for the Vikings since 2014. "The longer you're in the league, you realize how important each game is. You tend to look back at the season, no matter where or how you finished, whether you won the division or just missed it, you can always look back and be like, 'Man, if we had just played a little better in this game, or finished this game better, we could have been in a better position.' "

Missing out on the No. 2 seed could cost them next week if they can beat the Giants. This week, the Vikings are in an ideal position. They are a 13-win team playing at home against a nine-win team with obvious flaws and a young, midlevel quarterback. They should win going away.

But that's not how this team performs. These Vikings win close and lose big and frequently seem on the verge of implosion. They are also employed by a franchise known for choking in the playoffs.

Which is why, if you believe that midweek interviews are ever revealing, your ears twitched when Cousins, unprompted, mentioned the team psychologist.

Asked about the seeming contradiction of trying to stay relaxed during an elimination game, Cousins said, "It's a great question, one that I'll talk with Dr. Mack — our team psychologist — about, right? How do we play loose? How do we avoid anything that would creep in that would hurt us?''

A Vikings quarterback actually mentioned the team psychologist and the word "hurt'' in the same sentence before a playoff game.

Dr. Brownell Mack is the team clinician and a psychologist.

If the Vikings lose to the Giants, the team should make Dr. Mack available to the entire state.