3 reasons why the Vikings will win Super Bowl 50
The Minnesota Vikings will host the Seattle Seahawks in the wild-card round. It's certainly a daunting matchup, but by no means one that's impassable for the NFC North champions.
Here are three reasons why the Vikings will not only defeat the Seahawks, but carry the momentum of that win all the way to the Super Bowl, where they will overcome past demons and hoist the Lombardi Trophy for the first time:
Adrian Peterson
At age 30, Adrian Peterson remains the NFL's best pure runner. Despite missing nearly the entirety of the 2014 season, Peterson showed little rust this year en route to an NFL-best 1,485 yards on the ground. It doesn't matter if the Vikings' passing game is sputtering or the offensive line is struggling, Peterson churns out yards.
As the weather turns cold (remember: the Vikings will host the Seahawks outdoors at TCF Bank Stadium) and passing becomes more difficult, Peterson's value will only be heightened.
Peterson won't have many more chances to solidify his Hall of Fame resume with a Super Bowl ring. He'll be plenty motivated to take advantage of this one.
Mike Zimmer's defense is getting healthy
When the Seahawks blew out the Vikings 38-7 in front of their home crowd in Week 13, the Vikings were without defensive tackle Linval Joseph and saw linebacker Anthony Barr and safety Harrison Smith head to the sideline with injuries in the first half. At one point, the Vikings had to insert veteran cornerback Terence Newman at safety because they simply didn't have enough healthy bodies on defense.
Though Joseph remains sidelined, the Vikings boast a much healthier defense now. The unit capped its season in style, holding Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers to under 300 yards with one touchdown and one interception, and Eddie Lacy to just 34 yards on 13 carries in the NFC North title game.
Head coach Mike Zimmer will be fired up for the playoffs. Look for his defense to take on his personality and attack opponents with plenty of confidence and nasty intentions.
Teddy Bridgewater is ready to take the next step
After a slow start to the season, Teddy Bridgewater is showing signs that he's ready to ascend to the next level of the quarterback ranks.
Though the second-year passer struggled against the Packers in the Vikings' regular-season finale, he entered the game with six touchdowns to just one interception over his previous four contests.
Developing chemistry with new Vikings receivers Mike Wallace and Stefon Diggs has been a season-long process for Bridgewater, but there's no denying the pair, plus fellow wideout Jarius Wright, have explosive potential.
If Bridgewater is ready to be the player the Vikings decided he could be when they traded up to take him in the first round of the 2014 draft, he could be the final piece that propels the team to its first Super Bowl title.