Like his season, game has ups and downs for Jackson

Tarvaris Jackson required Gus Frerotte's back injury to regain his standing as the Vikings starting quarterback. On Sunday, Jackson required good fortune on a pair of plays in order to avoid public controversy over which quarterback the Purple should go with in its first home playoff game since Jan. 6, 2001.

The afternoon had been rocky for Jackson, and then turned far worse near the end of the third quarter. The Vikings trailed 16-10 and reached first-and-goal at the New York Giants 4-yard line.

Adrian Peterson tried to go left and was met by a couple of Giants. The crowd waited several seconds and then exhaled when it became clear this was one of those occasional carries when Peterson did not fumble.

On second down from the 6, Jackson tried to look off a safety, then hit Bernard Berrian cutting through the end zone. The safety -- James Butler -- read it and picked off Jackson's pass on the run.

Asked about the ill-timed interception, Jackson said: "I tried to drill it in there. The guy made a play."

Jackson was upset enough over this that he hit Butler out of bounds, giving the Giants an added 15 yards. That gave the Super Bowl champs first-and-10 at the Vikings 40, and they moved behind backup quarterback David Carr toward what could have been a clinching touchdown.

Mysteriously, the Giants chose to throw rather than use their power-running game at the Vikings 2, and wound up settling for a field goal. That made it 19-10, and Jackson's day started its transformation from abysmal to triumphant.

The Vikings were second-and-10 at their 46. The Giants were giving rookie Terrell Thomas some time at right corner in place of veteran Corey Webster. Berrian went on a sprint, Thomas fell and the Vikings were back in the game with a 54-yard touchdown.

"Yeah, I saw the corner fall," Jackson said. "I was going over there anyway. We had a one-on-one matchup with Bernard. We'll take that all day."

The Vikings had another escape when John Carney missed a 48-yard field goal. This left the Vikings at their 38 with 3 minutes, 17 seconds remaining and in need of a field goal.

Jackson converted two third downs with passes. Then, Peterson carried for a minus-2, and this put the Vikings at New York's 32 with 29 seconds left. And then 20, and then 10, and finally a timeout with nine seconds remaining.

Where was the urgency? "We were pretty much in field-goal range," Jackson said.

Coach Brad Childress said later he would've liked to have run a play in those disappearing 20 seconds. Jackson explained why that didn't happen.

"I didn't have a play," he said.

The Vikings weren't in a hurry-up, where there are a few set plays, so Jackson had to wait for Childress and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell to make a decision.

Eventually, the Vikings called their last timeout, sent out the field-goal team, then the Giants called a timeout and Childress sent out the offense. Jackson had one thought when he took his last snap:

"Don't get caught with the football in my hands."

He threw incomplete to Bobby Wade, and back came Ryan Longwell to drill a 50-yarder for a 20-19 victory. The Vikings were in the playoffs for the first time in four years.

Two fourth-quarter plays -- the rookie corner's fall that left Berrian open for a touchdown and Longwell's game-ending bomb -- saved Jackson from a week of public and perhaps media suggestions that the Vikings go back to Frerotte.

Asked if he considered a switch after Jackson's end zone interception, Childress said: "I didn't feel like we needed to make the move to Gus. I think Tarvaris has done enough good things and made enough plays."

So, it's official: Jackson starts against Philadelphia in the playoffs?

"Do you think we're going to bring in the righty ... that we're going to the bullpen?" Childress said. "No, he'll be the starter."

Jackson was asked about a season when he was hooked after two starts, basically sat for 10 1/2 games, and now he's the quarterback again.

"I never thought it would happen like this from the offseason," Jackson said. "I never knew that I would be benched. I thought I would have a great season coming into it, but it didn't happen like that.

"Now, we're still here, and that's what it's all about."

Patrick Reusse can be heard weekdays on AM-1500 KSTP at 6:45 and 7:45 a.m. and 4:40 p.m. • preusse@startribune.com