1. The Vikings rediscovered their pass rush during the playoff push.

A fierce pass rush fueled the defense in the first half of the season, but in Weeks 8 through 14, the Vikings did not record more than two sacks in any game. The past two weeks, though, the pass rush has resembled what we saw from the Vikings in the early going. They racked up five sacks against the Bears and four more Sunday night against the Giants without blitzing much, which is critical. So what has been the difference? It comes down to individual performance. Rookie defensive end Danielle Hunter, who had another sack against the Giants, has provided a boost. Brian Robison has been using his quickness when lined up inside. And with the return of nose tackle Linval Joseph on Sunday, the Vikings could save slippery defensive tackle Tom Johnson for pass-rushing situations. He sacked Eli Manning twice.

2. The offensive line pushed the Giants around in the running game.

It took a little while for the running game to get going, but in the second half, the Vikings offensive line bulldozed the Giants all over the frozen tundra of TCF Bank Stadium. Running backs Adrian Peterson and Jerick McKinnon on several occasions had wide running lanes to exploit, including on Peterson's 39-yard gain and McKinnon's 68-yard touchdown jaunt. On both plays, the offensive line, with the help of multiple tight ends, walled off the Giants' front-line defenders, creating off-tackle creases for Peterson and McKinnon, who are hard to chase down once they hit fifth gear. According to ESPN Stats and Information, 169 of their 218 rushing yards came before initial contact, if any Giants defender touched the runner at all. That was the most for the Vikings in a game since Week 10 of the 2012 season.

3. Teddy Bridgewater is beginning to capitalize on deeper throws.

Bridgewater was one of the NFL's least-accurate deep-ball throwers for much of the season. But in the past three games, Bridgewater he often has connected with his receivers on the handful of deeper throws he has attempted. His 28-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kyle Rudolph was another beautiful ball. After looking off safety Landon Collins, he threaded a pass between Collins and fellow safety Craig Dahl to Rudolph, who got inside leverage on Dahl as he ran a nice vertical route up the seam. In the past three games, the second-year QB has completed five of his seven attempts that traveled 20 or more yards downfield with a pair of touchdowns, according to Pro Football Focus. Bridgewater doesn't throw deep often, but when he does he must continue to make defenses pay for loading up to stop Peterson.