For the Vikings offense, Sidney Rice is the easy-pass lane on the freeway. He's the fireplace that starts with the flip of a switch. He's the pass-catching equivalent of indoor plumbing, smart phones and snow tires.

Rice, the rehabilitated receiver, isn't necessarily the player who makes the Vikings offense go; he's the one who makes the going easier.

Three times during a 38-14 victory over Buffalo on Sunday, quarterback Tarvaris Jackson threw imprecise passes in the general vicinity of Rice, who was playing in only his third game this season after having hip surgery this summer.

Rice turned an underthrown pass into a 46-yard catch. He turned a pass into double coverage into a larcenous touchdown with what he called a "scoop" catch over a Bills defender. Then Rice turned a late, wide throw toward the side of the end zone into another diving touchdown.

"He made jaw-dropping plays," said running back Adrian Peterson.

With the Vikings limited to three receivers in uniform and star Percy Harvin at home nursing an illness, Rice spent Sunday reviving this year's offense by reminding everyone what last year's was like, and what this year's could have been.

He caught five passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns, marking just the third time this season the Vikings have had a receiver top 100 yards, and the second time a Vikings receiver has scored twice in a game.

"When he's covered, he's not really covered," Jackson said. "The first TD he caught, that was all him. I just gave him a chance to make a play and you see what he did."

And his second touchdown? "Long arms, man," Jackson said. "I just put it out there, and he went and got it. You don't have to be perfect with him; just give him a chance to make a play."

As Bills safety Donte Whitner said after Rice beat him for a touchdown, "I was tracking the football the entire way. I wish I was tracking him."

Other than turnovers, the most important plays in modern football are those that occur when a long pass hangs in the air, when the possibilities range from interception to incompletion to pass interference to touchdown. As Brett Favre learned last year and Jackson was reminded on Sunday, Rice is the best Vikings receiver at turning jump balls into positive plays since Randy Moss was young and less obviously antagonized by caterers. "That's my job," Rice said. "To come down with the ball."

With the Vikings at 5-7, Rice's big day felt more haunting than thrilling, like seeing an old girlfriend's new wedding photos. Favre's erratic play is the biggest reason the Vikings fell out of contention this season. With Rice healthy, would Favre have played better?

In 2009, Favre didn't hint that he was headed toward a renaissance season until Rice emerged as one of the league's best receivers.

Rice's decision to delay surgery on his hip, costing him half of the regular season, coincided with Favre and the Vikings offense floundering. If Rice had been healthy, the Vikings easily could have beaten New Orleans and Miami to start the season, which could have insulated coach Brad Childress, negated the need to trade for Randy Moss and kept the Vikings in contention all year.

"It would be foolish to say he wouldn't have helped a lot," Favre said. "I think today, some of those catches that he made, which were more numerous as the year progressed last year ... well, it's not luck after a while.

"The guy does not have to be wide open. In fact, I think he's as good when he's double-covered; it seems like he gets even better. There's no doubt that that's a huge part of our offense that we missed this year. That was evident today."

Rice said watching his team struggle without him hurt. "It's always bad sitting back and watching and not being able to help or contribute," he said. "I'm glad to be back."

Jim Souhan can be heard Sundays from 10 a.m. to noon and weekdays at 2:40 p.m. on 1500ESPN. His Twitter name is Souhanstrib. • jsouhan@startribune.com