Mike Celizic

Adrian Peterson is one of the best running backs I’ve ever seen. He’s up there with Barry Sanders and Jim Brown and all the rest, a guy who can bust one every time he touches the ball. And still, the Vikings don’t scare me in the playoffs.

Given what they have done, it shouldn’t be that way. The Vikings came from behind on Monday night, overcame a ton of mistakes, played tight defense, and won their fifth straight game, a game that they had to win to solidify what had been a tenuous grip on the final playoff spot in the NFC. They’re 8-6 after having been 3-6, which makes them perhaps the hottest team in the NFC.

But being the best 8-6 team in the NFC is a lot like having the best job on a chain gang. No matter how good that is, it’s still miles behind where you want to be.

The Vikings have a bright future ahead of them. They’ve got a tough defense and they’ve got Peterson. But they also have a quarterback who’s in his second year in the league and his first year as a starter.

The franchise has a lot of faith that Tarvaris Jackson is the real deal, a quarterback who’s going to grow up with Peterson and return the Vikings to the ranks of the NFL’s elite teams. He’s big, he’s strong, and he’s got a good arm. But as was evident on Monday night, he’s not there yet, and until he is, the Vikes are most likely a one-and-done team in the playoffs.

Nothing wrong with that; a lot of teams would like to have the opportunity to lose a playoff game this year. Like the Bears; they’d be delighted to be in that position instead of becoming the latest team to miss the playoffs a year after playing in the Super Bowl.

Special feature Playoff breakdowns Analysis, predictions, more for AFC, NFC championships

But if you’re going to the NFC playoffs, you’d much rather find the Vikes waiting in the wild-card round than the other likely candidate for the final playoff spot — the Saints. New Orleans can put a pile of points on you in a hurry and can move the ball through the air, and that’s always dangerous.

The Vikes, on the other hand, are like a TV screen — one-dimensional. They can run the ball, and they can also run the ball, and if that fails, they can try to run the ball.

Thanks to Peterson and Chester Taylor, Minnesota leads the NFL in rushing at more than 170 yards a game. But thanks to Jackson, only the 49ers are less effective at passing the ball. And when a team has only one weapon, it can be shut down.

No running back, no matter how great, has carried a team to a championship without a dangerous passing game to divert attention from him. Barry Sanders couldn’t do it, O.J. Simpson couldn’t. Neither could Eric Dickerson or Earl Campbell. Walter Payton got to the Super Bowl and won it only when the Bears became a complete team on both sides of the ball. Jim Brown was the same way. And Emmitt Smith was part of one of the best teams ever assembled.

For most of the game Monday night, the Bears showed how it’s done, packing the line of scrimmage and daring Peterson to beat them. And when Jackson tried, he either threw the ball to the wrong team or put it on the ground.

The Bears lost not because the Vikings have Peterson, but because they have an offense that looks as if it’s on loan from Notre Dame. For them, a first down is a triumph and two field goals in a quarter is an absolute explosion. In the end, the enormous pressure the Bears’ non-existent offense put on the defense is what sealed Chicago’s fate. Ultimately, Peterson got his touchdown on a great run and the Vikings got the victory they had to have to stay ahead of the Saints in the wild-card race.

Slide show   Week in Sports Pictures Flying on the hardwood, racing on the rink, getting physical on the gridiron, and much more. more photos

It was great to see, and great to think about what Minnesota can become in the next couple of years. But right now, it’s hard to see them as a team that’s going to be dangerous to either the Cowboys or the Packers, who are the teams to beat in the NFC.

They’ve already lost to Dallas once and to Green Bay twice. They do have wins over the Giants and the Chargers, but they’re not going to face either of those teams in the playoffs. Instead, they’ll get either Tampa or Seattle. They’ll have a chance against either of those teams, but not much more than that.

Right now, the Vikings play defense and run the ball, and come playoff time, that’s simply not enough to get the job done. New Orleans would scare me in the playoffs; Minnesota doesn’t.

MORE FROM NFL

NFL Section Front

Brady vs. Manning — who has the edge? Cimini: Patriots-Colts greatest NFL rivalry of 2000s     Slideshow: Peyton vs. Brady through the years   Video: Playing 'what if?' with Peyton's career Report: Raiders want to fire coach Tom Cable Eagles-Bears matchup will remain Sunday night game PFT: Rest of league is catching up to Broncos PFT: Tomlinson hints at retiring after this season PFT: Ex-Packer Brown rips McCArthy PFT: Quinn reportedly will start for Browns again NFL Section Front   Add NFL headlines to your news reader: