Playoffs?

Yep. Got ’em right here. After going 3-13 in 2011, the Vikings finish 2012 with a 10-6 record, good enough for an NFC Wild Card berth. Beating the Packers 37-34 Sunday did the trick for the Purple. It was perhaps the best pro football game ever played in the Metrodome, and that’s saying a lot — with the building’s 30-year history and all.

So with that fantastic preamble, here are three big numbers-behind-the-numbers tied to Sunday’s slobber-knocker:

861

That’s how many rushing yards Adrian Peterson had in December, which is an NFL record, according to the Star Tribunes’ Jim Souhan. It’s also a huge reason the Vikings are in the playoffs.

120.2

That’s Sunday’s career-best quarterback rating for Christian Ponder, who threw was 16 of 28 for 234 yards passing and three touchdowns. Coach Leslie Frazier but it best:“He’s done everything that we’ve asked of him.“

35

Blair Walsh kicked 35 field goals in 2012, tying an NFL rookie record. It’s also the Vikings team record for a season. Walsh, who nailed a 29-yarder for the game-winner, actually had to kick it twice, as Green Bay called a time out to make Walsh think about it. It didn’t matter. As he tells the Pioneer Press: “They can ice me all they want as far as I’m concerned.” Cool.