EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- This is exactly what Jeff George expected when he signed with the Minnesota Vikings in April.

	Jeff George and the Vikings charge into the playoffs on a serious roll.

An awesome running game, great receivers, stirring special teams and an opportunistic defense that would make football fun again.

A quarterback's dream.

The NFC's preseason Super Bowl favorites finally played a game worthy of a championship contender Sunday when they trounced the New York Giants 34-17.

"I think you have a vision of what to expect," said George, who took over for Randall Cunningham after the Vikings stumbled to a 2-4 start and has guided them into the playoffs.

"Whenever the running goes as well as it did and the defense is playing that way and you're scoring touchdowns off special teams, as a quarterback you can just sit back and watch those guys and not have to do much," George said.

"It was just one of those games where for me it was really enjoyable to watch."

The Vikings so dominated the Giants in their playoff-clinching victory that George only threw four passes after halftime.

"I'd take that type of game every week," George said.

But the Vikings have struggled almost all year, going 6-6 in games decided by a touchdown or less.

"I wish we'd have played better off early in the season, but if there's a time to peak, it's definitely right now," George said.

The Vikings (9-6) can still win the NFC Central and get a first-round bye if they beat Detroit on Sunday and Tampa Bay loses at Chicago.

After stumbling through a sobering season of inconsistency and, at times, downright ineptitude, the Vikings got terrific play from just about everybody Sunday.

Robert Smith, who was threatening to become the franchise's first 1,000-yard rusher without a touchdown, sprinted for a 70-yard score.

Playing with a sprained right ankle, Cris Carter set up two touchdowns by Leroy Hoard and caught a 27-yard TD pass from fellow receiver Randy Moss in helping the Vikings advance to the playoffs for the seventh time in Dennis Green's eight seasons as coach.

John Randle stopped two drives with third-down sacks, and a secondary that has a converted receiver, a rookie and a second-year player held the Giants passing game in check. Plus, Minnesota Moe Williams returned a kickoff for a TD.

The Vikings struggled for 16 weeks to put together an all-around effort, much like several other NFC teams in this topsy-turvy season.

"We've been through some tough times, you've got to have a lot of staying power. We had a lot of patience and we didn't lose it," Hoard said. "A lot of teams lost it. A lot of teams really lost their poise."

Hoard said the early-season struggles have rendered the 1999 Vikings better suited for tough times in the postseason than last year's version that flopped in the playoffs.

"Character probably shows up more in adverse circumstances," Hoard said. "You know, when we were 15-1 and blowing everybody out, you can't talk about too much character. But being 2-4 and then coming back? That says a lot for our team."