Vikings Not What Doctor Ordered for Ailing Giants : Pro football: New York is sliding after losing to the Cowboys and injuries to key players. McMahon-led Minnesota is on the upswing.

It has been but a week since the New York Giants spent five quarters fighting against the best team in football.

They since have lost their best offensive lineman, probably their best defensive back and a few steps off the swagger that carried them through a dream season.

It would be understatement to say that the Minnesota Vikings are the last thing they need to see.

But here the Vikings are, with a renewed Jim McMahon and an inspired defense, walking into Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., today for a first-round playoff game.

Rarely has a postseason event featured teams going in such different directions:

--The Vikings, 6-7 last month, are thrilled to be here.

The Giants hate being here. But they lost to the Dallas Cowboys in an overtime thriller last week for the NFC East championship.

--The Vikings won their last three games and four of their last five, beating playoff-bound Detroit, Green Bay and Kansas City.

The Giants lost their last two games and have not beaten a playoff team all season. They are 1-3 against teams with better than .500 records.

--The Vikings have the top-ranked defense in the NFL.

The Giants have the league’s fifth-ranked defense, but lately they have been hammered by the run.

Emmitt Smith gained 168 yards against them last Sunday. A week earlier, Ron Moore of the Phoenix Cardinals gained 135.

--The Vikings have a streaking running back, Scottie Graham, who began December without having carried the ball and ended the month as the Vikings’ leading rusher. He is averaging 105 yards in four games since becoming the starter.

The Giants have Rodney Hampton, who has gained more than 78 yards in only two of eight games since recovering from knee and ankle injuries.

“The key to the playoffs is what kind of momentum you are building, what kind of energy you are generating,” said Bart Oates, the Giants’ veteran center. “At this stage, everyone is tired, everyone is beat up. The winning team is the team that has something going in their locker room.”

The Giants, under Dan Reeves, voted coach of the year last week, had that something going earlier this year.

Refreshed by the switch to Reeves from overmatched Ray Handley and excited about playing for quarterback Phil Simms again, the Giants won five of their first six games and led the NFC East until the final Sunday of the season.

But their youth--only 18 players have playoff experience--and injuries finally appear to be hurting them.

They have not had a consistently good target for Simms since Mike Sherrard was injured in the sixth game.

And now they won’t have a good blocker to watch Simms’ blind side, because tackle Jumbo Elliott has been sidelined because of a bad back after having been beaten several times by the Cowboys last Sunday.

They also might not have cornerback Mark Collins, who tied for the team lead with four interceptions. Collins suffered a sprained knee in practice Thursday.

Their concentration appears to be wavering, which was addressed by Reeves earlier this week.

“By the time you get to the playoffs, every team is really good. At this level, things have to be done exactly right. Techniques have to be perfect.”

Speaking of perfect, that nearly describes the last three games for McMahon, who had a 101.1 quarterback rating in that span while completing an 8-3 season as a starter.

McMahon is 40-15 against NFC teams, excluding the Vikings, with 15 victories in his last 19 starts against conference opponents.

Despite earlier criticism, he has been a strong leader for a team with 37 players who have playoff experience.

“He is the one advantage we have that a lot of people are overlooking,” linebacker Jack Del Rio said of McMahon. “He has been there before. He does not push the panic button.”

Neither does Simms. But by the end of this afternoon, he might not have a choice.