5 Vikings to watch in the Divisional Round vs. the 49ers

Xavier Rhodes – CB

Xavier Rhodes’ struggles this season have been well documented. There was a time when the once shut down corner was rarely targeted in games. Quarterbacks would stay away from him knowing the chance of the pass being complete was very slim. Those days are long over. Rhodes struggled early in the season to cover any receiver he was lined up against. Teams became aware of this and began throwing the ball at him with great success.

Going into the Saints game, Rhodes being lined up against Michael Thomas seemed like a huge mismatch. Thomas was having one of the all-time greatest receiving seasons in the history of the league, and Rhodes couldn’t cover a rookie making his first start.  Rhodes stepped up in a big way last Sunday. He by no means shut down Michael Thomas but he held him to seven catches for 70 yards and most importantly no touchdowns.

It was a pretty shocking performance from Rhodes, as no one saw this coming. He also got hurt during the game but toughed it out until the end. Vikings fans will be keeping a close eye on Rhodes this Sunday to see if this one game resurgence was a fluke or not. If he can continue to play how he did against Michael Thomas and slow down either Emmanuel Sanders or Deebo Samuel, that will definitely help the Vikings chances of winning.