Remembering Sidney Rice's 2009 season in Minnesota

With the emergence of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the late 2000s, division-winning seasons for the Minnesota Vikings have come few and far between. However, one of the franchise's great seasons over the last 15 years came in 2009. The team would go 12-4 and make an NFC Championship Game appearance with Hall of Famer Brett Favre under center and future Hall of Fame running back Adrian Peterson. However, one of the forgotten superstars of that Vikings team was Pro Bowl wide receiver Sidney Rice.

Sidney Rice was drafted in 2007 in the second round with the 44th overall pick by Minnesota. He would grow to become Brett Favre's most trusted receiver in 2009 for the NFC North-winning Vikings. He led the team in every major receiving category. He totaled 83 receptions (career-high) on 121 targets (career-high) for 1,312 receiving yards (career-high) and eight touchdowns (career-high). It would be Rice's lone 1,000-yard season and one of just two full seasons that he played in during his seven-year career. 

Rice finished fourth in the NFL in receiving yards, second in yards-per-target (10.8), and fourth in average yards-per-game (82.0). In two playoff games during the 2009 season, Rice caught 10 passes for 184 yards and four touchdowns. He was a dominant deep threat for Favre and then-Vikings head coach Brad Childress.

He would play four total seasons with the Vikings before moving on to play for the Seattle Seahawks (2011-2013). The former South Carolina star would end his career with a Super Bowl ring in Seattle after the Seahawks defeated the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII. However, it is clear that his prime was in Minnesota and despite it being brief, it was a dominant stretch.