(Sports Network) - For all the talk of what the Minnesota Vikings had heading into last Sunday's playoff bout with the Philadelphia Eagles, in the end it came down to who they didn't have on the field.

Here is what the Vikings possessed on Sunday. They had the league's top rusher in Adrian Peterson, the top run defense in the NFL and their first NFC North title since 2000.

Here is what Minnesota didn't have when all was said and done. The team was without defensive tackle Pat Williams because of injury and lost safety Darren Sharper during the game as well. They didn't have quarterback Gus Frerotte under center, by their own design, and they didn't have an answer for the Eagles, who left the Metrodome with a 26-14 victory.

Do the Vikings really have anyone to blame but themselves?

"At the end, to win 10 (games) in the regular season and win the division, was a start," said head coach Brad Childress. "Obviously you don't like the fact the postseason finished in a game for us."

It was a bad break that Williams was unable to go after suffering a shoulder injury back in mid-December. Losing Sharper to a high ankle sprain hurt as well. But that ultimately wasn't what cost the Vikings. After all, they still limited Philadelphia to just 67 rushing yards, and take away Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb's screen pass to running back Brian Westbrook that went for 71 yards and a score, and Minnesota holds the Eagles to under 300 net yards of offense.

Granted, a 71-yard catch-and-run is a big play, but the Vikings defense can only do so much. The play did come in the fourth quarter and Minnesota had held the Eagles' offense to a mere three field goals prior to that score.

Instead, Vikings fans can look at two curious moves by Minnesota and Childress -- one in-game and one in-season.

The big thing Childress will take heat for is his decision to go with Tarvaris Jackson at quarterback in the postseason instead of Frerotte, despite the latter going 8-3 as a starter before losing his job to a back injury late in the year. Frerotte took over an 0-2 team and helped turn it into a playoff contender, but that wasn't good enough to get his job back when healthy, which he was for Sunday. Oh yeah, his regular-season play may likely have saved Childress' job as well.

After a strong finish to the season once he took over for an injured Frerotte, Jackson reverted to the form that got him benched two weeks into the campaign. He threw for just 164 yards on 15-of-35 passing versus Philly and tossed a pick-six late in the second quarter that swelled a two-point deficit to a 16-7 disadvantage, shifting momentum the Eagles way.

Count Frerotte as one of those miffed at Childress' decision.

"I just don't know what to think right now," Frerotte told Yahoo! Sports' Michael Silver on Sunday night. "It was a very frustrating experience, because I felt like I should've been the one playing. That might sound selfish, but I think I would've given us the best chance to win."

Frerotte added that he will return home to be with his family before deciding on his future.

It is tough to tell whether Childress is just stubborn when it comes to Jackson, who he drafted in the second round of the 2006 draft to be his quarterback of the future, or if he was just unable to adapt to the situation.

Take this example from Sunday's game. The Vikings ended the regular season having allowed an NFL-high 624 punt return yards and four punts returned for touchdowns.

Yet, in a close game with field position playing a key role, the Vikings kicked to dangerous Philadelphia return man DeSean Jackson five times, which he turned into 109 return yards. One of those was a 62-yard return that set up a field goal.

PONDERING QB FUTURE

The Vikings are coming off a division title but figure to be answering a lot of questions about their 2009 quarterback situation.

Though he may cool down and change his tune, one has to think that Frerotte will not be returning next year to back up Jackson. Only a starting role is likely to entice the 37-year-old to come back.

Then there is Jackson himself. To be fair, Sunday was his first-ever playoff appearance and he faced a team that knows how to rattle a quarterback. Still, is there much positive Jackson can take out of Sunday's loss?

Childress wouldn't commit to Jackson for next season after the loss, saying it was too early to make that type of decision.

"We sure don't make any of those kind of pronouncements after the game, but those are the kind of things we go through here this whole week," the head coach said. "We pull apart the roster and look and see where we're at."

This is where Jackson is at. He is coming off a season -- his third in the NFL -- in which he lost his starting job, got it back due to injury, played well down the stretch but struggled in the postseason. Needless to say, both he and the Vikings may be low on confidence right now.

Jackson, though, isn't worried about next year just yet.

When asked on Sunday if he thought he would be Minnesota's starter next year, he told the Star Tribune, "I'm not going to get into that. I'm going to reflect on this season and relax with my family. I'll look over things, the way things happened this season, and go from there."

Should Minnesota decide to stick with the 25-year-old for next season, that is the type of resilience they will need him to show.

FRAZIER MOVING ON?

One person who might not be around next season is assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, who is already drawing interest from clubs with head coaching vacancies such as Denver, Detroit and St. Louis.

Should Frazier bolt, he would become the second Minnesota defensive coordinator to land a head coaching job in three offseasons. After serving as defensive coordinator for Minnesota in 2006, Mike Tomlin landed the Pittsburgh Steelers' head coaching job in 2007.

Frazier is sure to be a sought-after target after the Vikings finished the regular season with the NFL's top-ranked run defense. Minnesota also ranked sixth in total defense.