MINNEAPOLIS — Isaiah Hodgins caught one pass for every letter in R-E-S-P-E-C-T and added another for an exclamation point.

One of the highlights of the first Giants-Vikings game was the constant jawing between the relatively unknown receiver Hodgins (eight catches for 89 yards and a touchdown) and future Hall of Fame cornerback Patrick Peterson (interception), who will line up across from each other again Sunday in the playoff rematch.

Did Hodgins earn Peterson’s respect in defeat?

“I can’t speak for him, but I would hope so,” Hodgins said. “If I didn’t, that’s going to be the goal this weekend.”

Likely unbeknownst to Peterson, that one-on-one matchup meant a little something extra to Hodgins, who grew up rooting for the Cardinals because his father, James, played for the team a few years before Peterson began a 10-year stay in Arizona. Peterson signed with the Vikings in 2021.

“I did go into that game with a little bit different mindset just because — it’s crazy to even talk about — Patrick Peterson was someone I watched when I was in high school,” said Hodgins, who was added to the injury report Saturday with an ankle issue, but is expected to play Sunday. “I think I’m going in with the same mentality — if not even more — this game of trying to double back and take advantage of when the ball is thrown to me.”

The trash talk didn’t cross a line, but Peterson knew he had to even the score against a former sixth-round draft pick playing in his 10th career game at the time. Sure enough, with the Giants driving for a potential fourth-quarter go-ahead touchdown, Peterson cut in front of Hodgins for an interception at the 18-yard line.

“We really weren’t bad-talking each other,” Peterson said. “He was just saying he caught a pass on me, and I was just telling him, ‘Just relax. It’s a four-quarter game. If the quarterback continues to try me, I will pick one of his balls off.’ That ended up happening.”

Actually, Peterson claimed Friday that the instigator wasn’t even Hodgins but rather an inactive Giants receiver on the sideline (likely the injured Sterling Shepard).

“I’m not even going to say his name,” Peterson said. “But it started with him. He poked the bear a little bit, and his team had to pay for it.”

Hodgins tries to stay “mellow” before kickoff by looking for kids to play catch with on the sideline or fans to chat with in the stands.

“I feel if you get too hyped too early and you go into the game too antsy then you waste energy. I try to keep that energy for the game,” Hodgins said. “I don’t waste all the trash-talking in the first quarter. It’s a long game.”

Though he didn’t join the Giants until Nov. 2 as a waiver-wire addition from the Bills, Hodgins already has earned a reputation for his big talk.

“He likes that people don’t believe in him. He feeds off of it,” receiver Richie James said. “He talks too much sometimes — like he’s going to talk about, ‘Hey man, I’m going to get on this dude right here.’ His confidence is contagious.’’

With five touchdowns in his past six games, Hodgins has good reason to be confident. So does Peterson, an eight-time Pro Bowler with 34 career interceptions.

“He definitely was talking about interceptions and, ‘I’m going to lock you up,’” Hodgins said. “Every DB tries to get that trash talk. I respect that. It’s all within the game. [There’s a difference between] keeping it fair, having fun out there, versus really getting personal and letting a guy get in your head. I’ll never let myself get to that point. I don’t want to hurt my team with a stupid penalty or anything.”