Just as I predicted in my preview for this game... I said that the Vikings would go into halftime down 33-0, only to outscore the Colts 39-3 in the 2nd half/OT and complete the greatest comeback in NFL History!!! What a game!
Things looked grim at halftime for the hometown Vikings. Trailing the terrible Indianapolis Colts 33-0, Patrick Peterson set the tone in the locker room by telling the offense that "we only need 5 touchdowns" and that the defense would continue to hold strong. The 1st half really wasn't at all on the defense. They did give up 1 touchdown and a couple of drives that led to field goals, but the Colts defense had a pick-6, their special teams had a punt block touchdown, and a couple of their field goals came from drives that started on the Vikings side of the 50-yard line due to poor Vikings coaching decisions. Most of the fans stuck around to support the team because we are an awesome sports town, but none of them knew they were sticking around for HISTORY....
Let's take a journey through the 2nd half and OT:
The Vikings FINALLY got onto the board with 8:22 left in the 3rd quarter on a 2-yard TD pass to KJ Osborn, capping off an 88-yard drive and making it 33-7. With 4:53 left in the 3rd quarter, the Colts made a field goal to make it 36-7...still not looking great for the good guys. With 1:13 left in the 3rd quarter, CJ Ham forced his way into the end zone for a 1-yard TD run, cutting the score to 36-14.
Only down 3 touchdowns with a full quarter left... SO YOU'RE SAYING THER'S A CHANCE!
With 12:53 left in the 4th quarter, Justin Jefferson capped off a 61 yard drive with a beautiful route leading to an 8 yard TD catch, making it 36-21! Adam Thielen said "DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME!" as he scored on a 1 yard TD pass to finish off a 50 yard TD drive, narrowing the score to 36-28 with 5:30 left in the game... HOLY SH*T, WE MIGHT ACTUALLY DO THIS! The Vikings got the ball back with a chance to tie with an absurd 2:28 left in the game and Dalvin Cook decided to go BEAST MODE!!! 64 yards away from the end zone, Dalvin Cook was able to take a screen pass all the way to the end zone, running past and through defenders to cut the score to 36-34 with 2:15 left in the game! With just a 2-point conversion left to tie the game, Cousins connected with TJ Hockenson in the middle of the end zone to send the game to OT, tied 36-36! Incredible!
Overtime went exactly how one would expect. There was no scoring for the first 9:57 of OT lol. The Vikings finally drove down with 3 seconds left on the clock and called on Greg Joseph to hit the 40-yard game winning field goal... Greg Joseph, with nerves of steel, ripped the football right through the center of the uprights to finish off one of the most amazing comebacks in SPORTS HISTORY! The Vikings were down by 33 points with about 22 minutes left in the game, only to outscore the Colts 39-3 the rest of the way! This is the type of game that never really sinks in for us fans...it really still feels like a dream to me, but apparently it was real life. This also feels like another magical season, similar to the 2009 and 2017 season. Let's pray they can finish this 2022 season out with a WIN! SKOLLLL!
Alright, time to take a breather...
Week 16, the 11-3 Minnesota Vikings will host the 8-5-1 New York Giants on Christmas Eve. The Giants, like the Vikings, made a great Head Coaching hire this last offseason hiring Brian Daboll and are also performing above expectations this season. The Vikings are the much better team in this matchup, but I do think it will be another close game. Both teams have poor defenses and very good Running Backs. We may see a Cook vs Barkley kind of game. Justin Jefferson is also in a race with Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill to see who can break the all time NFL receiving record, set by Calvin Johnson. So we can expect to see Jefferson put up a huge game as well. The Vikings game last week finished at 4pm on Saturday, and the Giants game finished around 11pm on Sunday. The Giants are also the ones traveling to MN and on 1.5 days less of rest. This is going to be a big advantage for the Vikings. I predict the Vikings to finish Saturday with a 27-23 victory over the Giants, to improve to 12-3 and stay as the #2 seed for another week. Go Vikings!
