The Vikings came back from a 33 point deficit to beat the Colts 39-36 on Saturday. There is a time and a place for this. One of the most absurd challenges in the history of the National Football League was presented to the Minnesota Vikings locker room at halftime by PatrickPeterson. The Vikings had a big deficit. Some players didn't know if he was serious or joking. The National Football League has scored five touchdown in the second half in roughly three out of every 1,000 games. Kevin O'Connell heard him and said he was moved. O'Connell said he would never forget it as long as he lived. The Vikings scored 36 points the rest of the way to win in overtime, capping the largest comeback in NFL history. It takes a brain-twisting series of plays and cooperation from an opponent to accomplish such a feat. While playing for the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI, Matt Ryan lost a 28-3 lead to the New England Pats, but there was nothing he could do to stop the onslaught. The game was played through the eyes of the players and coaches. The Colts had a blocked punt and a touchdown in the first half. The Vikings were outgained by over 200 yards. The Vikings went to the locker room and were booed by the crowd. There is a 1% chance that the Vikings will win at halftime. KirkCousins said that they were kicking our tails. Jefferson said there was no let down. The people were not putting their heads down and just giving up. The moment that we could get some enthusiasm back in this building, no matter how far away, our fans would be right there. When we were down 33-0, my mentality remained the same. I didn't say anything in the first half. Is DukeShelley? We need to score five times to win the game. There are five touchdown in the locker room. I said that. We need more than one touchdown. Don't take it all at once. They should believe in each other. Let's see how it goes. I was not sure if he was being sarcastic or not. He was serious when I saw him. I think he was talking about not allowing them to score anymore. You can get five touchdown if you do. There was a nice moment for me to lead off. I told Pat that he was absolutely right. At the time, we needed that. I've challenged our players before, but this was the most motivating. Colts coach Jeff Saturday told his team that nine of their games have been one- score games. We paid attention to them. How many points they put up was something we knew about. The Vikings adjusted in the second half. They hit Ryan on four of 17 dropbacks in the first half. The Vikings scored four times in a row. The third, an 8-yard pass to Jefferson, made it 36-21 with 13 minutes left in the game. The Vikings have a small chance of winning. In the second half, we had a plan. We put some pressure on him and made some changes. We were able to get two scores. I knew it was possible because of the way we were going. It was just about making sure you don't look too big picture in the second half, because it was about that moment. That wouldn't do reality justice. When we reduced it to 15 I felt like there was 12 minutes left. I think my favorite moment of the whole deal was the touchdown byJJ It was a very difficult route. We needed that, it was a third down. When you are playing against the best defensive backs in the world, you always find a way to get through. His routes are so filthy.@JJettas2 📺: @NFLNetwork pic.twitter.com/3vKI1moIb9
Year QB Yards Opponent 2022 Kirk Cousins 417 Colts 2016 Derek Carr 379 Buccaneers 2008 Kurt Warner 373 Jets Source: Elias Sports Bureau
Jefferson had been running for the entire day. I knew I was going to get him when I acted like I was going to go back in and hit it. Running the same route constantly was all about the preparation.
Gilmore said he made some plays. Two players are going at it.
Ifeadi Odenigbo said they were just like, "Come on, step on their throats." It shows you that it's a sport. The team is playing at home.
The Colts guard said that the crowd was the most loud he had ever heard. They stayed the entire time. They were involved in a lot of it.
The Vikings scored a touchdown on a 1-yard pass from Adam Thielen. It looked like they had tied the game on Sullivan's return.
The original ruling on the field was that the runner that was in the pile was knocked down. A Minnesota player returned it. When the ball came loose, we could see that the runner was still standing. It was clear that it was a recovery bySullivan.
The runner was down due to contact. A recovery by Minnesota followed by a loose ball. We had good views when Minnesota challenged us. We had a clear recovery after an expedited review that said it was a fumbled ball. The only thing we could do was give the ball to Minnesota.
Sullivan needs an explanation for that. There was a ball on the floor. They said the whistle blew when I picked it up.
It was difficult to come back from. To get everyone on the same page, and not worry about it. It was clearly stated. It was obvious that it wasn't staying. It was obvious that we got it. It's unfortunate that it didn't happen. We were angry just enough.
The Vikings failed to score on the next possession. Ryan's quarterback sneak was stopped on fourth-and-1 by the Vikings as the Colts moved the ball to the 36-yard line. The Vikings tied the game on a screen pass to Dalvin Cook. The Vikings have a small chance of winning.
I was really happy with the call. We've converted a lot this season and I felt like we had a good match up. The game would have been finished.
O'Connell said that the screen to Cook was a season defining play.
Dalvin Cook showed why he is Dalvin Cook. To be able to get a big play and score a touchdown at the same time. There is a lot of who Dalvin is. I told him that he had been in a front row for the best plays of his career. It could have been my favorite.
O'Connell was cautious in overtime before Joseph's 40-yard field goal won it for the Vikings.
O'Connell said it was in his head. We began the drive out with a run when we got the ball. If we could get a new set of downs, I was all for it. When we get the first first down, can we eat some clock? Kirk is trustworthy in those moments.
Chris O'Hara, our quarterback coach, said "We're going to run it to start" as soon as they got the ball back. The division is decided by a tie. It would have been nice to know that a few days ago. I'm running on the field and I think a tie will win the division. There are options here.
He said to go. The second call took a long time. I think he's going for the tie. I didn't think he would go for it after he called the dropback. We won the game, which is what we wanted.
In the past, the locker rooms were used for study.
Jefferson thought about it and shed a tear. This is the craziest game I've been in.
At this point in my career, I am just trying to live in the moment and smell the flowers. That's what makes me so emotional. This is what I would like to be doing. I am a player in the National Football League. It's a dream I had as a child. The division was won by us. It's difficult to win the division. This is a wonderful time. It was inspiring to be out there with my teammates and I didn't have to point fingers. We were aware of it. It was a very special event. I will always remember this.
Franklin said, "You give it everything you have." You have been through a lot of challenges. We took that very personal when we heard people talk about us as a joke. From how we came out, you can tell. It is a tough pill to swallow for the game to end the way it did.
The game against Buffalo is going to be talked about for a long time. This is one of the best. In the third quarter, the team was down 33-0. It's amazing.
It's difficult for me to enjoy the process. I would like to like the product. Cooper has grown older and I don't want to end my career without him. I didn't like it.
I want to play a long time for him to remember it, but also to look back and say, "I didn't miss it while I was in it." I enjoyed it so much that I got everything I wanted out of it. You want to savor these moments.
Stephen was a reporter for the Indianapolis Colts.
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