Have you ever seen a game like that?
Of course you haven’t. None of us have.
The Vikings were down 33-0 at halftime and outscored the Colts 39-3 in the second half and overtime to pull off the largest comeback in NFL history for a 39-36 victory.
It was a performance that essentially had to be seen to be believed. But kicker Greg Joseph nailed a 40-yard field goal through the uprights as time expired in overtime to win the game and clinch the division.
Minnesota’s comeback effort began with K.J. Osborn scoring a 2-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter. After Chase McLaughlin hit a 52-yard field goal to make the score 36-7, C.J. Ham picked up a 1-yard touchdown run toward the end of the third quarter.
Justin Jefferson caught an 8-yard TD and Adam Thielen caught a 1-yard touchdown to make the score 36-28 with 5:30 left in the game.
Minnesota should have scored a defensive touchdown with 3:28 left in the fourth quarter, as Chandon Sullivan picked up a fumble and went 39 yards to the end zone. But Jackson was incorrectly ruled down by contact on the field. And once that happened, even when the play was overturned to fumble, the ball was placed at the spot of the recovery.
Still, the Vikings tied the game at 36-36 when Dalvin Cook took a screen pass 64 yards to the house. And T.J. Hockenson caught a two-point conversion.
Minnesota got the ball first in overtime but its drive stalled and the club punted. The Colts didn’t get into scoring position and punted from its 44-yard line, with Minnesota taking over at its 18-yard line with 1:41 left.
With no timeouts, the Vikings moved into Colts territory with a 21-yard pass from Cousins to Thleien. And when Jefferson caught a pass at Indy’s 27 with just under 20 seconds left, the Colts were flagged for an obvious defensive delay of game as the unit was trying to stop the Vikings from being able to spike the ball.
It didn’t work and Joseph sailed his 40-yard attempt through the uprights to complete the comeback — though it’s worth noting that even if he’d missed it, the Vikings would have clinched the NFC North with a tie.
Cousins finished 34-of-54 passing for 460 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. Osborn had a career day with 10 catches for 157 yards with a touchdown and Jefferson finished with 12 catches for 123 yards.
The second half was such a stark contrast from the first, in which the Colts scored four field goals and a touchdown each from special teams, offense, and defense.
But in the end, the Colts fall to 4-9-1 — 1-4 since Jeff Saturday took over as interim coach.
The Vikings are now 11-3 and will host a postseason game at U.S. Bank Stadium.
And there’s now another Minneapolis Miracle.