THE GREATEST COMEBACK

VIKINGS 39

COLTS 36

OT

All season long the 2022 Minnesota Vikings have been over and over showing themselves to be masters of the comeback. They made 4th quarter comebacks in wins over the Saints, Bears and Patriots. They made 10 point 4th quarter comebacks to beat the Lions and Commanders. And they of course made a thrilling 17 point comeback in Buffalo in the game of the year. 

Well, game of the year for barely a month. Because on Saturday afternoon these messy, miraculous Vikings found a way to top themselves. In fact, they found a way to top everybody. They set a new NFL record for the largest comeback win EVER, turning an apocalyptic 33-0 halftime deficit into a "can this be real" 39-36 overtime win.

Oh, and the win clinched their first NFC North title in 5 years! 

Of course, the first step to making a big comeback is getting in a big hole and boy oh boy did the Vikings accomplish that in the first half. Short of the US Bank Stadium roof collapsing I don't know what more could have gone wrong in that half.

We give up a long kick return to start the game. We did stop the Colts in the redzone, but that stop was soon forgotten when Ryan Wright got his punt blocked and returned for a touchdown. 

We looked to grab some momentum back next series with a long Dalvin Cook run, but then on the very next play Cook fumbled the ball right back to the Colts, who then gashed the Vikings defense for an easy TD and a stunning 17-0 lead. We weren't even out of the first quarter and the boos were as loud as I have ever heard them. 

Then Kevin O'Connell began to make panic moves that dug the hole deeper. 

On our next series CJ Ham looked to have converted a 3rd and 1 but was ruled short. KOC didn't challenge the spot, but instead decided to go for the 4th down at our own 31. And the call was a Cook run behind a backup center. Cook was stuffed and we turned the ball over. We did stop them for a field goal, but then KOC kept digging. 

The next series was another disaster. After TJ Hockenson inexplicably stumbled and fell short of the sticks on a 3rd down, we faced another 4th and 1 on the same 31 yard line. This time KOC sent out Wright to punt...but he didn't punt. Instead it was a fake, and Wright threw way high and incomplete on a pass that once again handed the Colts a short field. 

Credit due to Ed Donatell's beleaguered defense for again surrendering just a 3 here. But the misery wasn't over. 

The refs started fucking us. Chandon Sullivan appeared to have a clear fumble recovery and touchdown return, but the play.had inexplicably been whistled dead. Then KJ Osborn looked to have hauled in a long strike from Kirk, but the play was inexplicably overturned. Massive momentum plays that we should have had but didn't get. 

Making matters even worse (yes they could get worse) was that after the stolen TD the Colts kept the ball and were able to pin us deep, which led to a pick six off Kirk when Jalen Reagor ran a shitty route. So now it's 30-0.

To cap the worst half of football possibly in Vikings history, we let the Colts go about 65 yards on us to add another field goal, and the score read a grotesque 33-0.

A game that looked to give us a great shot to wrap up the NFC North instead had me sitting there genuinely wondering about wild card tiebreakers. I mean, losing out seemed impossible, but if you  can be down 33 at home to a 4 win team (even one who beat the Chiefs and nearly the Eagles) then nothing can be written off.

The boos began at 17-0 and were even louder as they.left the field at halftime. A whole lot of people left.

There was not just the historical component that told us that any sort of comeback from this was impossible. We also still had to play the 3rd quarter, which all season long has been the Vikings worst frame. 

And then there is just the main reason why any huge comeback is so hard. Just as you need SO much to go wrong to get you in a hole, you need SO much to then go right to get out of it. 

It didn't start right away. It wasn't like we came out guns blazing. Kirk got sacked and we went 3 and out. We even handed the Colts a 1st down on a penalty.

Finally we got a drive. Kirk hit Osborn for 63 yards, most of it YAC, then again in the endzone. So, okay, we averted the shutout. Didn't feel like anything more, especially not when we gave up a solid kick return and a couple first downs to set the Colts up for a long field goal and the lead was back to 29. And we were already getting deep into the 3rd quarter too. 

But our offense had found some momentum and kept it. In 8 plays we got back down the field and CJ Ham pounded in from the 1. 36-14. 

Our defense forced a 3 and out, and we got the ball again heading into the 4th quarter. So, again, it didn't feel that meaningful yet, but we had probably just played our best 3rd quarter all year. 

And our offense was not stopping. Not even after a sack on the first play of this next drive. Kirk then immediately hit Jefferson for 20, with a personal foul tacked on. Just a few plays later it was Jefferson again for the touchdown. 36-21.

By now, the crowd was getting back into it. 33 points with 2 quarters to go? Impossible. 15 points with almost 13 minutes left though?

Our defense was fired up too, and the Colts only ran 4 plays before having to punt. Jalen Reagor had a massive return into Colts territory, but a phantom facemask penalty on Kris Boyd took it away and pinned us at our own 13. 

So what? Kirk hit Osborn for a big 3rd down. Another completion to Jefferson, plus a roughness penalty. But Jefferson had to go out for a play, and immediately Kirk took a deep shot that was to Reagor, who again seemed to stop running his route and the pass was picked off inside the 5. This felt like the backbreaker. The last thing you can do in major comeback mode is turn the ball over. 

But, the defense took advantage of their favorable field position, and forced a quick 3 and out. The Colts took less than a minute off the clock and we had the ball again at midfield.

Kirk immediately hit Thielen and Osborn for first downs. Then Osborn, in his career game, drew a DPI in the endzone. Kirk found Thielen in the back of the endzone, and after Greg Joseph made the PAT again (oh we were sweating those out for sure) this thing was a one score game.

And we should have scored again moments later on defense. The Colts fumbled, and there again was Chandon Sullivan to pick it up and sprint into the endzone, igniting delirium. But the officials AGAIN had blown a play dead early for no reason. I honestly don't even understand the ensuing discussions. But we at least got possession. The refs still flagged Sullivan 15 yards for removing his helmet in anger. Yeah I'd be angry too if I had had 2 touchdowns literally stolen from me. It's astonishing how the refs have done us wrong this year. 

But we had the ball at least. From down 33 to having the ball with a chance to tie. But this wasn't THE drive as it turned out. We got one first down but then a few incompletions and a false start had us in a 4th and 15 hole. Then Kirk had a brain fart and after escaping the pocket tried to run for it. Even one of the great scramblers wasn't making this. It was a turnover on downs and with less than 3 minutes to go that felt like the last gasp. Nice try, Vikings, but not enough.

The Colts tried to run out the clock. One first down would just about ice the game. 3 runs burned out our remaining timeouts and set up a 4th and 1 at our 36. The Colts could try a long field goal here, and given the track record of opposing kickers that would probably be ballgame. 

Instead Jeff Saturday called for a Matt Ryan QB sneak. And we stuffed it. Even when the refs suddenly didn't have a quick whistle and let Ryan keep trying we didn't budge. Even after a replay challenge the call stood. By a half a yard we had one more chance. One last chance to cement this miraculous comeback.

And we didn't even need a whole drive. Kirk lobbed a screen pass to Dalvin, who made a couple of moves then saw daylight, dashing 64 yards for maybe the most thrilling Vikings TD of the whole year. And Cook was not willing to be stopped, carrying a couple would-be tacklers the last 5 yards. Kirk lasered a pass to Hockenson for the 2 and the comeback was complete and US Bank Stadium was in a state of delirium unseen since a certain miracle. 

The comeback was complete, but the game wasn't. We scored so fast the Colts got the ball again. It wasn't even the 2 minute warning yet. But by now it was fucking destiny. Eric Kendricks sacked Ryan to start the drive. Duke Shelley made another of his big plays to break up a 3rd down pass and the Colts had to punt. 

But we couldn't get anything started with our last series and it was off to overtime. 

As with the Bills game we won the toss and got the ball. A roughing the passer and a couple completions got us into fringe field goal range, but a sack and a holding penalty nuked the drive. We could have tried about a 56 yard field goal, but with Greg Joseph that's a mammoth risk, and it would not have won the game. So, perhaps controversially, KOC punted. 

The Colts did pick up a couple first downs but never crossed the 50 and punted it back to us. 

Now, with less than 2 minutes to go in the game KOC faced a perhaps interesting quandary. A tie would secure the NFC North title just as a win would. I honestly might have just tried to bleed the clock, take the tie and with it the division. 

But all credit to this coach and this team. They didn't sit on the ball and take the easy way out. They went for it. Kirk hit Osborn for a tough 15, then drilled Thielen over the middle for another 21, already putting them in field goal range. One final pass to JJ set up Greg Joseph, who came out and drilled the 40 yard field goal that clinched the division and the greatest comeback in NFL history. 

I still have not fully processed this game. The other comeback wins this year felt like reality. This didn't. It was quite literally historic. 33 points down to victory.

I fucking love this Vikings team. We obviously do not know where this season will end, but no matter when that proves to be this team has proven themselves to be a very special team in Vikings history. I have seen better teams, but never one with this much determination. I mean, there were plays during the 2nd half where players were just refusing to be tackled until they had got every last yard possible. They simply do not quit. They won't do it. 

This was one of the greatest football games I have ever seen. It will be remembered forever. I feel grateful for having been present to see it.