Six other great things about the Vikings’ Divisional Round win
Brickwallblitz
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Let’s face it, we’re never going to see a better ending to a postseason football game than the one we just saw. It’s been three days since that crazy ending to the Saints-Vikings game, and my mind is still struggling to process how that happened!
That’s what’s so great about sports; every legendary moment has its own style, its own angle, and will never, ever, be replicated for as long as we live. And of course, many famous calls compliment these famous plays, and we’re gonna remember Joe Buck’s “DIGGS! SIDELINE! TOUCHDOWN! UNBELIEVABLE!” for years to come.
But what a lot of people forget is that a game proceeded the final play. To be honest, this felt like two games. The Saints won the first one, but the Vikings won the Sudden Death one which counted over the first one. That’s the only way any of it made any sense to me.
As an outsider to the Vikings (I root for the Browns, and you can see how well that’s turning out), I’ve been fascinated with the team since 2014 and how they’ve been able to build a Super Bowl contending roster. There’s just so many high quality pieces on this team that it’s hard to accurately name the best player!
But that’s not what this last minute article before I move on to Vikings-Eagles is about. This will list six other great things about the Vikings’ improbable win, RE: plays, moments, etc. It was the typical game for a Minnesota sports fan: Full of stress, frustration, and then joy, though not usually in that order.
So with that said, let’s look at six other great things from that win over New Orleans.
1. Adam Thielen was phenomenal
Blah blah blah did you know Adam Thielen grew up a Vikings fan blah blah and is from Detroit Lake blah. You get the concept.
But the reason this constantly gets brought up is because Thielen is an elite receiver, and delivered the goods in his playoff debut as a starter (that is, first playoff game as a starter). While six catches for 74 yards suggests he had an ok game, he was usually finding absurd ways to get open and carried Case Keenum with his ability to box out and go up and grab the ball.
Everything about Thielen’s game is fantastic, but it’s the hands that may be the best in football. It’s literally like he’s putting glue on his gloves; He’ll just grab any ball as long as it’s in his area. Lost in all the madness of the ending, Thielen played another great game.
2. Everson Griffen caused an interception with his back turned to the ball
Seriously…
It should be illegal to have a skillset this amazing. Griffen’s ability to consistently win against edge blocking has made him an otherworldly defensive end, and probably the best one this season. Now he’s doing no look pass deflects.
Is there anything this man cannot do?
3. The Vikings won despite an abysmal rushing performance in the second half
The offense managed 95 yards of rushing, which was ok, but ran the ball poorly in the second half. In fact, the team only had four runs in the second half that netted positive expected points.
This isn’t really a great moment and I apologize for cheating, but it further highlights how miraculous this win was given the circumstances.
4. Andrew Sendejo’s interception
Andrew Sendejo has been an unsung hero at safety for the Vikings this season. With the team as an undrafted free agent out of Rice since 2011, he’s had a great year playing the position.
Against the Saints he had a phenomenal interception that looked like a wide receiver bailing out a quarterback with incredible ball skills. The throw was ill advised, but as you can see in the above GIF, Sender does an excellent job of reading the QB, stopping and resetting his momentum, locating and tracking the ball, and finally pulling it in.
5. Kai Forbath redeemed himself
Before the end of the first half, kicker Kai Forbath shanked a kick wide left that would’ve put the Vikings up 20-0. With the comeback the Saints had, it looked like this would come back to haunt the team. But Forbath was able to hit a clutch field goal to put the team up 23-21. Then the miracle really happened.
Why is this such a big deal? Because with the infamous misses from Gary Anderson and Blair Walsh, it’s nice to see a kicker redeem his mistakes and help the Vikings win a playoff game. Plus, Stefon Diggs refusing to go out of bounds also alleviated the need to kick a game winning field goal with time expiring. So basically it’s good to see a Vikings kicker not haunt the team.
6. This was Mike Zimmer’s first playoff win as a coach
Mike Zimmer has been directly responsible for the turnaround of the Vikings’ defense (and team as a whole). What started as a joke when he arrived became arguably the league’s best unit by the 2017 postseason. Zimmer was able to draft smart and scheme his players the best he possibly could, leading to a dominate unit.
So with his team getting screwed in the 2015 playoffs off Walsh’s shank, it’s nice to see some good luck come Zimmer’s way. In Cincinnati, Zimmer saw zero playoff wins. That his first win as head coach came with an ending like that is just icing on the cake.
Mike Zimmer is a top five coach, and I’m so glad to see him at least move up in the postseason. He should be in the running with Doug Pederson for Coach of the Year. Both face off this Sunday in Philadelphia for the NFC Championship Game.