Vikings 26, Saints 20: Kirk Cousins Gets it Done in Overtime
In the biggest moment of his football career, two plays just changed everything for Kirk Cousins.
With the Vikings 45 yards from an overtime touchdown that would send them to San Francisco, Cousins seized the moment. He took a deep shot for the first time all game, dropping a dime over the shoulder of Adam Thielen for a 43-yard completion. Suddenly, the Vikings were right there.
In a game no one thought they could win, they were on the doorstep of a trip to San Francisco.
Two plays later, the Vikings sealed the deal. Cousins made sure there would be no epic collapse. He threw a fade route to Kyle Rudolph, who elevated over P.J. Williams and made the grab. After some confusion about a possible review for offensive pass interference, it was over.
The Vikings won the game.
They'll play the 49ers next Saturday for a spot in the NFC Championship game.
But before those two plays in overtime happened, there was a long, winding road to get there.
The Vikings turned a 10-3 deficit into a 20-10 lead by doing everything I thought they'd need to do to have a chance. They got Cook going early; he had 103 of his 130 yards from scrimmage in the first half. Adam Thielen looked like his pre-injury self, with seven catches for 129 yards, including the play of the game in overtime. Cousins didn't need to do a whole lot until the end, but he managed the game effectively.
Most importantly, the Vikings defense came to play. The Vikings defense that had really struggled at times this season stepped up and held the red-hot Saints offense to 20 points, with ten of those coming in the fourth quarter. It was a gem of a defensive coaching effort from Mike Zimmer, who surely heard the questions about his job security that popped up during the past week.
Zimmer moved starting defensive ends Everson Griffen and Danielle Hunter to the inside of the defensive line on third downs, allowing them to rush Brees up the middle. The duo of Griffen and Hunter combined for three sacks on one of the least-sacked quarterbacks in NFL history. An Anthony Harris interception – his seventh of the season – and two touchdown runs by Cook put the Vikings in position to win the game.
Then the Saints came battling back, because of course they did. It wouldn't have been a Vikings-Saints playoff game if it had a normal ending. Brees connected with Taysom Hill for a 20-yard touchdown to cut it to 20-17. After stopping the Vikings offense, Brees and the Saints again drove down the field and threatened to tie it.
That's when Hunter announced his presence for the latest time.
Even with that fumble recovery, things weren't over. The Vikings were stopped on offense again, including a scare of a Saints touchdown on a Dalvin Cook fumble (he was ruled down before losing the ball). The Saints got the ball back, marched down the field, and tied it on a Will Lutz field goal.
For Vikings fans, it was happening again. The team with the long history of breaking their heart in big moments was going to do it again.
Nope. This time, things were different. The Vikings won the toss, got the ball, and punched their ticket to California.
They're still alive.
