Vikings Rally From 17-Point Deficit, Beat Bills 33-30 in Instant Classic
Patrick Peterson caught the ball, his second interception of the afternoon. The veteran cornerback and future Hall of Famer ran a couple yards, slid down, and set off a celebration on the visiting sideline.
Miraculously, the Vikings had just won the game.
A game they trailed 27-10 late in the third quarter.
A game that seemed over not once, not twice, but at myriad different moments.
A game in one of the league's toughest road environments against one of the league's best teams, led by one its best players in quarterback Josh Allen.
A game that will go down as one of the best games not just of the 2022 season, but the 2020s as a whole. Maybe even the 2000s.
The Vikings won it, their seventh consecutive victory, pushing their record to 8-1. They stormed back from a three-score deficit in what is, by far, their most impressive win of the season. Each of the 70,000-plus people at Buffalo's Highmark Stadium — players, coaches, fans, media members, and everyone else — will remember being at this game for the rest of their lives.
Let's go back and recount how the Vikings pulled it off.
When Bills kicker Tyler Bass split the uprights with less than two minutes left in the third quarter to put the Bills up 17, things looked bleak for the Vikings. They had played fairly well at times, but had also missed numerous opportunities, something you generally can't do against Allen and the Bills.
The first sign of life came on the very next offensive play, when Vikings running back Dalvin Cook burst through the left side for an 81-yard touchdown. It was the longest run of his career and the longest run by any player in the NFL this season.
Then came the first stop. With the Bills on the doorstep and facing fourth and short, Peterson intercepted Allen and ran it back near midfield. The Vikings' offense took advantage of the takeaway — something they didn't do after an earlier fumble recovery — and scored on a run by fullback C.J. Ham of all people. Greg Joseph missed the extra point, but it was still a one-score game at 27-23.
Then came the second stop. On 3rd and 15, Allen rifled a pass towards former Vikings star Stefon Diggs — who had a huge game with 12 catches for 128 yards — but safety Harrison Smith made a great play to prevent Diggs from coming down with the ball.
That gave the Vikings the ball back with plenty of time.
A few plays later, things looked bleak once again. After two sacks, the Vikings came out of the two-minute warning facing 4th and 18. That's an awfully tough situation to convert.
That's when Justin Jefferson — who was drafted with the pick the Vikings acquired from the Bills when they traded Diggs — made one of the greatest catches in NFL history (I don't think that's hyperbole, either). Jefferson leapt up and secured a one-handed grab with a defender draped all over him, keeping the Vikings alive.
There was still work to do. It appeared Jefferson scored a touchdown to put the Vikings in front, but it was called back and he was ruled down just shy of the goal line. On 4th and goal, Cousins threw a short pass to Cook. He dropped it. Game over, right?
Nope. The Bills were offsides.
On the next play, another 4th and goal with less than a minute left, Cousins was stuffed on a QB sneak, giving the Bills the ball back. The Vikings had just one timeout. Game over, right?
Nope. Allen fumbled the snap from center Mitch Morse on the very next play and Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks fell on it for a touchdown. The Vikings led 30-27.
Once again, there was more work to do. Allen, who had an unbelievable game — outside of a few key mistakes — just one week after injuring his elbow, drove the Bills down and got them in range for a short field goal to tie the game.
Overtime.
The Vikings won the coin toss, successfully calling tails for the second time. On second and 22, Cousins threw a ball up for Jefferson, who drew a pass interference penalty to move the chains. That was a huge break for Minnesota.
Then, facing 3rd and 10, Cousins chucked it up for Jefferson again. He came down with it at the 2, getting both feet down with yet another amazing catch. That grab, his tenth of the day, gave the 23-year-old superstar a career-high 193 receiving yards and capped one of the most incredible individual performances by a wide receiver in recent memory.
Did you think that would seal it? Cousins was sacked again and the Vikings had to settle for a field goal to go up 33-30. The Bills had a chance.
Unsurprisingly, Allen led Buffalo on a march down the field, aided by a Gabe Davis catch that arguably should've been reviewed but wasn't. On 1st and 10 from the 20, Duke Shelley — a cornerback recently signed from the practice squad, on the field because Akayleb Evans had gotten injured earlier in the game and Andrew Booth Jr. was either hurt or benched — broke up a pass in the end zone.
One play later, Peterson jumped a route for his second interception — the 32nd of his career.
Finally, after enough big plays and dramatic twists to fill a Hollywood blockbuster, the game was over.
The Vikings won it.
Somehow.
Does this team have a little bit of magic to it, or what?
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