Stefon Diggs' Miracle TD Gives Vikings Dramatic Win over Drew Brees, Saints
Alec Nathan@@AlecBNathan
Featured ColumnistJanuary 15, 2018
No NFL team has ever played a Super Bowl on its home turf, but the Minnesota Vikings moved one step closer to making history as they outlasted the New Orleans Saints, 29-24, in an instant classic at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday evening.
While the Vikings owned a commanding 17-0 halftime lead, Saints quarterback Drew Brees came out slinging down the stretch and led four scoring drives to put the pressure on Case Keenum to come up clutch in his first career postseason start.
Luckily for Minnesota, Keenum was ready to author a comeback story for the ages.
After Wil Lutz put the Saints up by one when he drilled a 43-yard field goal with 29 seconds remaining, Keenum found Stefon Diggs down the right sideline for a stunning 61-yard touchdown as time expired.
"Damn that s--t felt good," Diggs told ESPN's Josina Anderson following the epic rally.
Prior to Keenum's epic connection with Diggs, the second half was all Brees and the Saints.
New Orleans' signal-caller—who was mired in early struggles and tossed two interceptions during a largely listless first half—came alive and propelled the NFC South champions ahead on two separate occasions over a 2:32 span in the fourth quarter.
The first strike came with 3:01 on the clock, when Brees tossed his third touchdown of the game on a 14-yard pass to running back Alvin Kamara that helped put the Saints up by one, 21-20.
Keenum and the Vikings promptly answered with a nine-play, 40-yard drive to set up Kai Forbath's 53-yard field goal, which shifted all the pressure back to the future Hall of Famer.
Brees proved up to the task and calmly moved the offense 50 yards in 11 plays on a drive that culminated in Lutz's clutch kick, but the Vikings responded with a miracle play that may have hit a little too close to home for the Saints, as ESPN Stats & Info pointed out:
The Vikings will now set their sights on the NFC Championship Game as Keenum and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles prepare to square off in a showdown of former St. Louis Rams signal-callers.
Those two will duke it out with a trip to the Super Bowl hanging in the balance Jan. 21 at Lincoln Financial Field in what figures to be a tightly contested defensive struggle.