Minnesota Vikings pull off the greatest comeback in NFL history

Minnesota Vikings fans experienced plenty of highs and lows this weekend after their team made a historic come-from-behind win over Indiana, defeating the Colts 39-36.  

The Vikings erased their 33-point deficit in what can only be described as the greatest comeback win in NFL history, allowing them to clinch the NFC North Division championship.

Kirk Cousins passed for 460 yards and threw four touchdowns to lead the Vikings to victory after trailing behind at 36-7 late in the third quarter. 

The Vikings became just the third team in football history to win ten games in a season with eight points or fewer, but that wasn’t the biggest record they broke on Saturday. 

No other team in NFL history has ever come from behind at such a large deficit, outsourcing Indiana by 36 points and winning the game in overtime—an absolutely amazing feat of sportsmanship. 

Prior to Saturday’s win, no team had ever come back from a 30-point deficit in regular season play. 

The largest previous comeback in NFL history occurred in 1993 when the Buffalo Bills were able to rebound from 32 points down in their playoff game against the Houston Oilers. But just how did the game unfold?

The first quarter went terribly for the Vikings and the team was trailing by 30 points at the close. The Vikings were able to chip away at the Colts’ lead a K.J. Osborn touchdown put the score at 33-7. But the Colts responded with a field goal late in the third quarter. 

It was just after this field goal that the tide began to turn in the game and the Vikings settled into an epic grove that would see them snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. 

“We’re going to grind it out until they tell us there’s no more ball left to play,” coach Kevin O’Connell said.

C.J. Ham added a Viking touchdown late in the third and Cousins hit the mark on a pass to Justin Jefferson to make the score 36-21 early in the fourth quarter. 

This was about the time the Vikings' defensive line finally showed up to play and racked up stop after stop, pushing the offensive back to the Vikings. 

Cousins was able to hit an epic throw to Adam Thielen with 5:30 left in the game to push the score to  36-28 and Dalvin Cook took a screen pass at the 64-yard line all the way to the Colts’ endzone. 

If Cook’s touchdown sent the stadium into a frenzy, then T.J. Hockenson’s much-needed two-point conversion to tie the game blew the lid off of the Bank Stadium and sent the game into overtime. 

Both teams were unable to score during their first possessions of the ball but within two minutes of the Vikings' second possession, Greg Joseph kicked the game-winning field goal to complete the team's historic Hollywood comeback.

The whole game was a wild rollercoaster ride but in the end, the Vikings’ proved to be the team that could hold their cool under the pressure. 

"I'll never forget it as long as I live," said coach Kevin O'Connell, only moments after his team achieved one of the greatest feats in NFL history.