Vikings shock the Saints in final seconds to reach NFC Championship

The Minnesota Vikings defeated the New Orleans Saints in the NFC playoffs on Sunday, 29-24. Here are all the highlights, the game recap and final score.

The best game of the week in the NFL Divisional Round slate did not disappoint. In the final seconds, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Case Keenum heaves the greatest touchdown pass in franchise history to lift the home team over the New Orleans Saints. That 61-yard bomb to wide receiver Stefon Diggs shocked the Saints to win 29-24 to advance to the NFC Championship Game.

Minnesota took a 17-0 lead into halftime, completely dominating the Saints. New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees mustered a total of three passing yards in the first quarter against this menacing Mike Zimmer defense of Minnesota. Brees and the Saints offense would come alive in the second half in this thrilling final game of the weekend slate.

It was a clash between two NFC titans with some major history between the two. The hometown Vikings have seen far too many heartbreaking moments, one of which came against these Saint in the 2009 NFC Championship. Though this was a round earlier, you can feel the home crowd erupt in a way Vikings fans have not in a long time.

We had four lead changes in the final four minutes of the game. New Orleans would seize the lead 21-20 on an Alvin Kamara touchdown grab from Brees. Vikings kicker Kai Forbath would then make a 53-yard field goal inside of two minutes. Saints kicker Wil Lutz would drain a 43-yard field goal with 29 seconds left to make it 24-23 Saints.

With almost no chance at victory or even an unrealistic Forbath attempt, Keenum heaved that football and it landed right in Diggs’ arms. The Saints did a horrendous job in covering in the secondary. Once Diggs came down with the grab, he was off to the races, finding the most glorious pay dirt of his life.

The first eight games of the 2017 NFL playoffs have been largely fantastic. With only two games being considered blowouts, we have been fortunate to get six highly competitive and thrilling games in the first two rounds. One could argue that last year yielded only three great games in the entire postseason, including Super Bowl LI between the Atlanta Falcons and the New England Patriots.

Minnesota’s chances at playing Super Bowl LII in its home stadium remain very much in play. However, this team has not gotten to the Super Bowl since the Bud Grant era when Fran Tarkenton was the quarterback. What a win for the Vikings and a soul-crushing loss for the Saints.

Three Stars

1. Stefon Diggs: Diggs had six catches for 137 yards and a game-winning 61-yard touchdown.
2. Case Keenum: Keenum completed 25 of 40 passes for 318 yards, the game-winning touchdown and an interception.
3. Drew Brees: Brees completed 25 of 40 passes for 294 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.

Highlights

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/952669070347845638

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What’s Next?

For the Vikings, they will have to travel to the No. 1 Philadelphia Eagles for the 2017 NFC Championship Game. Kickoff from Lincoln Financial Field will be at 6:40 p.m. ET on Jan. 21. FOX will have the national broadcast with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman in the booth.

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As for the Saints, that’s all she wrote for 2017. It was a great season for New Orleans, as the Saints made the NFC playoffs for the first time since 2013 and won the NFC South for the first time since 2011. While they were able to beat their division rival in the Carolina Panthers last week, they came up one play short of playing in the NFC Championship Game against Philadelphia.