Fansided

Each NFL team's greatest play of all-time and why

There are those plays that bring families together — the moments in the NFL where something amazing happens. It's hard to quantify, but every team has its own "greatest play," and for those who saw it live or in the stadium, it's something they'll tell friends, family, and acquaintances forever.

By Nick Villano

Divisional Round - New Orleans Saints v Minnesota Vikings
Divisional Round - New Orleans Saints v Minnesota Vikings / Hannah Foslien/GettyImages
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Minnesota Vikings - Minneapolis Miracle
January 14, 2018

The Minneapolis Miracle is why fans should never leave a game until the final whistle. Imagine grandfathers telling their little ones “I was there” knowing they were there, but they left to beat the traffic and missed the greatest play in Minnesota Vikings history. The New Orleans Saints just needed to avoid disaster, and they were back on their way to the NFC Championship Game again. They had already come back from 17-0 down to take the lead with under a minute left in the game. Momentum was on their side.

Here’s the thing about momentum: it takes one play to reverse it. With 10 seconds left in regulation and no timeouts on 3rd and 10, Case Keenum launched the ball 27 yards down the field to a roughly open Stefon Diggs. He made a leaping catch and many would expect him to quickly run out of bounds to preserve the clock, but the intelligent play by Diggs to understand that Marcus Williams was all that was between him and paydirt led to this epic play.

Williams tried to go low on Diggs, but he was able to land on his feet, regain his balance, avoid the sideline, and then he was off. It was all green until the grass turned the best shade of purple (at least for Vikings fans). 

This play had everything. A perfect throw, an amazing catch, a dynasty ending before our eyes, a player becoming a star immediately, utter disappointment for one side and utter elation for the other. 

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