Minnesota Vikings: 2017 NFC Championship game run
Back in 2014, the Minnesota Vikings believed they found their franchise quarterback, as they took Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater with the final pick in the first round of the NFL Draft.
After a 6-6 record as a starter during his rookie campaign, Bridgewater was 11-5 in his second season and led them to the NFC playoffs. Then, things got bad for him, as he was lost for the entire 2016 season due to a gruesome knee injury suffered during the tail-end of the preseason.
With concerns he may never play again, the Vikings traded a first-round pick for Sam Bradford in 2016. He was 7-8 as a starter but had a really strong statistical season, which gave the Vikings hope going forward. Then, he too suffered an injury in 2017, as his knee started to act up.
After Bradford went 2-0 as the starter, he gave way to Case Keenum the former undrafted journeyman out of Houston. Keenum was supposed to simply keep the team afloat until Bradford could return, but instead, he had himself a career year.
Keenum was 11-3 as the starter and finished with 3,547 yards while tossing 22 touchdowns and just seven picks. Keenum then led them to a win in the NFC Divisional Round of the playoffs, on one of the craziest plays in the history of the NFL.
Down 24-23 following a New Orleans Saints field goal, the Vikings were lined up at the 25-yard line with just 25 seconds remaining. A false start penalty pushed them back five more yards, making things seem even bleaker. Keenum seemed unphased and fired a 19-yard completion to Stefon Diggs, and they called their final timeout.
Two more pass attempts ended up hitting the turf, which set up the “Minneapolis Miracle.” With only 10 seconds left, Keenum fired a deep pass for Diggs, as they were desperately trying to get in range for a field goal.
Rookie New Orleans safety Marcus Williams then whiffed on the tackle and that allowed Diggs, who was looking at the sideline originally, to turn it upfield and go in for a 61-yard miracle touchdown for the win.
Keenum and the Vikings were unable to win the next week versus the Philadelphia Eagles, which would have made things even more interesting, as they would have been the first team to ever play the Super Bowl in their home stadium.