I don't stop playing till the clock hit zero. Diggs jumped in front of Marcus Williams, who rolled awkwardly underneath Diggs during an ill-fated attempt at a tackle.ĭiggs held his ground, kept his feet in bounds and raced untouched into the end zone as the crowd at U.S. The Vikings were out of timeouts and nearly out of options when Keenum dropped back with 10 seconds to go from his 39 and threw high into a crowd. Keenum completed a last-ditch heave near the sideline Sunday on the game's final play, and Stefon Diggs slithered away for a 61-yard touchdown to give Minnesota a 29-24 victory over New Orleans and send the Vikings to the NFC championship game, with one more win needed to become a first-time Super Bowl host.ĭrew Brees had driven the Saints in position for Wil Lutz's go-ahead 43-yard field goal with 25 seconds remaining, punctuating a steely rally from a 17-point deficit that stood until 1:16 was left in the third quarter. “I’m going to take it upon myself,” Williams said after composing himself for a stand-up performance in front of the assembled media, “to make sure nothing like this happens again to me.MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - There wasn't much left for Case Keenum to do but to fling the ball deep and hope for a miracle. Later, while the delirium echoed, Williams, the 42nd overall selection in last April’s NFL draft, sat sobbing in front of his cubicle in the Saints’ locker room. His 61-yard touchdown catch was one of the NFL’s all-time last-play stunners and it erased four decades of heartache for a franchise that was victimized by Drew Pearson’s original “Hail Mary” catch Gary Anderson missing his only field goal of the season in the NFC title game Brett Favre throwing across his body for a game-destroying pick in another NFC championship contest and Blair Walsh shanking a short field goal against Seattle. But he kept his balance, his cool – and stayed in bounds – and shot toward the end zone like a sprinter coming out of the blocks. Had he stumbled there, he may have been caught and time would run out. Williams awkwardly whiffed on Diggs, taking out cornerback Ken Crawley as Diggs came down, tucked the ball in his right arm and stuck his left hand in the turf to stay up. A pass interference flag would stop the clock with about 5 seconds left, giving the Vikings a chance at a field goal. Williams, who had a key interception on a floater to Diggs in the third quarter, arrived a tad early. If he slipped, then I was going to try to stay up and keep it going.” “I took a picture before I turned around to catch the ball. “I was thinking, ‘Catch it, get out of bounds and maybe kick a field goal,” Diggs said. The Saints had three defensive backs guarding the sideline as Kyle Rudolph, Wright and Diggs all ran sideline routes from the right of their formation.ĭiggs was the deepest, with his break coming at about 25 yards, and just as he swiveled his hips he noticed nothing but green grass and purple end zone behind rookie free safety Marcus Williams, who was closing fast.ĭiggs turned back to see the ball heading his way. New Orleans had taken a 24-23 lead just 15 seconds earlier. Bank Stadium, another haunting playoff heartbreak looming for Minnesota. Ten seconds and no timeouts remained when Keenum dropped back from his 39 on third-and-10 in the hushed U.S. ”ĭiggs was supposed to go out of bounds if Case Keenum threw his way on the play dubbed “Seven Heaven,” although in countless rehearsals at practice never did the pass go to the deep receiver, according to teammate Jarius Wright. An exceptional medley of great awareness, terrific balance and deft reflexes allowed Stefon Diggs to ad lib and seize both the ball and the moment in the Vikings’ demon-exorcising “Minneapolis Miracle.
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