For roughly 30 minutes of game time, it appeared the Buffalo Bills were going to cruise past the Minnesota Vikings. Then the gridiron gods, bored with an underwhelming early slate of games that subjected viewers to three hours of Russell Wilson and Ryan Tannehill doing things that could only charitably described as “football,” decided to work their magic.
Kirk Cousins, Dalvin Cook and Justin Jefferson banded together to rally the 7-1 Vikings in an effort to prove their record wasn’t merely the result of an weak early schedule. An injured Josh Allen and the league’s fourth-ranked defense attempted to hold on to a 17-point lead to keep their dream of a first-round bye and homefield advantage through the playoffs alive.
The final two minutes of regulation saw Minnesota complete its comeback from a 27-10 deficit despite getting stuffed at the goal line, twice, on fourth-and-goal. That stretch saw one of the greatest catches in NFL history, a redux of the final play of Super Bowl 34, a stunning botched snap and a furious rally that probably shouldn’t have happened to help the Bills force overtime.
Let’s walk through it, step-by-step, beginning with Justin Jefferson and an act of borderline witchcraft.
Justin Jefferson saves the game with one of the greatest catches of all time
Cousins had been sacked on second and third down to set up fourth-and-18 at the two minute warning. Pressure got to him again on what could have been his final play of the afternoon and he lofted a prayer in his WR1’s direction.
Jefferson answered.
JUSTIN JEFFERSON ASDGJSKDNFGKSDF;K
📺: #MINvsBUF on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/uRjde5F169 pic.twitter.com/sxiLVx0NCi— NFL (@NFL) November 13, 2022
A one-handed grab, in traffic, roughly eight feet in the air, to keep this game alive. Of course we weren’t done there.
After setting up first-and-goal Kirk Cousins, uh, does this:
Cousins hit Adam Thielen and then Jefferson again to put Minnesota on the doorstep of the goal line trailing 27-23. And then:
This was, incredibly, the second time he’d tangled his feet and fallen straight on his back while taking a snap in Week 10.
Justin Jefferson scores the game-winning touchdown, only to have it overturned
This was straight-up shades of Kevin Dyson getting stopped to end Super Bowl 34, and it set up fourth-and-goal at the half-yard line:
close, Jefferson down a 1/2 yard short pic.twitter.com/RsWQfLNdpQ
— CJ Fogler AKA Perc70 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) November 13, 2022
On fourth-and-goal, Dalvin Cook drops what could have been a game-winning touchdown
Fortunately for him, the Bills jumped offside to move the ball roughly three inches closer to the goal line and give the Vikings one more shot.
good thing the Bills were offside or Dalvin Cook was gonna have an awful flight back to Minnesota pic.twitter.com/7vYBNwMLki
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) November 13, 2022
Kirk Cousins tries to sneak it in on fourth-and-goal, generates almost no forward momentum and is ruled short
A truly awful quarterback sneak. It looks like the Bills will survive, right?
Cousins is stopped SHORT of the goal line 😱
📺: #MINvsBUF on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/uRjde5F169 pic.twitter.com/qHzHxDQKAw— NFL (@NFL) November 13, 2022
All the Bills have to do now is run out the clock to seal a 27-23 win
Spoiler: they do not. Allen botches the snap from center Mitch Morse and the Vikings recover in the end zone.
Have you ever seen anything like this?!
📺: #MINvsBUF on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/uRjde5F169 pic.twitter.com/jZKc3LWWMA— NFL (@NFL) November 13, 2022
The Bills, with 35 seconds left and the ball at their own 20 and no time outs, rally to force overtime
Allen made a handful of clutch throws to keep his team alive. The biggest play was this 20-yard strike to Gabe Davis:
GABE DAVIS MY GOODNESS pic.twitter.com/jwAP9ZVqHj
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) November 13, 2022
Which, as you can see in slow motion, shouldn’t have been ruled a catch but wasn’t reviewed on the field.
oh damn Gabe Davis *didn't* catch that pic.twitter.com/7WctU2SEPq
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) November 13, 2022
The Vikings win the overtime coin toss and drive 60 yards for a field goal
Minnesota took an OT lead 33-30 thanks in large part to more heroics from Jefferson.
Double-teamed doesn't matter. @JJettas2
📺: #MINvsBUF on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/uRjde5F169 pic.twitter.com/IW6BBt2kXK— NFL (@NFL) November 13, 2022
Josh Allen leads the Bills all the way to the Vikings' 20-yard line ... and throws a game-ending interception
A pair of big scrambles put Buffalo in position to win this game before overtime could expire. Instead, Allen threw his second end zone interception of the game and the Vikings escaped with a 33-30 win in the wildest game of 2022 to date.
PATRICK PETERSON WINS IT FOR THE @VIKINGS. #MINvsBUF pic.twitter.com/TXlgeYjYGM
— NFL (@NFL) November 13, 2022
