You have to see this Justin Jefferson catch. It was fourth-and-18 from the Vikings’ 27. Kirk Cousins was under pressure. He heaved it up and … oh, wow. This was incredible.
This catch, where Jefferson pulled the ball away from the Bills’ Cam Lewis with one hand, then used his momentum to secure the ball against his body, was incredible. That it came on fourth down, in a do-or-die situation, with the Vikings attempting to rally from a 17-point second-half deficit … it has to be one of the best catches I’ve ever seen. Surely it would be the defining moment and unquestionable highlight from this game.
Well, no. The Vikings drove down the field, and Jefferson appeared a touchdown on third and goal, but was ruled down at the half-yard line on replay. Dalvin Cook dropped an easy touchdown on fourth-and-goal, but the Bills’ Jordan Phillips was offsides. Now it was fourth-and-goal with just inches to go.
Kirk Cousins didn’t make it. Bills took over. But they still wanted to avoid a safety. And while doing that … well …
Eric Kendricks recovered a bad snap in the end zone for a touchdown. And not even that was enough to win this game! With 41 seconds left, Josh Allen completed four rapid passes before a defensive pass interference penalty set up Tyler Bass’s game-tying field goal. The game went to overtime.
The Vikings made a lengthy drive to the Bills’ 4 to open overtime, but settled for a field goal. The Bills then drove back deep into Vikings territory, but Patrick Peterson made his second interception of the game on a really bad throw from Allen. Vikings win, 33-30. Somehow, after all that, it was a little anticlimactic. What a game.
