By James Boyd, Zak Keefer, and Alec Lewis
Dec 17, 2022
The Minnesota Vikings completed the largest comeback in NFL history Saturday, overcoming a 33-point halftime deficit to defeat the Indianapolis Colts 39-36, Here’s what you need to know:
- Prior to this game, the largest deficit a team had overcome was 32 points when the Bills trailed the Houston Oilers 35-3 in the 1993 AFC Wild Card game but rallied to seal a 41-38 win.
- With the win, the Vikings clinched the NFC North and improved to 11-3.
- Kirk Cousins threw for 460 total yards and caught fire in the second half, tossing four touchdowns after halftime.
Backstory
After taking a 33-0 lead at halftime, Indianapolis completely stalled. The Colts allowed Cousins to connect with K.J. Osborn for a touchdown in the third quarter and then watched as the Vikings QB hit Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen and Dalvin Cook for scores in the fourth quarter.
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Cook’s touchdown on a 64-yard screen pass cut the Colts’ lead to two, and T.J. Hockenson hauled in a two-point conversion to tie the game up at 36-36 and force overtime.
The Vikings secured the victory when Greg Joseph nailed a 40-yard game-winning field goal to give Minnesota a 39-36 win.
Vikings complete improbable comeback
At halftime, Patrick Peterson hollered a statement: “Five touchdowns!” Cousins did not know if it was sarcasm or not. The Vikings were trailing 33-0, and everything had gone wrong. Cook had fumbled. A punt had been blocked. A fake punt attempt had finished miserably.
Yet here the Vikings were, inside the locker room, trying to rally the troops. The comeback started slowly. The Vikings scored a couple of touchdowns in the third quarter. The deficit was 22 points to begin the fourth. And at that point, mayhem happened. The plays blend together even for the players. Jefferson torched Stephon Gilmore for a touchdown. Cousins touch-passed one to Thielen in the end zone. Cook transported a screen pass to the house. Somehow, the Vikings tied the game and forced overtime. A 40-yard field goal ultimately did the honors. — Lewis
Minnesota’s path to NFC North title
The Vikings are NFC North champions. Their path has not been traditional. They have won 10 one-score games. After their Jets win a couple of weeks ago, they emerged as the first 10-2 team in NFL history with a negative point differential. A large chunk of their success is a byproduct of the other-worldly play Jefferson, who caught 12 passes Sunday for 123 yards and a touchdown. Cousins has also contributed multiple performances in high-leverage. Narratives aside, the Vikings have put together a memorable season. The only question now is how far it’ll go. — Lewis
How did the Colts let this slip away?
This was an utter and unfathomable embarrassment, a low point amid a season of lows, a shameful Saturday for a once-proud franchise that is now the laughingstock of the league.
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How do you blow a 33-point halftime lead? How is that even possible?
Start here: Indianapolis had nine possessions after halftime and managed all of three points, punting seven times and turning it over twice. And after Matt Ryan’s failed QB keeper on 4th-and-1 with 2:19 left in regulation, the Vikings needed just one play — a 65-yard catch-and-run from Cook — to score. The ensuing two-point conversion tied the game at 36 with 2:15 left.
That Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” blared on the speakers felt fitting. Vikings fan were watching history, and they knew it.
So, yes, improbably, a game that was 33-0 at the break went to overtime.
And after Vikings kicker Joseph drilled a 40-yard field goal with just one second left in overtime, that did it: Minnesota had pulled off another miracle, the biggest comeback in the 102-year history of the NFL.
The Colts fall to 4-9-1 in a season that’s been spiraling for months. This was a collapse for the ages, a damning indictment on a team that’s only proven consistent at one thing this season: finding new ways to lose. — Keefer
Colts offense struck early, then sputtered
JoJo Domann returned a blocked punt 24 yards for the first TD of the game in the first quarter, Julian Blackmon recorded a 17-yard pick six in the second quarter. Those were the Colts’ first special teams and defensive scores of the season, respectively, and Chase McLaughlin tacked on a 27-yard FG to give Indianapolis a 33-0 lead at halftime.
But after the break, the Colts managed just three points and blew the largest lead in NFL history. Jefferson, who had been held in check, came alive and helped the Vikings stage an epic comeback to force overtime. The receiver was limited to three catches for 17 yards in the first half. He finished with 12 catches for 123 yards and one TD, with no catch bigger than the 13-yard reception he had to put the Vikings in position for an eventual 40-yard game-winning field by Joseph that lifted them to an NFC North title. — Boyd
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Highlight of the game
FIRST PLAY. DALVIN COOK. 64 YARDS. TOUCHDOWN.
📺: #INDvsMIN on @NFLNetwork
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/NLM9jAlP4R pic.twitter.com/zEBweG6YQm— NFL (@NFL) December 17, 2022
Key stat
The @Vikings overcame a 33-0 halftime deficit to force overtime against the Colts
33 points would be the largest comeback win in NFL history
Entering today, teams that trailed by 30+ points at the half were 0-132 in the Super Bowl era (incl. playoffs)
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) December 17, 2022
Required reading
- Vikings-Colts: Inside the numbers behind the biggest comeback in NFL history
- Justin Jefferson’s offseason training prepared him for record-breaking season
- WR K.J. Osborn’s sacrifices embody Vikings’ team-first mentality on offense
(Photo: Matt Krohn / USA Today)
