Vikings put euphoria behind them and focus on Eagles
Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer greets wide receiver Stefon Diggs (14) during a press conference following a 29-24 win over the New Orleans Saints an NFL divisional football playoff game in Minneapolis, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) Credit: AP / Jeff Roberson
Stefon Diggs provided the Vikings with their most remarkable and iconic moment in franchise history on Sunday evening. His catch-and-run for a 61-yard game-winning touchdown over the Saints with no time remaining will live forever in NFL lore.
“Hopefully I can show it to my grandkids one day,” the wide receiver said on Wednesday.
What he’d like to do is show them the accompanying ring as well. That, however, won’t happen unless the Vikings can beat the Eagles in Sunday’s NFC title game to advance to Super Bowl LII. Because no matter how many times that play is shown on highlight programs and replayed on social media, it remains just one step in the direction of a championship.
That’s why the Vikings have spent the past few days regrouping from the hysteria of the moment, trying to settle themselves down, and focusing on the next obstacle in their way. The collective heart rate of the state of Minnesota may still be spiking, but the Vikings are trying to return to a calm.
“Are we proud of what we accomplished? Heck yeah,” quarterback Case Keenum said on Wednesday. “Do we have more out in front of us? Heck yeah.”
“We understand the magnitude of this football game,” coach Mike Zimmer said on Wednesday.
As for the magnitude of the last one?
“It was three days ago,” he said. “It’s time to get on to Philadelphia. I think our players are smart enough to understand what’s going on so I don’t see any problem.”
To accomplish that, Zimmer started on Monday by reminding the Vikings of the second half against the Saints. Not the play, but what led up to it. The blown lead. The near loss.
“It’s ‘Congratulations, we’re moving on,’ ” tight end Kyle Rudolph said of the message. “But it’s also ‘Why were we in that situation to begin with?’ When you have a night like that and it ends the way it does it’s such an emotional high that we have to move on to the Philadelphia Eagles as quickly as possible. Coming in and having a normal Monday and looking back at that second half and what put us in that situation to begin with I think allowed us to do that fairly quickly.”
Mistakes made against the Saints may derail the season if they are repeated against the Eagles. The Vikings have to be better than they were on Sunday to become the first team to ever play in a Super Bowl they are hosting in their stadium.
It’s not all about forgetting Sunday’s comeback, though. There are lessons to take from that game.
“It’s like a storybook ending,” Diggs said. “Nine times out of 10 it never happens that way. The clock runs out. The defense plays good ball. No mistakes happen. But for us, we never gave up.”
Said Rudolph: “If you didn’t believe before and you didn’t have confidence before that anything can happen if you go out there for four quarters and play 60 minutes, that should invigorate it in this team. It’s kind of like having new life.”
And a new chance to keep moving forward in the postseason.
“It’s been fun,” Diggs said of the whirlwind his life has become since he made that catch. “But I want to get a win this week.”
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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