Saturday's NFL: Vikings erase 33-point deficit, set record in win vs. Colts
Minneapolis — The Minnesota Vikings completed the biggest comeback in NFL history, erasing a 33-point deficit by beating the Indianapolis Colts 39-36 on Greg Joseph's 40-yard field goal with 3 seconds left in overtime on Saturday to clinch the NFC North division in their typical dramatic fashion.
Kirk Cousins passed for 460 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Vikings (11-3), who trailed 36-7 late in the third quarter and became just the third team in league history to win 10 games in one season by eight points or fewer.
The Colts (4-9-1) stumbled onto the infamous side of the list, just ahead of the Houston Oilers in the 1992 postseason when they blew a 32-point lead (35-3) and lost to Buffalo (41-38) in overtime. According to Sportradar data, this was only the second loss in 1,551 regular-season or playoff games in the league since 1930 in which a team had a 30-plus-point lead and lost.
The Vikings took this rally all the way to their second possession of OT, after punting on their first one. Cousins hit K.J. Osborn — who had a touchdown and a career-high 157 yards — for 15 yards, Adam Thielen for 21 yards and Justin Jefferson for 13 yards to move into range.
Ifeadi Odenigbo was called for delay of game for lying on Jefferson to try to keep the Vikings from setting up for the kick, putting Joseph 5 yards closer for the winner.
Colts interim coach Jeff Saturday didn't exactly get conservative in this collapse. Matt Ryan was stopped short on a fourth-and-1 sneak at the Minnesota 36 with 2:19 left in regulation. Then Cousins hit Dalvin Cook for a 64-yard touchdown on a screen pass on the next play and T.J. Hockenson for the 2-point conversion to tie the game before the 2-minute warning.
Outscored 33-0 in the fourth quarter of their most recent game, a 54-19 loss to Dallas on Dec. 4, the Colts came back fresh from their bye week and stunned the Vikings with a 33-0 halftime lead that was the second-largest in the NFL this season. Cincinnati led Carolina 35-0 on Nov. 6.
The intermission deficit for Minnesota was the second-biggest in franchise history, behind a 45-10 score at Seattle in 2002.
The Colts now have been outscored after halftime 72-9 in their last two games. They had a six-game winning streak against the Vikings stopped. The last time Minnesota beat Indianapolis was in 1997, the final game the Colts played before they drafted Peyton Manning.
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▶ (At) Cleveland 13, Baltimore 3: Deshaun Watson threw a touchdown pass in his home debut for Cleveland, leading the Browns to an ugly 13-3 win on Saturday over the AFC North-leading Baltimore Ravens, who need injured star quarterback Lamar Jackson to get back quickly.
Watson wasn't spectacular, but he did enough in his third game since being reinstated from an NFL suspension to help the Browns (6-8) keep their miniscule playoff hopes alive.
Watson, who was banned for 11 games for alleged sexual misconduct, connected with Donovan Peoples-Jones on a 3-yard TD pass in the third quarter to put the Browns up 13-3 — the biggest deficit the Ravens (9-5) have faced all season.
Watson finished 18 of 28 for 161 yards, and added 22 on the ground.
Browns rookie Cade York made two field goals — and missed two tries — but outkicked Ravens All-Pro Justin Tucker, the league's most accurate kicker, who missed a 48-yarder and had another attempt blocked.
Jackson missed his second straight game with a knee injury, and the Ravens aren't the same without his dynamic playmaking ability.
Tyler Huntley, who was only cleared from concussion protocol a few days ago, started again for Jackson but couldn't get Baltimore going. He went 17 of 30 for 138 yards. Baltimore's J.K. Dobbins ran for 125 yards, and the Ravens rolled up 198 yards rushing.
▶ (At) Buffalo 2, Miami 29: Tyler Bass hit a 25-yard field goal as time expired, and the Bills clinched their fourth consecutive playoff berth on a snow-slick field. The Bills (11-3) overcame a 29-21 deficit by scoring on their final two drives. Josh Allen tied the game with a 5-yard pass to Dawson Knox and the quarterback then leaped over the line for a 2-point conversion to tie the game at 29 with 9:02 remaining.
Allen then oversaw a 15-play, 86-yard drive that ate up the final 5:56 to set up Bass’ field goal, which led to numerous Bills players diving head-first to slide in the snow.
Allen threw four touchdown passes to increase his career total to 171 (including one receiving), and tie former Miami quarterback Dan Marino for the most by an NFL player in the first five seasons of his career.
In winning its fifth straight, and third in three weeks over a divisional opponent, Buffalo also inched closer to clinching its third consecutive AFC East title by building a three-win lead over Miami.
The Dolphins (8-6) entered the weekend in second place and as the AFC’s sixth seed. They’ve now lost three in a row in their bid to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2016.