Greatest Playoff Win of All Time Tournament, Game 11

Hey kids, I meant to get the last two quarterfinal games knocked out this past weekend as well, but I had to go celebrate a birthday for one of my grandsons, and then everything I was going to do on Saturday I had to do yesterday. So, we’re back, with our third of four quarterfinal games. As always, I’ll give some highlights of each game, and I’ll put a poll at the end. The poll will be open for about 24 hours, you guys get to vote, and the winner by popular vote will advance. We had no upsets in the first round, so now we’ll see who gets a spot in our Final Four with our next matchup: The 2017 Divisional game against the New Orleans Saints versus the 1974 NFC Championship against the Los Angeles Rams.

2017 Divisional game against the Saints: This game can be summed up in seven words:

Diggs...SIDELINE...TOUCHDOWN!!! UNBELIEVABLE...VIKINGS WIN IT!!!!!!

It is, without question, the most iconic moment and most improbable win in Vikings playoff history. I want to see just one Super Bowl win before I die, don’t get me wrong. But this...man, this was special. When you add in the opponent, and the lingering bitterness we had over the 2009 NFC Championship...look, I’ve experienced the rush of pure, unadulterated sports euphoria 4 times in my life:

1991 World Series, game 7.

2003 Fiesta Bowl, Ohio State v. Miami for the National Championship

2015 Sugar Bowl, Ohio State v. Alabama, CFP Semi-final

This game.

1974 NFC Championship against the Rams: Once again, this was a classic ‘Purple People Eaters’ era win. Really strong defense, especially in the red zone, with the game flipping on a big turnover. The Vikes held on to a 7-3 lead when the Rams drove down to the Vikes goal line. But Wally Hilgenberg intercepted a tipped pass in the end zone, the Vikes took the ensuing drive the length of the field and scored a TD, and they held on for a 14-10 win. With the win, the Minnesota advanced to the Super Bowl for the second straight year. The video clip is of the whole season, with the NFC Championship highlights about the last five minutes or so, if you’d like to fast forward.